March Brew Review

Storm King Imperial Stout

Victory Brewing Company / Downingtown, Pennsylvania / victorybeer.com

Pours opaque black with amazing head retention. Aroma of plums, mocha coffee, and faint anise with an alcohol nose comparable to barleywine. The taste brings intricate flavors of biscotti, toasted almond, bread crust, dried red fruit and bittersweet chocolate. Alcohol moderately warms the mouth, then finishes quite bitter, yet pleasantly with a creamy and full mouthfeel. Storm King is an impressive and complex dessert stout that stores and cellars for up to five years.

appearance: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | mouthfeel: 4.5 | drinkability: 4.5
4.60 overall

Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 9.10%
Availability: Year round
Sample Size: 12oz glass bottle

Pairings:
cheese: razor sharp cheddar
cuisine: chocolate mousse

glassware: snifter
price: $10.99 6/pack

Guinness Draught & Smithwick’s Ale (All Irish Black & Tan)
Dublin, Ireland / Guinness, LTD

The first brew pour is Smithwick’s with an amber color and intentionally no head. The nose has subtle roasted malts and faint hops. Next, Irish stout from the Guinness Draught slowly pours over the Brütül turtle that trickles on top the Smithwick’s. The famous Guinness surge appears and the creamy tan head assembles at the top of the glass. Nose is dominant of light malts and coffee. Taste mellows and is not overly exciting for a stout, but is pleasant. The roasted malt is most noticeable with a lightly creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Guinness’ body is thin to medium. As the brew knocks back, the Smithwick’s arrives with a suitable amount of nimble caramel and toffee up front with a malt backbone. Mouthfeel is light bodied that rummages for more hop character. Finishes clean with smooth drinkability.

appearance: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | mouthfeel: 2.5 | drinkability: 4
3.25 overall

Styles: Dry Stout & Irish Red Ale
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): Avg 4.35%
Availability: Year round
Sample size: (G) nitro-can & (S) glass bottle

Parings:
cheese: paragon, provolone
cusine: smoked salmon, hearty Irish stew

glassware: pint glass / mug
price: (G) $7.49 4/pack (S) $7.49 6/pack

Style Profile:

To prepare an All-Irish Black & Tan, first fill a glass halfway with Smithwick’s (pronounced Smit-icks), then add the Guinness Draught from their nitro-can with the widget rocket. The top layer is best poured slowly over an upside-down tablespoon or a Brütül turtle (purchase at Brutul.com or Spec’s) placed over the glass to trickle over the ale to avoid splashing and mixing the layers.

Russian Imperial stout is a strong, high alcohol, complex stout originally brewed back in the 1800s in London to impress the Tsar of the Russian Imperial Court.