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Right Beer, Wrong Weather: Imperial Stouts in New York - February 2002There's probably not a more appropriate setting in the United States for a tasting of Imperial stouts than New York's Russian Tea Room in late January. The Imperial theme, the big beer-friendly time of year, the expected cold and possible snow outside. It would all be uniquely and singularly perfect.Or at least it should have been. No one likely could have predicted the balmy, spring-like weather that overtook New York this past January 27. The afternoon I spent walking in Central Park, frequently doffing my jacket in the heat; the evening I would spend sampling a baker's dozen of the biggest and most intense stouts brewed in the U.S. and Britain at a tasting sponsored by Ale Street News. An odd experience, to say the least, but I for one was not about to complain. The first beer I tasted at the reception prior to the four-course sit-down meal was perhaps the roastiest of all I would sample that night: draught Imperial Stout from the Southampton Publick House. This small Long Island (NY) brewery first caught my attention a few years back when I tasted their outstandingly authentic Saison at the Great American Beer Festival, and virtually every one of their beers I've tried since has carried on that impressive legacy, including this silky, bitter chocolate-accented beauty. The other beer served was the classic Samuel Smith Imperial Stout from England, but with a mild dose of light-struck skunkiness hampering the Smith's flavour, the Southampton won the first round hands down. The second flight featured the 2000 and 2001 versions of the kegged Imperial stout from New York City's Chelsea Brewery. Relatively soft in aroma and mild in flavour, neither vintage tasted anything remotely like its more than 9% alcohol content, with more fruitiness and an oatmeal-like softness in the newer beer and a slightly winy character in the older vintage. Although I was later told that the menu was developed independently from the beers that were to be tasted alongside each course, the Chelsea duo paired wonderfully with the crab cakes served beside them, creating the best beer-food match of the night. Pennsylvania's Victory Brewing provided the runner-up for roastiness in the guise of their Storm King, the centre beer of the next flight. It was served with rare roast beef tenderloin and the Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout and California's North Coast Brewing's Old Rasputin. The latter beer continues to impress me every time I taste it, with a fully-integrated flavour and a character that virtually defines the style, while the Brooklyn stout proved once again why it remains that brewery's most talked-about beer, a fact acknowledged by brewmaster Garrett Oliver when he introduced this trio. The most anticipated beer of the evening appeared in the fourth flight: a 1993 vintage John Courage Imperial Russian Stout. The last of this beer ever made, it was exciting in aroma with a complex mix of prune, raisin, port and licorice notes, but disappointed somewhat with a thinnish body that showed only a glimmer of the richness the beer must have once boasted. Its companions - the 1999 and 2000 vintages of A. Le Coq Imperial Extra Double Stout, brewed in England by Harvey & Son - both boasted a tar-ish richness and forceful bitterness, with the older of the two showing a more closely integrated character and the 2000 version offering an aroma and flavour dominated by strong black licorice. All three of these stouts were definite sipping beers, and I could have taken considerably more time with each than was allotted. It really wasn't fair to include the Raspberry Stout from Weyerbacher Brewing of Easton, Pennsylvania in the final flight, as I thought the fruit flavour seemed rather out-of-place after such an onslaught of massive beers. Despite this, however, I was left with the definite impression that I would enjoy this stout in another context. In this particular situation, though, I preferred to stick to the seriously substantial Rogue Imperial Stout from Oregon and the even bigger Worldwide Stout from Delaware's Dogfish Head Brewing. At 18% alcohol, the Worldwide was the strongest beer in the world for about five minutes in 2000, and in my opinion, it remains for the present the most immediately enjoyable ultra-strong brew I've ever tasted. Boston Beer's Millennium Ale may be stronger at 20%, but it's a beer for a decade down the road. Worldwide Stout was and is a beer for any time, even a spring day in January.
Feedback?We're very interested in your news, notes, comments and questions, so please feel free to contact SBWoB by clicking on the link below. Or you can add your comments when you sign up for the World of Beer Update, a mid-month e-mail newsletter that brings even more of the world of beer to your computer. Send Feedback To: beaumont@worldofbeer.com Bright Beer - Kitchen Table Tastings - Feature - Taste of the Month Copyright 1997 - 2006 © - Stephen Beaumont |