Beer of the Weekend #190: Samuel Adams Imperial Stout

As usual, I gave and received the gift of beer today. Saucy, my sister’s boyfriend, received the first custom six-pack I have ever built, and I have to say I did a damn good job. I gave my cousin a sixer of Pilsner Urquell. In turn, I received two four-packs of very special beer, one of which I will sample tonight and the other I will save for next week.

Tonight’s beer came from Saucy: Samuel Adams Imperial Stout, brewed by The Boston Beer Company of Boston, Massachusetts.


Serving type: Three 12-ounce bottles. Saucy had one bottle Wednesday night. I guess this pack is now mine for a reason. No discernable freshness date on the bottle.

Appearance: Straight pour into a tulip. As the Samuel Adams website says, the color is just a touch away from opaque black. A pathetic half-finger of cappuccino tan head developed and dissipated quickly, leaving a bubbly ring around the edge.

Smell: Slightly toasted chocolate, coffee, caramel, dark fruit, and black licorice.

Taste: It’s boozy, but the ABV is not overpowering; it still leaves a little room for the flavors to make themselves known. Roasted coffee is most noticeable, followed by chocolate, caramel, and dark fruit. Maybe I am just getting a cold or something, but the flavors are all hanging out in the background and are very faint.

Drinkability: Thankfully this was given to me. It’s a decent brew, but there are definitely better imperial stouts out there (at least one).

Fun facts about SAIS:

-Style: Russian Imperial Stout.

-Price: No clue. It was free-ninty-nine for me.

-Serving temperature: The side of the carrier suggests a serving temperature of 55ºF.

-Alcohol content: 9.2 percent ABV.

-Food pairings: The Samuel Adams website recommends eating oysters with SAIS.

-Gravity: 22º Plato.

-SAIS was first brewed in 2009.

-Each 12-ounce bottle of SAIS contains 307 calories. Damn. As if I need any more of those today.

-Along with suggesting a serving temperature, the side of the carrier also suggests serving SAIS in a “narrow tulip.” My Allagash tulip is all I got, so I’m going to use it.


The Quiet Man’s grade: B.

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