Category Archives: Imperial Stout

Stone Xocoveza

Thin head that fizzles down quickly. I can smell the dark makes and spice aroma with the glass sitting a foot away from my nose. Aroma up close is not as strong as I would’ve thought- nice mellow dark malts. Full flavor, with a zing of cinnamon spice cutting through the dark malts, then quickly disappearing. Aftertaste is fairly mild dark malt. The 8.1% ABV is hidden well, with no detectable alcohol burn.

A little too complicated for my palate.

4 out of 5 stars.

Great Lakes Blackout Stout

Nice clean dark malt aroma, nothing overly sweet or “black licorice-esque” like a lot of these can be. Nice even grain flavor with no harshness, with a minor dark malt aftertaste that lingers slightly. Good hop crispness that cleans the palate but stays out of the way. This is from their 2015 seasonal, drank on 12/23/2015, well before the best by date of 05/06/16.  Having had this on tap before at the bar, I know these go down really well and you don’t have any idea of the 9% ABV, until you feel your head buzzing a bit.

5 out of 5 Stars.

Great Lakes Blackout Stout

 

New Holland Dragon’s Milk Reserve with Raspberries

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Nice clean aroma with a hint of raspberries.  Slight edge of bourbon flavor that gets replaced by dark malt, and then a nice raspberry flavor comes in.  Overall very balanced 3-way tug-of-war going on between bourbon, dark malt, and raspberries. You can feel the alcohol heart in the aftertaste, slightly lingering in the back of the throat.  I think I would like it more of there were less bourbon presence, and it was just the dark malt and raspberries commingling.

Bottled 10/06/15, drank 11/17/15.

4 out of 5 stars.

New Holland Dragon’s Milk Reserve With Toasted Chilies

Bottled 10/05/15, drank on 10/29/15. Nice sweet bourbon aroma but not harsh at all. Taste is very pleasant with nice dark malt flavor but no harshness. This is slowly followed by a slight wooden barrel flavor that gives way to a moderate chili kick. Slight alcohol warmth in aftertaste, mixed with chili heat. Great stuff going on, distracting you totally from the 11% ABV.

5 out of 5 Stars.

Dragons Milk Reserve with Toasted Chilies