Tonight's brew review looks at Saranc's Imperial Stout - a beer with whopping 9% alcohol content, or roughly double the alcohol level of most beers. Saranac introduced its limited edition (aka the High Peaks Series) in 2006 with the Imperial IPA. In late 2007, Saranac expanded its horizon by offering the Imperial Stout.
The label indicates that the High Peaks series offers beers that are "more complex and flavorful, beers that are meant to be sipped and savored." The first time that I had one of these, I did not read the label and learned quickly that you can't drink these with a meal the same way that you would a pale ale or lager. This beer is one stout that carries its name. Indeed, twenty minutes after I poured the beer into the glass, there was still about a 1/4 inch of rich tan foam on top of the glass.
Speaking of glass, I specifically utilized a picture of the beer that also included the Weizen glass that I used to drink the stout. During my beer education, I have learned that various glasses will allow for completely different experiences when drinking the beer. This particular type of glass allowed the chocolate notes in the beer to come out without increasing the bitter aftertaste. I even gave my wife Sarah sips from the glass and bottle and asked her opinion. She concurred that the beer definitely had better flavor from the Weizen glass, but she is not a big fan of stouts so to her this was the lesser of two evils.
Saranac Imperial Stout is a very dark beer that needs to be drunk on its own after the meal. I have on occasion tried stouts with chocolate cake and found that they do work well together (although Brooklyn's Dark Chocolate Stout was even too heavy for chocolate cake). I would not recommend it to be drunk with a meal unless you have something else to drink and the Imperial Stout is just on the side.
Saranac Imperial Stout is under the Kosher Supervision of the Vaad of Detroit as are all beers brewed by Saranac. For the experts' take on the Imperial Stout please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/39272 .
As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.
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