Stone Brewing Company Americano Stout American Double / Imperial Stout at 8.7% ABV | 65 IBU (C$4.99 at Oak & Vine, 355 ml, bottle date 21-Feb-2016, best before 17-Nov-2016, acquired 11-Mar-2017, reviewed 14-Mar-2017)
Appearance: nearly opaque black with brown margins, two fingers of dense beige head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dark roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, mildly boozy dark fruit, vanilla, hints of citrus zest, resin, and grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium-full slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, dry bitter and slightly tart warming finish. (4/5)
“A Decidedly American Imperial Stout”? So… it carries a gun and believes that stone age myths are more important than women’s rights or reproductive health? Hah! I kill me! Seriously, though, I’m a bit puzzled by the dates on this one: right above where it says DRINK FRESH OR AGE AT CELLAR TEMPERATURE, it says BOTTLED ON 21/02/16 ENJOY BY 17/11/16… so are you supposed to only age it for 270 days, or what? Or is that 270 period supposed to be the interval in which it’s considered “fresh”? And what’s with the DMY format? I mean, yeah, it’s more logical than MDY, but it’s hardly standard for the US, not to mention not as good as YMD – but then again I’m Canadian and our government uses all three so I never know what date it is. Or is it, now that they’ve got a Berlin brewery, they’re gonna get all pretentious and Yurpean, and Greg Koch is gonna pull a Madonna and start talking with a British accent? I’m so confused… One thing I’m sure of, though, is that I’d like to have gotten it when it actually was fresh, to see how the hops compared. They’re not non-existent even now, but they’re definitely fighting a rear-guard action against the big roasty malt notes. Good, but slightly neither fish nor fowl. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
