Stone Imperial Stout

Stone makes some excellent beer. Will this join the list? More importantly, I ask the question that I ask every time I come across a beer like this (a mainstream beer from a brewer I've sampled a lot): did I already do this? Well, I went through all the beers that had the label Stone on them, and I didn't see it. If I did this already, I'm doing it again.

If I do the flash light test (a small flashlight directed to the center of the beer) I get nothing but black. Around the edges, I can get some ruby, so pedants can say that this isn't black, but I think we all know what color it really is. The tan head fizzles to an incomplete covering with the ring on the sides holding up a little unexpected and welcomed lacing. Imperial stouts are stolid, and this one smells like it will join the others. The roasted malt has seared molasses on it that adds a sparkle to the dark. 

First sip is dark chocolate, nutty, sweet, dry, dark, brooding, and somewhat bitter. That's a lot of stuff coming at me all at once, and I... kind of like it. No! More than kind of. For some reason, this moody stout has managed to just grab a chair in the den, sit down, and have a nice, adult conversation like we were all grown ups, and this is just the way things are now that we're older. 

Tip-in is sweet syrup of cherries and dark chocolate with minimal carbonation. The middle becomes an orchestra of flavors with a slightly caustic channel in the middle, but the smoothness on the outsides makes up for it. The finish is a surge of the sweet and bitter before dry, smoked dark chocolate send me into the trail off, looking forward to the next swig.

Bottom Line: She's a keeper.

4.75/5