Victory Storm King Imperial Stout

Pours a very dark brown/black with almost no head. The smell is to die for - some hops and a load of roasty goodness. It tastes a bit hoppier than some other imperial stouts I’ve had, but that’s not a bad thing in my mind. An excellent beer by an excellent brewery.

On cask at Victory Brewing in Downingtown. Also sampled on tap, but from the cask was much better. creamy, full of character, a great stout. quite filling but at 9.2% abv, a pint is plenty for one sitting.

Bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar (Escondido, CA). Pours an almost complete black. Head is dark beige, huge and frothy and lingers. Aroma of roasted malts and a bit of hops. Hops are noticeable in the taste right away and they last all the way through. A roasted and somewhat burnt coffee malt flavor then comes up. At first the malt flavor seems to compete with the hops but they find a mostly happy harmony by the finish. The finish has both lingering bitterness as well as a smooth and slightly dry malty finish. Definitely an interesting one.

Location: 12 oz bottle from Gilly’s, 4/2/09

Aroma: Roasted mailts, chocolate, coffee
Appearance: Very dark, thick creamy head, tons of lacing
Flavor: Roasted malts, a nice hoppy backing, tons of mix in the flavor
Palate: Medium body, nice carbonation, highly drinkable, complex
Overall Impression: A really nice stout, pours a picturesque creamy head on a very dark beer. I liked this one a lot, especially the finish.

Very dark, almost black. The beer has excellent carbonation, something I like in most imperial stouts, head dwindles, but lasts throughout...incredible lacing...The nose reminds me of being in a brewery for some reason, smells unpolished, as it warms I smell malt and alcohol. Mouthfeel is quite light for such a big beer, and there are a ton of hops up front with a bitter finish...too hoppy for an imperial stout in my opinion. Overall, very good, a different take on this style I am not used to...I think I will cellar the rest of my 6 pack, this beer should be much better in a few years...

Pours a deep brown, almost black color with a rich brown head. Chocolate malt aroma. Rich, bitter taste of hops, roasty malts, chocolate, coffee, and alcohol. Indeed, quite bitter but with substantial flavor. Very good beer.

split a 6 pack with peter in chicago. this may have been a silly choice on a relatively warm day, but it tasted great all the same

I’ve had a couple bottles of this, the first one was clearly a lot older, and the tastes were widely divergent, so I’m gonna go with the fresher bottle for the rating. So hoppy it’s almost like a really dark IPA, which is great, but the roastiness is still there palpably lurking beneath the surface. An interesting brew, different than just about anything else I’ve had. Yum!