Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout, Russian Imperial StoutSamuel Smith's Imperial Stout
Beer Review by BBA
AgileHProductions | June 13, 2010
This week The Better Beer Authority sips on Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout from the Samuel Smith Brewery in Tadcaster, England. Personally, I thought this was delicious and is my favorite beer of the ones we've reviewed so far. Find out if the rest of the panel is as enthusiastic as I am.
Rough Transcript:
James: On Tap -- Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout
Hi. I'm James Knott and this is your Better Beer Authority. Today we are tasting Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout from the Samuel Smith's Old Brewery in Tadcaster, England.
The brewery has been in business since 1758 and their beers have been available in the U.S. since 1978.
Sam Smith's Imperial Stout is 7 percent Alcohol by Volume and the brewery points out that the beer is registered with the Vegan Society as vegan friendly.
This all-malt beverage is a Russian Imperial Stout. Historically these beers were brewed in Great Britain in the 18th century for shipment to the Russian Czar and the imperial court. They are dark, malty beers with high alcohol content that prevented freezing on the long, cold journey over the Baltic Sea.
Scott, what are you picking up in the aroma on this beer?
Scott Blickhan: It's got a lot of aroma. It's probably the most aromatic beer we've had to date. It's kind of like an iced latte. It's kind of a cocoa chocolaty. Very fragrant. Literally, it's kind of like drinking an iced coffee.
James: Anything fruity in there?
Scott: Personally I'm kind of overwhelmed by the cocoa chocolaty taste so I'm not a coffee drinker at all, so to me it's kind of off- putting altogether immediately, so maybe it's masking it for me. No. No fruity.
James: Ok. Joby, what would you compare this to or what kind of comparisons could you make?
Joby Johnston: Right off the bat you have to compare it to a Guinness or earlier in our reviews we reviewed a Murphy's so I compare it to one of those. But to Guinness, this is a much stronger beer than Guinness is. This being 7% ABV, but the mouthfeel to this, I feel, is a little lighter than a Guinness. I feel like a Guinness sticks in your mouth. A little creamier going down -- like a malty, chocolate milk kind of. You can really taste the alcohol in the mouthfeel compared to a Guinness.
James: Ok. And Brian, what kind of flavors are you picking up in here.
Brian: I taste a lot of burnt mocha, caramel, cold coffee I think is something that I'm tasting with the aroma. You can also taste the higher alcohol percent. It gives it a sharper taste that you don't typically find.
James: I'm picking up like a raison-y scent. Is anyone getting anything like that?
Joby: I'm not. What I'm smelling or tasting is a something like a carmel or molasses. Something chocolate, but sweet. Almost like a syrupy...
Brian: That's the sweetness that I'm tasting too is that carmel mocha too.
Scott: Yeah. It's the alcohol though. It's almost like a wine of beers because you can tell that it's just evaporating off. You can just smell everything and the alcohol is being left behind and it's just really, really strong.
James: So Scott, where are you at on this beer?
Scott: It's a fine beer. I guess I'm just personally put off by the strong smell of it. I do like Stouts of sorts, but this isn't one of them. Guiness is one that I enjoy. But it's a whole different beer like Joby was saying. Lower alcohol percentage. Nitrogen enriched. Just a different beer altogether. I'd give this one a four. I probably wouldn't seek it out again later.
James: Wow. Joby, do you share his sentiment?
Joby: Not at all. I'm the total opposite of the scale from Scott. I'm going to give this one an 8. Again I usually find myself to be a darker beer drinker as opposed to a pale ale or something like that, so this is right up my alley. I enjoy this beer. Again, it's a pretty high alcohol by volume beer, therefore you can only have a couple glasses after dinner. But all-in-all it's a great beer and I recommend it to anyone who can get there hands on it.
James: When do you see yourself drinking this?
Brian: This is a great beer if you want to skip dinner and drink at the same time. It's got a lot of flavor. It's probably got the same amount of calories as a porkchop, so you can drink and eat all in the same glass.
James: So where are you at? Are you closer to Scott or are you closer to Joby?
Brian: I love it. I'm giving it an eight. I typically don't like dark beers, but I think the higher alcohol content gives it a little kick. I'm going to give it an 8.
James: Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout receives a (???) on the BBA Scale. Let us know what your favorite Imperial Stout is in the comment section.
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Thanks for watching. I'm James Knott and this is your Better Beer Authority. Category:
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