Sierra Nevada Empire Strikes Black Imperial Stout

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Chico, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Thanks to Stroudt for the taste. Black pour, with a mocha head. Burnt, toasty aroma, with deep roasted malts. Mouthfeel really leaves something to be desired. It’s a bit thin. Nice flavor, though - chocolate malts and some roasted cereal grain, and I’m certainly glad I got to try this one - I’ve been really impressed with the stepped-up efforts by Sierra Nevada.

Pours viscous looking black with a thin, creamy, light brown head, spider web lace. Smells subdued, roasty and sweet with some chocolate. Tastes roasty and sweet with a good dose of chocolate and a little bit of chalk. Good. Mouthfeel is where its at. Full body, creamy and smooth, nice carbonation.

On tap at Naja’s Place this weekend. Pour is pitch black with a smallish tan head. Aroma of chocolate and vanilla. Flavor is huge chocolate and vanilla bean. Very sticky with light carbonation. Very nice beer.

Black color/ tan head. Soapy chocolate, dark malt aromas. Rich chewy mouthfeel. Very good semi sweet chocolate, nutty almond, dry blackened malt flavors. @ Beachwood bbq.

A: This is a great looking imperial stout: black in color with a nice mocha colored foam. S: The smell has the usual cast of characters: roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee. There is also a nice hoppiness that I find enjoyable in the porter and stout that Sierra Nevada makes. T: Like the nose, but more intense. Absolutely wonderful roasted malt character, which helps to bring out the chocolate and coffee flavors a bit more. The hops are still there, but a bit more subdued. M: A bit disappointing in terms of the mouthfeel. The beer was a bit thin, but still overall quite good. I enjoyed the bitter finish this one left. D: I was amazed at how quickly I flew through my glass of this. Absolutely amazingly drinkable for the alcohol level and the style. I wish this one was more common, I’d order it all the time.

Tasted at the 13th Annual Strong Ale Fest on 12/5/2009. This Imperial Stout pours a dark black color from the tap. Small to medium sized tan foamy head. The aroma is chocolate, coffee, roasted malt and some vanilla. A medium to full bodied Russian Imperial Stout. The malts are chocolate, coffee, with hints of vanilla. The hops are earthy and herbal. Nice carbonation. Nice stout. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Tap at Strong Ale 2009. Pours black with a light brown head. Nose is sweet. Taste is full of choco and coffee, pretty good.

UPDATED: JUL 31, 2012 On tap at Beachwood. Pours with a black body and nice lace from the tan head. Aroma of autolysis, soy, umami, chocolate and vanilla. Taste of chocolate and vanilla bread pudding. Light carbonation.
Re-rate: Bottle. Pours with a nearly black hued body with a tan head. Aromas are of cocoa, marmalade, yeasty, chocolate, anise and licorice. Flavors are of chocolate, fudge, cocoa, and licorice. Medium bitter with moderate carbonation and a fuller body.

On tap at Beachwood BBQ, this black pour has a nice balance of roasted grain, chocolate and toffee notes.It’s very approachable and tasty.

Served on tap at the 2009 Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival. The appearance is a rich flat black. The flavors and aromas are a rich roasted coffee, and well roasted malts, and some hard nut flavors. This was my first non-barrel stout of the day so the complexity of the malt profile really came through for me. Nice brew!