Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: An Imperial Stout For The Common Man

  1. #1
    Mergie Master's Avatar
    Mergie Master is offline Dedicated Tamiecide Practitioner
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Saluca (not Saluda)
    Posts
    71,579

    Default An Imperial Stout For The Common Man

    Finally, An Imperial Stout For The Common People



    A couple weeks ago, when we were talking about seasonal beers and all the attendant backlashes and forelashes that come with their increasing popularity, commenter Hamilton Porter made the excellent point that some of the exaggerated hand-wringing stems from the odious cultural trend of "basic-shaming."

    Let's not dive too deep into that pit of bullshit, but the general premise is that if there's anything worse than being the sort of hipster trash who drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon just because all the rest of the dirty-haired skinny kids do, it's being one of the lame-ass sheeple who need a calendar to figure out how to navigate the beer cooler.

    While I can't condone judging anyone's beer choice too harshly on cultural or aesthetic grounds—I'll say a beer sucks, and that if you drink it you're making a sucky choice about beer, but I won't say it makes you an inferior human being or in some way unfit for any particular corner of society—I do accept the theory that if something tastes good in January, it probably tastes just as good in July. But even though I agree with the science of it, I have to admit that I drink more pilsner in the summer and more porter in the winter. I do 95 percent of my drinking in climate-controlled settings, so the weather should have no bearing on my beer decisions, yet it does.

    And so, when people tell me it's cold outside (how else would I know?), I find myself leaning toward imperial stouts. This can be a dangerous direction, because most of these high-flavor, high-alcohol beers have even higher price tags. You can get a 22-ounce bottle of nice stout for around $4, but the price goes up a few bucks per adjective; if you want one of the really deluxe oak-aged anniversary-edition imperial coffee stouts, you're up into double figures. This is why I love Victory Storm King Imperial Stout, one of the few super-stouts (9.1-percent ABV) that's sold year-round in reasonably priced six-packs.

    It's black. It smells like a ton of stuff, including raspberry vodka and sweetened coffee. It's quite hoppy for the style, which gives the chocolate a nice, deep bitterness that outlasts the sweet roasted coffee and dark fruit; in fact, the hops are potent enough to lend a clear, if faint, pine-resin edge that gives it an extra dimension lacking in even some of the most famous imperials. The finish is fairly balanced, leaning bitter, and once the initial sweetness fades, a very dark chocolate impression sticks around forever.

    This may not be one of the world's very finest imperial stouts, but it is excellent when price and accessibility are accounted for. I think it's the best version available in a $12 six-pack, and it keeps forever (mine says it'll hold till 2019), so get yourself a dozen today to keep on hand for when the mood strikes out of nowhere and you don't feel like braving the snow—or the humidity, your call—for a $20 collector's item.
    The Elites don't fear the tall nails, government possesses both the will and the means to crush those folks. What the Elites do fear (or should fear) are the quiet men and women, with low profiles, hard hearts, long memories, and detailed target folders for action as they choose.

    "I here repeat, & would willingly proclaim, my unmitigated hatred to Yankee rule—to all political, social and business connections with Yankees, & to the perfidious, malignant, & vile Yankee race."

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Banks of the Wateree
    Posts
    41,929

    Default

    There's nothing worse than a hipster beer nerd. I find wine snobs less vain.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Athens, GA
    Posts
    530

    Default

    It's all about the duck rabbit milk stoudt


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    “To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.”

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •