Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle: Pours the deepest and darkest of ruby with a medium tan head, aroma has chocolate and rich malts, starts and ends lightly sweet with a coca ending, thick mouthfeel, subtle carbonation, and should be good for years to come.

On draft at Bigelos. Black and thick with a classic tan head. Nice looking beer. This had so much malts and chocolate. The chocolate was powdered cocoa. Some coffee. Alcohol was felt more than tasted. Such a good beer.

12oz bottle. Pour is oily black with a quickly diminishing head of dark coffee tan. What remains is swirls of dark tan on the surface and around the glass. Aroma contains lots of dark rich chocolate and sweet malt. I also get cola aromas and maybe some smokiness. The hops make their presence known immediately in the flavors. The bitterness of the hops and roasted malt strike firmly at the beginning and then retreat behind the chocolate sweetness - although the sweetness isn’t nearly as strong in flavor as it is in the smell alone. The finish is again dominated by the American hops. The body is full and sticky. Alcohol is extremely well hidden and this beer is very easy to drink for the impressive power it carries. My only improvement would be to tone down the hope presence a little and let the chocolate, smokey character shine a bit more. Really well done.

UPDATED: FEB 13, 2013 Bottle... This beer rocks!... Pours black with a small, creamy, khaki head. The aroma offers notes of molasses, dark chocolate and Cuban-roast coffee. As full-bodied and plush as they come accompanied by tickling carbonation. The flavor is carbonic, acrid and singed, just like the Cuban-roast coffee that I love so dearly. Hearty charcoal finish. Much better than expected. The abv seems completely hidden. Since caffeine makes me nervous, maybe I should switch over to this when I’m jonesin’ for deeply roasted Cuban or Cuban-style coffee.World class effort from Sierra Nevada!

Bottle. Pours an attractive almost black color with a big tan head. Aroma is of creamy chocolate, roasted malts, light coffee, and a solid dose of some citrusy hops. Taste is complex, with a velvet smooth mouthfeel. Rich chocolate, some really nice earthy roasty notes, coffee, and a solid amount of bitter hops throughout without much of a tell of the above 10 ABV. Really tasty and dangerously drinkable.

Bottle from Binny’s. I had no idea this even existed until I went to the store. Pours blackish brown with a tan head. Nose is cocoa, faint char, resiny hops and some licorice in the distance. Light fruit and roast, molasses. On tasting, this is quite dry and balanced. Medium-full body. Cocoa and light molasses and a deep charred note persist. Lots of hop character in this one, herbal and bitter with some fruity hop notes as well. This should age well for the next 6mths. Damn good stuff and glad to see SN branching out some. One of the most drinkable RIS’s I’ve ever had.

A gorgeous pour, almost opaque black into the glass, with the deepest ruby-mahogany fringes. The head, initially tan/choco-brown, diminishes quickly, leaving no head nor lacing of which to speak. The nose is of milk chocolates, roasted coffee beans, wet tobacco, tons of toffee. dark fruits, vanilla extract and generous caramel malts. The finish contains wet tobacco leaf, roasted coffee beans and a balanced bitter pine hopping. The full body accompanies a touch of lingering ABV to provide a chewy palate with an oily mouthfeel. A great, full-bodied Impy Stout that is chock-full of flavor and substance. One of the best! Prost!!!

Draft @ SF Beer Week Opening Celebration 2013, Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco, CA. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty chocolate and licorice aroma. Roasted malty bitter chocolate and licorice flavor. Has a roasted malty chocolate and licorice finish.

12oz bottled the 279th day of 2012 (October 5th) from OB Quick Stop, in Ocean Beach no less. Black body, 1 1/2 finger mahogany head, fair retention. Anise and pine tar hops are what I get up front, and this beer had been sitting out at least a half hour before I opened and poured it. Also getting a good amount of cocoa and some roast, doesn’t seem burnt in the nose--yay. Flavor continues with the hops and anise (and other aforementioned descriptives), more roast and chocolate forward, and some added soy and alcohol heat. Dry finish with bitterness peaking at a 4-5, a bit ashy and burnt--not too bad though. Big full body with light to moderate carbonation. Very tasty imperial stout--I actually would prefer this big beer to their Bigfoot.

12 oz bottle (2012). Pours black with a one-fingered light brown head that slowly settles. Roasted malt aroma of coffee and dark chocolate with some faint smells of dark fruit, hops and alcohol. Full bodied with an oily, almost syrupy, texture. Bold, roasted malt flavor that’s moderately sweet with a light hop bitterness and finishes with a touch of heat. The flavor is like the aroma. Good thing they only come in a 4-pack, because they’re pretty easy to put down.