Northwind Imperial Stout

Draught. Opaque dark brown with small foamy beige head, light mocha aroma, medium carbonation, full body, mocha taste, medium finish with sour coffee aftertaste. Good stout, but the coffee beans sour aftertaste degrades the brew.

A touch under-stated for an imperial stout in 2015, this would have been right at home in 1995. Caramel nose hints at roast, flavor sweet and roasty wth a full caramel presence, sweet full bodied finish, lingering thoughts of coffee. A very simple and straightforward strong stout. You want huge and complex, look elsewhere.

Bottle. Pours opaque black with a small tan head that dissipates quickly leaving a ring that has some lacing. Aroma is roasty licorice. Flavor is surprisingly astringent and acidic, strong anise, roasted malts and chocolate. Medium plus body, a bit creamy. Not bad, but I am just not much of a fan of anise-heavy stouts.

Draught @ Rattle & Hum, NYC. Pours cloudy very dark brown with small tan head. Dark aroma of coffee, chocolate and caramel malt. Sweetish, boozy flavour with notes of caramel and chocolate. Very mild aftertaste. OK but I have tasted better imp stouts.

Deep dark brown coloured body with a muddy brown glow and an oily top with no head at all. Aroma of vanilla, milk, malt, oak, earth and way more vanilla - this is potent! Medium to Full-bodied; Strong vanilla flavour with some oak, roasted malt, light coffee and nuts with an earthy finish and some light grape and cherry flavours. Aftertaste shows caramel, roasted malt, earth, a touch of pit fruit flavours and bunches more vanilla - not too complex however, especially for the style. Overall, a drinkable Imperial Stout, but not complex nor showing a flavour range than most Imperial Stouts have - this tastes like it could have come from a brewpub down any street in mainstream America, not a great offering from Two Brothers, like I was expecting. Nice to try, but definitely wouldn’t buy more of this to age, at all. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Whole Foods (Bowery) in New York, New York on 25-November-2011 for US$2.99 sampled at home in Washington on 09-September-2013. Lot 3071 // Alcohol (on bottle): 9.1% // purchased Nov 2011 // sampled Sep 2013

Bottle from BottleSelect.com. Pours very dark brown/black with a slight dark tan head. Aroma of dark malt and darkish fruit. Full bodied or nearly. Flavor is smooth dark malt, burnt, a touch of coffee, and dark fruit/hop. It’s certainly dry. Not one of those syrupy versions. Not getting chocolate. It’s clean and dark.

Aroma is slightly toasty with a touch of a chocolate note. Hints of fig and prune. A touch of wet cardboard oxidation is starting to show through. Overall fairly muted. Pours black with a small, faint mocha head that quickly recedes. No legs and no lacing. Touch of a head on the edges. Flavor is fairly sweet with a moderately strong prune note and lighter notes of chocolate and roast. A touch of red grapes and figs also present. Medium bitterness that is more apparent in the finish. Lingering bitter chocolate and prunes in the finish. This is one of the more prune forward stouts I have had. Some lingering sweetness. Mouthfeel is medium full bodied with medium low carbonation. Low astringency is moderate alcohol warmth. Overall an alright stout, but the fig character is fairly strong. A nice chocolate note and light roast but not enough to overcome the fruit notes. I prefer my fruit notes to be more of a background note.

This 12oz bottle was a sweet trade bonus from shrubber85. It pours with a dark mahogany body supporting a mocha colored head of foam. The aroma offers up a mix of dark roasted malts, earthy malts and a dash of what seems like smokiness. The taste is rich and deep with dark roasted malts, a mild degree of burnt malts, a dash of toasted toffee and then malt sweetened chocolate. The taste comes together nicely and I get bonus notes of earthy malts and a faint sense of rauch malts heading into the finish. Tasty stuff.

Bottle thanks to Champ. Pours a dark brown with small tan head that lasts awhile. The aroma is roasted malt and raisin. Medium mouthfeel with sweet chocolate and sweet finish. Very good