Night Rider
Pizza Port (Carlsbad) in Carlsbad, California, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Regular|
Score
7.67
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7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Small draught glass at O’Briens on 3/23/2007
Served blind to begin with, I would probably have been kept guessing all night. When finally told what I was drinking, I was quite surprised. This is 9.5%abv? Wow.
Not a very dark imperial stout, with plenty of hickory-auburn hues apparent on the edges and a dark, milk chocolate brown-colored body. Medium-tan head is medium-sized and well-retained, leaving minimal lacing. Medium clarity.
Seemingly simple nose opens with licorice tinted Spanish coffee notes, which seemlessly slip in to a pool of milk chocolate. Floating about in the aroma are prunes and raisins that give complexity and definition to the style. But what is confounding are the rather light-hearted esters that sit about on the finish, as the malt trails off and leaves fruitiness in full force (lots of cherry-vanilla interplay). Some toffee sweetness hangs around and there are traces of nuts and light roast, but it’s a very light example, though by no means weak. Hops add bitterness, which emerges on the finish, especially with warming, but otherwise lend little influence, perhaps a touch of pine and mint-like aromatics. Not quite devoid of char and deep roast, there is a speck of it on the finish. No alcohol apparency in the nose. The only negative aspect I found was a bit of peanut/peanut-skin-like aroma.
Soft, luxurious, silky body is both supple and yet light (for the style) on the palate. Great attenuation up front, allows anise and vinous notes to display themselves briefly, before a moderate coffee-liqueur-like dryness and fudgey-chocolate sweetness engage. What it produces on the finish, seems to have the aspects of both sweet, pale and caramel malts (with plenty of chocolate) but also a brace of dryness with vanilla and light alcohol warmth. Roast is quite reserved, as in the aroma, with only basic coffee flavors that seem to stay mostly out of the way of the chocolate. A fudgey stickiness persists on the finish, despite the flavor not lingering all that long. Medium carbonation, helps keep it on the lighter side and keeps the malt sugars from becoming too overbearing (the beer finishes on the sweet side of things, for sure). Hops add a light green juiciness, minimal bitterness for the style. Very low alcohol apparency, as mentioned before. What a weird (but enjoyable) Imperial Stout!
Served blind to begin with, I would probably have been kept guessing all night. When finally told what I was drinking, I was quite surprised. This is 9.5%abv? Wow.
Not a very dark imperial stout, with plenty of hickory-auburn hues apparent on the edges and a dark, milk chocolate brown-colored body. Medium-tan head is medium-sized and well-retained, leaving minimal lacing. Medium clarity.
Seemingly simple nose opens with licorice tinted Spanish coffee notes, which seemlessly slip in to a pool of milk chocolate. Floating about in the aroma are prunes and raisins that give complexity and definition to the style. But what is confounding are the rather light-hearted esters that sit about on the finish, as the malt trails off and leaves fruitiness in full force (lots of cherry-vanilla interplay). Some toffee sweetness hangs around and there are traces of nuts and light roast, but it’s a very light example, though by no means weak. Hops add bitterness, which emerges on the finish, especially with warming, but otherwise lend little influence, perhaps a touch of pine and mint-like aromatics. Not quite devoid of char and deep roast, there is a speck of it on the finish. No alcohol apparency in the nose. The only negative aspect I found was a bit of peanut/peanut-skin-like aroma.
Soft, luxurious, silky body is both supple and yet light (for the style) on the palate. Great attenuation up front, allows anise and vinous notes to display themselves briefly, before a moderate coffee-liqueur-like dryness and fudgey-chocolate sweetness engage. What it produces on the finish, seems to have the aspects of both sweet, pale and caramel malts (with plenty of chocolate) but also a brace of dryness with vanilla and light alcohol warmth. Roast is quite reserved, as in the aroma, with only basic coffee flavors that seem to stay mostly out of the way of the chocolate. A fudgey stickiness persists on the finish, despite the flavor not lingering all that long. Medium carbonation, helps keep it on the lighter side and keeps the malt sugars from becoming too overbearing (the beer finishes on the sweet side of things, for sure). Hops add a light green juiciness, minimal bitterness for the style. Very low alcohol apparency, as mentioned before. What a weird (but enjoyable) Imperial Stout!
Tried
on 10 Apr 2007
at 14:36