t Smisje Catherine The Great Imperial Stout

Brewed by Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Imperial Stout
Assebroek-Brugge, Belgium

On tap at The Thirsty Monk, Asheville. Mild sweet malt aroma, bit of toffee, molasses, and alcohol vapor. Quite herbal in the nose, too. Musky and bit earthy. Dark brown cloudy with thin off-white lacing head. Medium-heavy body with medium carbonation. Fairly sweet throughout like a barley wine, not an imperial stout. Good level of bittering hops to finish. Fairly thin with alcohol notes, toffee, and rich malt. Big bitter hops finish with strong bitter after. Kickin’, but this is no impy stout - really more like a barley wine.

11.2oz bottle, courtesy of argo0. Thanks, Aaron! Pours a murky, amber-brown color; huge, fizzy khaki head with excellent retention and medium-bubbled lacing. Very odd aroma: lightly tart, yeast, and fruitiness; dense, strange take on an imperial stout. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: bananas, yeast, esters, and lots of breadiness; chewy, sticky malts and maple syrup; strange Belgian take on an imperial stout; red fruits and very estery. Medium finish: dry breadiness, sweet malts, and bananas.

Unsurprisingly pale colored for an Imperial Stout, the beer is a dark, concentrated amber color as it sits in my 25cl tulip glass, but shows a lightly hazy, light-cranberry red color when held up to the light. It is topped by an initially three-finger thick, tan colored head that is held up by a persistent carbonation. Despite being so light in color I do get a solid, city-roast coffee note from the aroma as I am pouring this beer. A deeper inspection yields smoky dark grain notes, some salty peat, some sort of savory component that makes me think of umami rich miso, and a bit of vegetal seaweed.

A fair bit sweeter than I was expecting, though it is fairly light considering the strength of this beer (and for that matter considering other Imperial Stouts). The beer finishes with a persistent, lightly burnt cabbage note that I find contributed from roast grains / malt at times. Lightly roasted coffee flavors, mix with just a hint of smoke, some notes of cocoa towards the middle . This has a somewhat / fairly bitter finish to it that is as much a product of the roast grains as it is from hop notes. This is actually quite light and quaffable, especially when considering the strength and the alcohol seems to be quite well hidden. Some light fruitiness reminiscent of light roasted and smoke prunes and raisins helps to pick up the complexity just a bit.

Not a bad beer, but I was definitely expecting a bit more from this beer. I do like how light bodied and quaffable this is, I like that this is fairly subtle compared to others of the style and I like how much roast character is noticeable despite being so light colored. The vegetal note gets to be a bit too much in the finish, and the flavors are not quite so well integrated as I could want them to be.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson AZ

Draught at Zythos Beer Festival 2008. Cloudy brown, low beige head. Fruity, creamy chocolate, caramel, bisquits, and alcohol. Medium bodied and smooth. Quite sweet and one-dimensional.

11.2 ounce bottle from Wine & Beer Westpark. Pours a dark brown color with a medium brown head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of roasted malts, smoke, berry notes, oak. Taste is roasted malts, nuts, tobacco, smoke, vanilla, leafy hops. Medium bodied. Good stout.

bottle from whole foods. Brown with fizzy white head. Sweet aroma and an earthy herbal floral taste of elder flower.

Bottle at O’briens. Pours with a dark amber-bown body topped by a thick, off-white head with little lacing. It’s slightly sweet and malty with a touch of yeast and a hint of roast. Basically tastes like a belgian double with a touch of roasted malt. Medium bodied and smooth yet a touch dry.

Hmmmm....this is a strange one. Pours a clear, highly translucent, dark crimson red color. This is possibly the lightest colored imperial stout I’ve ever seen. The head redeems things a bit as its full, foamy, well retained stature leaves thick ribbons of khaki lacing behind. The nose is sweet and fruity up front, with figs, plums, and raisons coming through. Banana and clove are surprising additions. Roasty coffee follows, as does cream and a touch of bitter chocolate. Flavors are again very sweet and fruity, with figs really starting to dominate. The roastiness and creaminess come through on the back end, along with some distinctly Belgian yeast and some bitter, floral hops. There’s even a good amount of smokiness. The mouthfeel is medium-full and creamy, finishing on the dry side and slightly astringent. This certainly doesn’t fit the traditional mold of an imperial stout, but it is fairly enjoyable nonetheless if, for nothing else, its uniqueness.