Off Color Dino S'Mores Imperial Stout

What the hell? I hadn't ever seen a s'more-based beer until a few weeks ago, and now I'm looking at my third. It was like when I had those peanut butter and jelly beers or when Armageddon and Deep Impact came out. It might even be like when White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen came out. Someone heard about something in the works and said, "I can do that!" Well, let's see if they can.

She's a pitch black beer that loses the head pretty quickly, and it loses it completely. I mean, there is nary a bubble atop this sucker - like a cider, really. The aroma is chocolate, coffee, maple, and some soft wood. Its smell is probably the best of the s'mores beers so far; I wonder if the taste will follow.

First sip is nothing like s'mores. That said, it tastes like a very good imperial stout. It's sweeter than most stouts, but it definitely has that smoky, okay taste to it that both they and most porters sport. I wonder if the middle is smooth and milky.

Tip-in is chocolate, bitterness, sweetness, and smoke. The middle is awash with caramel, maple, sweetness, earth, and a crackery malt. The finish is coffee beans and bitterness with chocolate and vanilla helping things out.

Bottom Line: Not much of a s'more, but a great tasting beer. If only all s'more beers were like this.

3.75/5