Review - Matt Brewing Company's Saranac Imperial Stout
"Mt. Marcy, Skylight, Algonquin...Majestic Adirondack High Peaks - They are the inspiration for our "High Peaks" series, a line of beers that are bigger, more complex and flavorful; beers that are meant to be sipped and savored. The second in our series, Saranac Imperial Stout, is brewed with eleven malts to balance a delicious chocolate and coffee roasted flavor with the spicy herbal character of the generous kettle and dry hops. At 50 IBU's this beer captures the essence of the Adirondacks. Enjoy!" -- Matt Brewing Company
Pours a deep dark brown color producing a minimal head with some thin wispy texture. Body has settled still with very little transparency. Aroma is astringent with some cleaning agent notes (notely Windex) with a grape-like wine nose and moderately sweet malts with moderate levels of alcohol. Initial taste is full of robust roasted malt flavors with a significant coffee notes, along with some sweetness in the background. It finishes slightly bitter continuing with the roasted malts. Medium bodied, it has an oily mouthfeel with a moderate alcohol presence. Soft carbonation with sweet chocolate.
We\'ve kept this one sitting for almost a year, waiting to be reviewed. It was worth the wait. The alcohol is subtle and doesn\'t sneak up on you, but is very smooth to drink. Very good offering from Saranac – maybe their best.
Reviewed on December 14th, 2008.
