Central City Brewers + Distillers The Hobbit: Smaug Stout Imperial Stout at 8.5% ABV ($10.99 at Liquor Depot McKenzie Town, 650ml, no bottle date or best before)
Pours opaque nearly solid black with three fingers of dense tan head with excellent retention, good lacing. (4/5) Nose is muted, dark sweet chocolate, roasty malts, hint of vanilla, very slight smokiness. (7/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, moderate bitter, moderate to strong spice. (7/10) Medium to full body, low carbonation, building spicy finish. (3/5)
When I first started drinking this, I had to look at the label again to verify that, yes, it did indeed say “spiced” stout. But, yeah, gradually the spice starts to grow. And grow. And grow. Until, towards the end, the spice becomes pretty dominant. Pretty good treatment, actually. I’ve had a few spicy beers, and the spiciness is either overwhelming or irrelevant. This does a pretty good job of integrating it with a decently emphatic ABV and a pleasant stout character. (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
