Victory Storm King Imperial Stout

12oz bottle. Black with a medium tan head. Initial aromatic impression of hops, with some almost burnt black malt underneath. then some sweeter, saltier chocolate and light berry-fruit. First sip is quite hoppy, a bit salty and smokey in a meaty way, bitter as well. Initial burp tastes of hops. The flavor mellows as the beer warms. It becomes sweeter, with dark caramelized sugars, vanilla, light coffee, and a bitter piney finish. The mouthfeel is definitely light for the style, and in the medium range overall. This is honestly not quite like any imperial stout that I have had before. It drinks small, but has a good balance of flavors. There are more flavor and aroma hops than maybe any stout that I’ve had, but they work well to balance the typical malt sweetness of the style and make this really drinkable. I want to call this an IPA-foreign stout hybrid with way more alcohol that you think. I like it.

Both from bottle and from tap at Victory. Appearance is like motor oil. Smell is dark malt with some hops. Dark head which sticks around a minute or two. I have to say, I enjoyed this much more at the brewery when on tap. Much smoother and drinkable than from the bottle. It’s an excellent stout either way but if you can get it on tap, I’d recommend drinking it that way.

A- Pours a very deep and dark black hue with a tan creamy head that leaves a wide swath of lacing around the glass S- Nose is of dark roasted malts with a heavy coffee/espresso emphasis, some subtle sweet caramel and earthy tones, subtle alcohol and floral hops T- Taste is dominated by very sweet and sugary malts and cocoa backed by a range of citrus and pine hops, coffee picks up midway through and caps up the finish along with some bittering hops M- Full-bodied IRS with a very creamy and smooth texture, nicely carbonated D- Very smooth and creamy IRS that is well-balanced and easy to drink even at 9%abv, but I think it still can’t quite hang with the big, bold, and complex west coast IRS offerings

12oz bottle pours nearly black with a small tan head. Aromas of burnt malts, carmel, some coffee. Taste of roasted malts, coffee, fairly bitter finish. Mouth feel is a bit thin, and lack complexity.

12 oz bottle. Pours a dark black color with a finger high tan head. Smells of coffee, chocolate, and a lot of roasted malt. Tastes very roasted with a lot of dark chocolate, with a very full body mouth-feel and a smooth aftertaste of coffee. Overall a very good stout.

Had a fresh bottle next to a 99 vintage thanks to Beastiefan2K. Pretty typical stout but I will say the older vintage, even oxidized, was way better than fresh. Not sure what they did to this beer but it isn’t very good anymore.

Aroma of dark fruits, aniseed, dark chocolate and wet earth. Pours black with a full brown head. Heavy lacing even if a broad snifter. On the flavor, fruits, mostly cherry and melon, ride over and are well harmonized with a rich roasted malt backbone, toast, oatmeal, molasses. Beginning sweet and tart, it progresses towards slightly bitter and boozy on the finish. Medium to full bodied, strangely drinkable despite its darkness, smooth and creamy palate, slightly effervescent with a nice alcohol burn on the tongue.

Pours a very dark black with a nice mocha head. Nice amount of lacing on the glass. Aroma is earthy with hints of raisin, molasses, alcohol, malt. Flavor has a nice hop bitterness to start and then very complex malty notes into the finish...dark chocolate, coffee and more in this one. Mouthfeel is silky and smooth. This is a very nice Imperial Stout. A nice find for me as I hadn’t heard any buzz until a chat with the owner of Belmont Station here in Portland...Cheers Carl!