Have you ever pured a beer expecting one thing and got another? Thats kind of what happened to me over the weekend. I grabbed a bottle of Simple Malt’s Imperiale Stout from the fridge, and though I knew exactly what I had here; a big lush stout probably brimming with rich malts and deep roast. But when I opened a poured it I realized that I was wrong. This was a tank of an Imperial Stout that I did not see coming. It was big and rich, but much more so than I had anticipated. Oh the joys of a good surprise.
Simple malt is brewed by Brasseurs Illimites in St-Eustache, Quebec – some of the best beer in Canada comes from Quebec. So if you live relatively close, just drive over the boarder and step into any good depanneur, they will have a huge selection of Quebec and French beers. You can also check out BeerFly on Beer Advocate to find one close to where you may be. Simple Malt’s 7 beers are all worth your while, and after experiencing each of them, I’d give this Imperial Stout the highest regards.
The Imperial Stout came in a 341ml bottle that I got out of a mixed 6-pack. All the technical details are listed on the back, including the 61 IBUs and 8.1% abv. I guess I should have known what I was getting into, but still I didn’t heed the warning. Maybe it was for the best.
I opened it up cool around 12C (54F) and poured it into a stemmed tulip glass. The pour was thick and oily falling heavily from the bottle and building a creamy and silky black beer. This thing was black, as black as I have ever seen. As the beer collided with the midnight pond it was creating in the glass soft rumbles of dense foam was created and lifted largely with out any fuss. Eventually I was left with a totally opaque coal black beer and 2 inches of dark brown head. This head made the beer seem even darker; it wasn’t mocha, almond, or pale brown, it was a richly dark brown packed with magnificently tight carbonation and a dense and creamy texture. No light could penetrate this beer. This was the first shock to me; I was not expecting such a potently dark stout.
Next came the nose. It was hugely aromatic and packed with depth and layers of flavor. PACKED! First comes an intense rush of chocolate and roasted malts with a boozy sweet toffee flavor. Aromas of liquorice, dark fruits, vanilla, raisins, prunes, dates, brown sugar, molasses, espresso, tar, tobacco and oak all burst into my nose and filled me with flavor. Bitter comes through in the way of roast and maybe some herbs, but it is so powerfully malty that soft flavors are totally masked.
Relax for a moment before you get into this beer – cleanse your palate and prepare yourself for the rush to come. Ready? Ok. A big wide sip of this stout brings thick and creamy waves of malt heavily onto your tongue and instantly fills your mouth. Big roast, big dark chocolate, big toffee, and big tar is showing up everywhere. Sweetness is aggressive here showing you burnt brown sugar, caramel, berries, raisins and other dried fruit, then a finish of brandy and vanilla.
Letting the flavors evolve on your palate shows gentler flavors of biscuit, espresso, coffee beans, cocoa, oak, roast and toast. This is where some balancing bitter comes in by way of cocoa, roast and coffee. There are definitely some hops back in there aiding the beers drinkability, but they are overshadow by everything else black.
Sherry, cognac and tobacco flows in from the back, and I get the distinct sweetness of tar widely on my cheeks. This is a rush and a half, and is a terrifically large beer. It is even bigger than 8.1% would suggest, and the mouthfeel shows exactly that with the smoothest and creamiest heavy silk sensation from start to end. This bottle was aged for 1 year, which may have brought up some roast, and down some astringency, and probably also reduced the carbonation a touch. So I would say it is hitting its stride right now.
Try this alone, carefully, or pair it with the richest deserts you have.
Definitive Ale 