Steam Brew Imperial Stout

In my opinion, it is not really an imperial stout, it sounds more like a strong dark Bavarian beer, malty and sweet with some hop, buying it at one lidl, drinking it at Prélaz.

# 4877; 1/2026. Sweet, honey, biscuit, chocolate aroma. Deep brown body; beige head. Fruity, caramel. Sweet, worse imperial stout. 0,1 of 0,5 l of can, tasting event at ARU.

Can picked up from Lidl and consumed at home Thursday 29th January 2026 listening to ByteFM and after a Chinese Stir Fry and Pork Fried Rice for tea. Pours black with a large beige head. In terms of flavour and also aroma, it hits the usual Imperial Stout objectives of being chocolate, coffee, roasty, smooth and creamy in the mouth, for the price it's absolutely fine and a tick, however it's clearly cheap and cheerful with few elevating qualities. It's fine.

0,5 l can from Lidl. BB 27.10.26. Black in the glass, short living one finger beige head. Low choco aroma, grainy, not not really roasted as epected. Taste starts more on the roasty side, some sweetness und chestnut, present lactose. Soft alcoholic. Little bit dry at the end. Not bad at all.

Can 50 cl. Dark brown, coffee foam. Aroma: sweet, caramel, a little burnt, black bread, a little prune and burnt sugar. Taste: caramel, sweet, alcohol adds bitterness and warmth, bread again, so-so.

500ml can from Lidl near Granada. Pours black with a beige foamy head. Aromas & tastes of dark chocolate, caramel, coffee, flora & roasted malt. Moderate body. Slightly sour malty finish.

Algo aquosa e doce para o meu gosto. Pelo preço não é uma má escolha. Sabor a malte torrado

An imperial stout in a supermarket? what a time to be alive ! Granted, it's a supermarketbrand, and not just any - lidl (in my opinion the worst beerselection of the supermarkets) but hey, it's a start ! Their IPA was actually OK-ish (better than the German Red) , both being above expectations for what it is. This one, I feared a bit more, doubting to even buy it. Buy hey, just for the fun of it, let's try and see. Pours quite near to black, although the foam is only mildly tanned offwhite, and fairly fast fading. Scent is very weak. Some roasted malts, some coffee, but nowhere near the intensity it should be . On the plus side, there's no straight up flaws at first glance, and being only 7.5, this is definately pushing the (bottom) limit of what IS imperial stout, so let's give it some slack on the intensity. Taste is similar, nothing off, to my pleasant surprise, and not too sweet. Fairly in style. Only, quite damn silent. Barely drinking anything more intense than your average, industrial lager. It has notes of roast, coffee, a tad burnt (again, FAR less than feared/expected), even notes of dark chocolate. But they're all to be found like I'm a damn detective rather than a random guy with a beer in front of the TV. Mouthfeel is thin - for the style (bit thicker than a lager, but thats the direction it goes) . Medium bitterness, medium low sweetness. Bottom line, expectations far exceeded, and not a bad beer at this ABV (though even for this, it should be far more intense) - but an imperial stout at 7.5 is pushing it, if you THAN deliver a weak beer for said 7.5, what you have left is... A roasty lager-replacer competing in what your marketing has decided is the correct category - the likes of all the great Imperial Stouts we know and love. I think it would benefit from amping up the intensity, possibly if needed the ABV as well, or lowering the ABV whilst maintaining the intensity, and just calling it 'stout' (non imperial). As it is now, the beer falls between everything it could benefit from. Finally, I do want to express the respect that an underdog like Lidl took to release this - hopefully this can be the start of several other, more 'craft' inspired beers, perhaps even working towards even better quality.

Can at home, kicsit PTSD-m lett, annyira hasonlit a regi eichbaum stouthoz - amitol egyszer orakig tarto fejfajasom lett egy (1) doboz elfogyasztasa utan.
Earlier Rating: 7/5/2018 Total Score: 2.6
Can shared at home. Pretty poor imperial stout in every sense. It’s drinkable, but that’s the most that can be said about it.