The Dark Side

STATS

  • Country: United States
  • Style: Russian Imperial Stout
  • ABV: 9.1%
  • Serving Type: 355ml Bottle
  • Price: Slightly Pricey

Easter Monday has to be one of the most boring days of the year, only mildly better than Good Friday because the footy is on! It’s another cold and wet day in Melbourne so what better way to warm me up than a big U.S. stout!

Victory is brewery that I am quite familiar with having had 4 of their other beers before. Judging by the quality of all of their other beers this Imperial Stout will be good. That’s enough of an intro, I really want to drink this.

This beer pours an almost opaque black colour with a good sized light tan head. The beer appears to be quite thin for the style. The head is made up of quite big bubbles, and the retention is average at best. There is little to no lacing, which is not uncommon for a stout with such a high ABV. All in all it’s a pretty good looking stout, hopefully it drinks well.

For an imperial stout the Storm King is not particularly aromatic. What aroma there is, is mostly roasted malts with a hint of chocolate. There is a hint of alcohol towards the end of the nose as well. It is surprisingly hoppy for a stout, I don’t think I’ve ever smelt a stout with as much hops on the nose, it’s quite incredible! I can’t wait to taste this now!

Victory’s Storm King is very different to most stouts out on the market. The body is quite thin for a stout but the flavour is full-on. The flavours of chocolate and coffee are both normal for stout and the roasted malts are naturally strong flavoured. The strange part about this stout is the strong floral hop flavours, it really adds a new level of complexity to what is already a delicious stout.

Most stouts I find difficult to drink on a regular basis, this one is so good I think it could become a fridge regular over the rest of winter. I think the relatively thin body helps the drinkability of this stout and the overall nature of this stout isn’t slightly sweet. The malts are roasted to perfection which adds a beautiful smokey texture. If you like stouts you need to try this one, it’s right up there in my books!

Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!