As we approach what I consider to be the day of stout beer, St. Patrick’s Day, I decided to remove from my beer fridge and sample the Big John Imperial Stout from Goose Island. To help combat the 11.5% ABV, Goose Island added cacao nips to this beer which should add some nice chocolate notes.
During a recent trip to Maryland, I grabbed a bottle of Heavy Seas Bourbon Barrel Aged Siren Noire – an Imperial Stout brewed with chocolate and aged in bourbon barrels (of course). I hadn’t seen this one in the Philadelphia area yet, so the choice was easy. At 9.5% ABV, I’m expecting rich chocolatey notes with some bourbon and oak undertones.
Big Imperial Stouts are mainstay of my winter beer fridge. With their bold robust flavors, warming characteristics, and filling mouth feel they make a great winter beer. One that I have been interested in trying for a while is Night Stalker from Goose Island. When I happened upon it while exploring a new beer store I had to pick up a bottle for review.
The Delaware based Old Dominion Brewing Company has been a staple in the Philadelphia-area market for quite some time. One of their newest beers, Morning Glory, is a 9% ABV Imperial Stout made with real espresso beans. Being a huge coffee lover, any beer made with it is a must try for me.
One of the newest buzzed about beers comes out of Denmark from Evil Twin Brewing. Their Imperial Biscotti Break has soared to the top of BeerAdvocate’s Top 100 New Beers, currently sitting in the #2 spot. It’s even more “imperialized” (is that a word?) than their regular Biscotti Break which is billed as an Imperial Porter. So, the Imperial Biscotti Break is a massive 11.50% ABV Imperial Stout made with coffee, vanilla beans and almonds.
