2008-01-10

QUICKTAKE: Southern Tier Imperial Oat

Well it seems that it did not take long for me before it was time for a US extreme beer. I actually tonight tried a pils from Germany and a english real ale. But anyway we had to try the new beer from Southern tier, at least over at our favorite place in the world (OT).

This beer is really completely pitch black with a dark tan with a very tight lacing. The aroma is of rich toffee, coffee and some sort of dried fruit and a very alco warming ending. It comes with a very hop character to bring balance to the extremelly strong roasted malty end. It finishes somewhat sweet´and that tells me about the oat compared to a "normal" thick imperial stout. Except that it is mainly a Imperial Stout compared to a "traditional" out-based stout. The difference is mainly the sweetnes, otherwise it is a US-inspired stout in the Imperial category.

This is a really big one in every way and not for the faint of heart. At the end it is really a complex beer and a other new example of a great beer from the southern tier brewery.

I promised myself to test other types of beer this year, but still the US-Imperial Stouts are very good and one of the best beer styles you can end a evening with.

Based on my scale I would give it a 5- or similar, together with Thirsty Dog Siberian Night Imperial Stout and Bells Expedition Stout that are still my favorite Imperial Stouts.

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