Vanilla Imperial Stout
White Elm Brewing Company in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States πΊπΈ
Stout - Imperial Regular|
Score
7.31
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8.6/10
β
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Got in a trade with The-Adjunct-Hippie. 12 ounce can into snifter, best before 8/1/2018. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 2 finger dense and rocky tan head with insane retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts the whole glass. Thick soapy lacing clings on glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Amazing appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, vanilla beans, cream, fudge, marshmallow, cake batter, nuttiness, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, char, tobacco, leather, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Touch of booze in the aromas as it warmed, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, vanilla, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, vanilla beans, cream, fudge, marshmallow, cake batter, nuttiness, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, char, tobacco, leather, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light roast/char and herbal/spicy hop bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, vanilla beans, cream, fudge, marshmallow, cake batter, nuttiness, toasted dark/brown bread, molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, char, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, vanilla, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with an awesome roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and zero cloying/acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, and velvety mouthfeel that is fantastic. Slight sticky hops, and chalky char/roast. Mildly increasing warmth of 12.1%. Overall this is an amazing Russian imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, vanilla, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV with the mellowly bitter/drying finish. Super rich and decadent malt complexity, balanced vanilla, and solid earthy hop presence/balance. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example. Reminds me of Ten Fidy a lot.
Tried
from Can
on 17 Apr 2018
at 00:07
7.9/10
β
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Draft. A- Vanilla, cocoa. A- Black color, black liquid, brown head. T- Vanilla, cocoa, sharp alcohol. P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, slightly harsh finish. O- Definitely can taste the base beer and then of course a butt load of vanilla. Sadly, the vanilla is fairly harsh and does not taste smooth and natural. I think if this was barrel aged, it would actually help it as odd as that sounds. Still a tasty stout.
Tried
from Draft
on 13 Nov 2017
at 16:32