Thunder Canyon Warhead Stout

Brewed by Thunder Canyon Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Tucson, Arizona USA

Serve in Snifter

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Black color. Large head. Aroma is roasted malts, cherries and vanilla. A medium bodied Imperial Stout. Milder flavors than most Imperials, it has a nice smooth round palate. The malts are roasted, chocolately with a touch of cherries. There are also hints of coffee, vanilla and plums. Lighter than most Imperials, but still very drinkable. Tummy warmer, which is slightly unfortunate in that it over 80 degrees outside. Well balanced. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is smooth and a touch dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Peripherals: Oily black in the glass, topped by a creamy brown head with slight mahogany touches. Smelled like a burnt vinous espresso, with thin roastiness and a bit of butterscotch underneath it all. First cut: The finish is powerful, a strong push of dry, roasty and burnt chocolate. Easily the standout characteristic. Looking deeper: Oily on the tongue at first, becoming very chewy and "fuzzy." Not very sweet at all, the chocolate and roastiness is all denatured and dry (scrumptious). In the end, the finish gets a bit acrid, which is probably unavoidalbe with the level of bittering hops and roasted malt. Sampled at a gathering of TN Ratebeerians a couple months ago; thanks to decaturstevo for bringing this hand-bottled sample (obtained via trade).

This beer sits an opaque black color in my glass and is topped by a frothy, thin brown colored head. Rich aromas of coffee, dark chocolate and burn fruit waft to my nose; the fruit notes remind me of burnt raisins, and burnt prunes. The taste is rich, with a mouth coating fullness to it that lingers just a bit. This has notes of sweet coffee and a lingering burnt bitterness in the finish. The taste is quite aggressively roasty, with lots of burnt grain notes, and thankfully, without any of the distracting, burnt grain-husk notes that can be found in many American Stouts.

Notes of burnt caramel, dark roasted espresso, an almost vanilla like note, a bit of bourbon character, and definite dark chocolate all dance across my taste buds. This beer has a rich creamy mouth feel to it; makes me think of a dark chocolate milk shake in some ways. This is a nice example of an Imperial Stout. Definitely a great after dinner treat; thick and rich enough to be contemplative and soothing, yet not so over the top that I need to worry about the drive home.

Thanks to Irishboy for sending this and to cbkshubert for hand-bottling this. Very Good fill. Did an aggressive fill and wound up with a very nice rich tan foamy head. Lots of chocolate flavors here and very thick on the tongue. Just a dash of bitterness here but really loads of chocolate and some roasted malts and coffee. Thanks to both of you guys.

Pours out a nice black color with a tan head. Aroma has a lot of roasted malts and semi sweet chcolate. Flavor is very much the same with a thick feel to if. Over all this is a great brew!

Bottle. Blind tasting. A black beer with a brown head. The aroma is of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate, so is the taste, quit plesant. Medium to full body with a light warming alcoholic finish. Quit good!

Many thanks to Craig for the hand-bottled bomber! Poured clear, deeper brown with a short, swirly cap of tan head.. medium-viscosity with lower carbonation. The aroma picked up somewhat singed dark chocolate, darker fruits (with black currants well-represented), and molasses, giving a warm, sweet impression.. some simple sugars apparent, but I found this really enjoyable! The flavor had a well-roasted caramel, dark chocolate, and molasses core with a bit of coffee bitterness and alcohol warmth at the back-end.. some brighter piney bitterness, caramel, and black currants on the sticky and long finish. Medium-plus bodied with lighter carbonation on the palate.. sticky and warm on the back with a dry herbal twist. This was a really good beer!

Growler
Thanks to someone in Arizona for hooking me up with this great imperial stout. I’ve had quite a few solid ones over the last few weeks and this is right there with the best of them. The fact that it has been on my wishlist for quite a while now makes it all the sweeter. If someday this is bottled I will be first in line to get some.

Aroma / Appearance - The swirling black body was dense like melted chocolate. A tannish head floated above the top like particles of sand in the ocean tide. Sweet chocolate, smoke, and anise hit the spot with the dense thoughtful stout. There is enough going on here that you could spend hours enjoying just the smell.

Flavor / Palate - Warm chocolate, espresso, raisins, and anise hit the spot from the start. The chewy mouthfeel unfolds further with smoke and then roasted malts towards the final sip. Sticking on the throat like a well made imperial stout does this is heavy but not cloying. A definite dessert candidate this is balanced to perfection. If I happen to be in the area I am going to Thunderhead Canyon at the first opportunity.

Growler, pours a black body with a coffee tan head. Roast y chocolate notes, licorice, with an earth toned bitterness but more coffee. Dark plum y fruit and some light spices. Great stout.

Thanks to cbkschubert. An aroma of chocolate and coffee with a hint of brown sugar. An almost black pour with a slight tan head and gooey lacing. A flavor of chocoffeeish roasted malt. A dry start that transistions to a semi sweet background flaor and a nice bitter. A smooth even textured palate that spreads across and is neither slick nor thin. Carbonation was good as well. An overall very good beer. thanks craig