Smuttynose Brewing Company Smuttynose Imperial Stout

**Aroma:** “Roast and chocolate. Some mild dark fruit esters. A little leather and wet tobacco. Clean roast, honey, slight vegetal. Some heat on the nose. Roasty malt with an undertone of tobacco. Maybe a hint of _Brett_ and damp leather.” **Flavor:** “Chocolate sweetness carries from the start to finish. The roast builds and adds great complexity. The body is full and sits on your tongue. Some mild fruity esters of cherry and raisin with coffee roast in the finish. Clean, lingering bitterness. Slight chocolate and caramel notes.” **Overall:** “Very good, this beer drinks better than it smells. The complexity of the roast and malt sweetness balanced well together. The warmth and earthy bitterness helped to cut the sweet. Very good stout. Heavy on the roast and alcohol, but the hops bitterness and other malts help balance. Could improve with age. This is a great example of the style once you get past the nose.”

**Aroma:** “Cacao nibs, toffee, and light cherry esters with a touch of lemon. Mild roast and hints of fresh coffee with a moderate alcohol nose.” **Flavor:** “Roast and chocolate dominate with low level dark fruit esters to complement them, specifically cherry. Hops bitterness throughout balances the malt sweetness. Finishes fairly dry and slightly bitter, but this makes you want another sip. Slight heat on the finish as well reminding you that this is imperial. A bit light on body relative to other contemporary examples. The addition of some caramelized sugars or other dark fruit flavors would help the complexity.” **Overall:** “This beer does everything right but doesn’t quite reach its full potential. A good example of the style that could benefit from a bit more body and complexity, but a great beer overall.”

**Aroma:** “Moderate roast, light chocolate, touch of vanilla, light date, light cherry, pleasant fruitiness: fruitcake! Mild toasted malt. Some cocoa/chocolate notes. Before I even taste it, it’s hinting at barrel aging. Nice roast malt with some chocolate and brown sugar and a hint of alcohol. Cinnamon Teddy Grahams have to be some untold adjunct if the nose is any indication.” **Flavor:** “Moderate plum and cherry, mouthfilling carbonation, light hops, chocolate, light roast aftertaste. Toasted malt, light caramel, moderate bitterness, long linger of chocolate and caramel. Medium body, a bit light for the complexity of flavors. Sweet chocolate flavors linger into the aftertaste. Hops flavors add interest. Nice roast bitterness in the finish. Wow, the balance among sweet, roasted, and bitter is incredible. Literally nothing jumps out and scrambles to scream ‘ME! first.’ It’s lighter than what you think you’re getting into with the smell, but a lot of the same flavors carry through and some nuttiness joins the party that was thoughtfully decorated in flower petals.” **Overall:** “A nice, smooth, low-astringency imperial stout. There’s just enough roast and bitterness to balance the sweetness. Smooth and flavorful. Somewhat retiring for an imperial stout—a bit thinner than expected. Very enjoyable. A bit thin and subtle, but super enjoyable at the same time. I could drink this all day.”