Slipstream Brewing ‘Anniversary Ale 3’ Imperial Stout

Rating:

It’s our birthday. Time to party!

“We don’t need to celebrate with cake because this year’s Anniversary Ale is like a rich coffee cake drizzled with melted chocolate. It’s seriously smooth and dangerously moreish.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: As black as the ace of spades with a short brown head. It holds together well and leaves some spotty lace behind.

Aroma: Slightly shy. We’ve really gotta dig our noses in to get a good whiff of the coffee, chocolate, roasted dark malts, subtle charred wood, dark fruits and licorice. We also get an undertone of slightly tart dark berries like blackberry or cherry. Not too bad, would have loved a bit more oopmh from it though.

Flavour: Again, indulgent notes of coffee, dark and milk chocolate, some vanilla, ash/char and subtle smoke but it’s just a little hesitant. The booze is producing some heat late in the mid and leads in to a rather aggressive finish with lingering coffee roast and charred malt.

Mouthfeel: No where near big and full enough for the style. It’s smooth, yes, but too light on. Good Co2, slightly creamy texture. 10% ABV is a bit too bullish.

Overall: Definitely has some good traits but there’s no skirting around the issues – intensity (in aroma and flavour), a little too boozy and not enough pizzazz. A bourbon barrel aged version perhaps?