t Smisje Catherine The Great Imperial Stout

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

Slight gushing to huge, dark yellow head leaving shards of lace, over fully hazy dark brown beer with a huge yeast deposit. Rich nose, chocolatey, slightly sweet with a spike of acidity that has become typical for the Regenboog. Fresh, fruity, estery. Wry taste, with very earthy to tobacco notes over the constant presence of acidity. The wry, dry bitterness seems to win out in the end, were it not for the serious CO² titillation. Another typical & constant Regenboog feature. If I’m not totally convinced, it is because of the clashing of the flavours, instead of blending. Burnt malts, hint of black cardemom. Alcohol pretty hidden, MF seems thinner because of the acidity, no doubt. Quite slick. This is certainly no Imperial Stout as we’re used to. Fine with me, but then the taste ought not to war internally. Still, I think for this genre, another yeast culture might have been preferable.

Muddy reddish, brown colour with a dense beige head. Yeasty, earthy aroma with notes of vegetable and hints of some sourness. Malty, light caramel sweet flavor with notes of yeast and fruit. Light roasted finish with notes of liqourice.

Bottle courtesy of jayg. Pours dark brown with a tan head. Smells fruity with some caramel and chocolate touches. Tastes of chocolate, some pepper, some bitter hints. Finish has a weird bitter aftertaste.

Bottle shared by beastiefan2k. Deep amber orange beer, thick tan head. Aroma is very Belgian, sweet and raisiny with a very plummy, figgy sweetness. Sweet and fruity with the classic t’smisje yeastiness. Soft brown sugar flavour, some light banana and rich spiciness. A bit of chocolate and a little bit rummy. Earthy and slighly peppery. Rich spiciness. Not really an Imperial stout, or any other kind of stout for that matter, but it is pretty solid nonetheless.

Bottle from the Sam’s in Downers Grove, Illinois: Odd drink. Not really any roastiness to it, at least not enough to call it a Stout of any sort. It poured an opaque lighter brown body with an humoungous beige head that was half fizzy, half creamy. Then it went away. It had a sweet dark stone fruit aroma with some dark toffee-ish malts and brown sugar. The flavor was much the same, but added a sharp alcohol bite and a bit of earthy bitterness. Way too carbonated. A drink of interest, but not of repitition.

Bottle@Home. Fruity sour aroma with hints of cola and light roasted, very yeasty. Dark brown color, irregular beige head, good lace. Light sweet, very fruity, chocolate, light roasted bitterness, yeasty. Alcoholic and warming. Nice but I wouldn’t call it an Imperial Stout.

Bottle @ chriso’s Pre-GBBF Shindig 2008. Pours a dark brown colir wit ha small off-white head. Fruity malty yeasty aroma with some hoppy hints. Sweetish roasted malty fruity chocolate and caramel flavor. Has a sweetish warming roasted malty caramel and chocolate finish.

Bottle. Very dark brown with a cream foam. Aromas are coffee malts with dark chocolate. Yeasty and peppery with decent bitterness and some sweet caramel. Flavours are bitter coffee with spices and yeast. Quite smooth. Good.