Day #4 of 365 Days of Beer - Sam Adams Imperial Stout

Day #4 of 365 Days of Beer

Beer Name - Sam Adams Imperial Stout (Boston, MA)

Serving Type - 12oz Bottle served in a gaudy oversized snifter

Style - Imperial Stout

Availability - Year Round

OK, so Sam Adams. Some decent stuff, some not so decent stuff, it's an "OK" brewery for me. I must however say that this Imperial Stout definitely falls high on the decent stuff list. I was pleasantly surprised.

Poured into a grossly oversized crystal snifter, the initial pour started with about an inch of dark tan head that faded quickly to the small ring you see in the picture above. Lacing tended to be a bit sketchy throughout the session and was more thick beer than it was foam. The color of the beer you ask? Black ... perhaps jet black. There is no seeing through the glass. The pour itself was very thick ... almost like pouring motor oil.

The aroma of the beer is that of chocolate and coffee with a hint of alcohol.

I would recommend serving this beer slightly above room temp as you'll get the vanilla, chocolate, and malt flavorings up front. As the beer warms, the beer tends to drink "hot" (again, high alcohol taste) and you get a very heavy roasted coffee flavor. Now, this is not to say the flavor is bad as it warms, I'm just saying that the beer has two distinctly different flavorings depending on temperature. Both flavors were actually quite good.

Final Thoughts - A high alcohol beer (9.2% ABV) that should be enjoyed in moderation. If you're a stout fan, for the price of this beer, you won't be disappointed at all. The beer has a good carbonation and even with the heaviness having 2 or 3 of these shouldn't be a problem. For all you non-stout fans out there (silly people) ... I would stay away from this one. This beer represents probably everything you don't like about stouts (heavy, bitter, etc).