Smuttynose Brewing Company in Portsmouth, NH

When we first started pouring the Smuttynose Imperial Stout out of the Smuttynose Big Beer line, we were all hoping it would be slightly better than their Maibock–it was a disappointment to say the least. And since we didn’t know much about the Smuttynose company, we did a little background research on the Imperial Stout. That’s when things started to get really strange. For some reason, this company has had a run-in with the government. A couple of them, it seems. The description of the Imperial has a couple of different caveats as they relate to Uncle Sam. The strangest one is their deletion of a word related to the description of an imperial stout, the reason given being: “Since Uncle Sam won’t allow us to describe the term Imperial Stout accurately, here’s a link to the Brewers Association Style Guidelines.” So, um, that’s weird. Also odd is the note that says you can find reviews of the Imperial on RateBeer and Beer Advocate, but that federal laws bar them from linking to the sites. Seriously, Smuttynose, how did you piss off the government like this? No other brewery is freaked out like this. Do you put anthrax in your beer? If so, keep it up, because your Imperial Stout creamed the Maibock. But what are you hiding, Smutty!?

Pouring a dark espresso color that smelled of iced Turkish coffee, the Smuttynose Imperial Stout looked like quite a fine imperial with a heaping head sitting atop the potent sludge. At least if this was going to be a poisonous or anthrax-filled beer, I’d be going out on a high note. The taste wasn’t overly sinister, though, with a good and creamy sweet-roasted chocolate taste coating the mouth almost immediately. The viscosity on this one was super high, with a good creaminess that blended well into the cascasde of chocolate malt near the endnotes. Subsequent sips made this beer seem even tamer than initially suspected, with a subtle sweetness creeping around the mouth like an intruder. The creaminess never subsided, and an almost nuget-like flavor complimented the other well-rounded elements of this beer. Not your average Imperial Stout, that’s for sure.

So maybe this beer isn’t as dangerous or scary as some of the fine print on Smuttynose’s website might suggest, but whatever the brewery did wrong to begin with, they should keep doing it. This is a prime example of an Imperial Stout that doesn’t get too wild and crazy and doesn’t fall back on overwhelming sweetness for its main character trait. This is a well-rounded and beefy stout that packs the punch of an imperial but remains drinkable. Their Maibock may have fallen flat, but the Imperial Stout is a true winner in our books. Whatever you did to piss off the government, Smuttynose, we’re big fans of. You keep on keepin’ on.