Grand Teton - Black Cauldron Imperial Stout

Alrighty... lets do this. My partner in beer reviewing crime just posted a great review of his Boulevard Smokestack Series. Yes, another imperial stout on the same night. Our bad... deal with it. Upcoming nights will prove to be more diversive. And no, thats not a word... but eff Microsoft Word and eff you Webster elitists!! Back to the point... Dunz's beer review is one beer that I have been looking to buy for a while now and from his review I think Ill be picking up a bomber or two to age and see how this beer tastes some time from now.

BUT, thats not why I'm writing. Lets see what this Grand Teton - Black Cauldron Imperial Stout has in store for us.

Grand Teton brewery is the original brewery of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. They have been brewing craft beer for patrons of Yellowstone since 1988. Along with being Wyomings first brew pub their flagship amber beer at the time, "Teton Ale" is what set them on the map. Since then, Grand Teton, formerly known as "Ottos Brewing" has been producing 10,000 barrels of craft beer annually. You can find more information about this brewery in the following link.

http://www.grandtetonbrewing.com/Main.html

Appearance - Pitch black with a deep brown head. After the pour, a foam ring lingers around the edge of your pint reminding you of the alcohol level that comes standard with the imperial stout characteristics that you would expect to assault (own, pwn. dominate?) your palate. Try holding this one up to the light... good luck seeing through it.

Aroma - Bring on the molasses! While not overpowering, a sweet aroma comes forward with a subtle hop aroma bringing up the rear... heh... rear.

Taste - Here is what me thinks... I think this is a very unique, big stout. I love the roastiness that this beer doesn't emphasize. Its there, but its not the primary characteristic. Its a background flavor in this imperial stout. However, with that, the roast thats in this beer helps accentuate the smoke thats prominent. Its not a campfire smoke that you expect from your "smoke" labeled brews... its a nice accent (yet again) to this imperial stout. You have a solid sweetness up front from the residual sugars left behind in the fermentation process which unfortunately doesnt go away in the finish. Plus, you get your standard raisin and fruit notes from your good imperial stouts.

Mouthfeel - Smooth like silk. Enough carbonation to hold up the light body. But with an 8% abv we are looking at a slightly less bold mouthfeel than your typical 10-12% craft imperial stout.

Drinkability - At 8% I wouldnt want to drink to many of these on a Tuesday night. But I wouldnt be opposed to it on a Saturday. At this abv ill have a few but with the sweetness of the beer and the mildly cloying finish I wouldnt be one to drink more than a few in a sitting.

Overall (3.9 out of 6) - Not quite something that I would rush out to buy but definitely worth giving a shot. Comes in a four pack so you are looking at a little more dollar for your beer-buck but I would recommend it. The flavor justifies the boldness of the beer. You will need to enjoy a sweeter stout in order to appreciate this four pack. Its not going to knock you socks off but it will provide a nice deviation with its subtle smoke characteristic and provide for a good, unique imperial stout experience.

Specifications
Original Gravity: 20 Plato (1.080)
Malts: Idaho 2-Row Brewers, CaraMunich, Carafa Special & Beechwood Smoked
International Bittering Units: 43
Hops: American Chinook & Styrian Goldings
Alcohol by Volume: 8.0%