The collection of Imperial Beers would not be complete without a stout. Very seldom do stouts make their way into our production schedule, but when they do happen to arrive, it seems they grace our palates with a resonating effect. The elusive stouts come and go and we wait for them to resurface throughout the year to have their flavors again refresh our consciousness of their existence. As we rekindle our relationship with them we are reminded of their awesome complexity and dynamic as a beer. It is for this reason I claim our stouts to be so special. Although I am a serious brewer of the hoppiest IPA and Pale beers, I harbor a special reserve to seek and craft the most significant and intricate stout formulas. To me they are a beer of wholesome sustenance placed in a separate section of my beer appreciation archives. This one is brewed with carob, which is a uniquely good fit because of its chocolate-like qualities and its story of sustenance. Carob is a legume of pods that is mostly ground into powder and used as a cocoa substitute. It is rich in sucrose and protein and packed with minerals and vitamins. Carob is also known as St. John's bread or locust bean. It is assumed to be the "locusts" eaten by St. John the Baptist, which helped sustain him in the wilderness. Carob’s great cocoa-like quality adds a nice touch to the roasted and rich malt character in this beer.