Toaster - 4th Anniversary Imperial Stout - East End Brewing Company

boralyl

Oregon

4.9/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A - Pours a massive dark mocha head. The head sticks around for a long time and leaves a very thick ring of lacing after it finally settles. This beer is dark as they come, with no light coming through at all.

S - A nice big aroma. Lots of brown sugar, some dark chocolate and some faint hops.

M - Full bodied with good carbonation. Very creamy, almost silk like. Goes down ridiculously smooth.

T - Dark roasted malts, with plenty of toastiness in the mouth. A bit of cocoa and coffee. Brown sugar is present throughout in varying degrees. Finishes with some hops and a nice warming feeling from the alcohol. Speaking of alcohol it's hidden very well.

A superb imperial stout. Extremely drinkable with a vibrant nose and lots of flavor. A must try.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2009 01:31:25 | More by boralyl

DavoleBomb

Ohio

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Poured into a pint glass. 4th Anniversary.

4.5 A: Dark as night color. One finger of thick creamy rusty/copper colored head with good retention and tons of lacing.

4.5 S: Big aroma. Lots of toasted malts and lots of burnt notes. Semi-sweet chocolate, caramel, and toffee. Very nice.

5.0 T: Again it lives up to its name. Tons of roasty toasty flavors, but this time no burntness. It's easily the most toasty stout I've ever had. Sweet maltiness that is not quite matched by hop bitterness. Sweet chocolate and toffee.

5.0 M: Lighter heavy body. Incredibly smooth for a high ABV brew. Can't even tell there's any alcohol other than a subtle warming. Creamy as hell. Well done.

5.0 D: There's a reason this is sold in 1L bottles (other than the sustainability thing). Full in flavor, but there aren't any dominating aspects.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2009 02:44:41 | More by DavoleBomb

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.72/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Fantastic beer from a great brewery. Pours viscous and ultra-black with a very dark head, similar to Ten Fidy, but perhaps not quite as tall, dark brown and tight, like coffee crema. Smells rich with licorice, molasses, roasty notes, and bitter chocolate. Excellent flavors. Tastes like Scharffenberger Chocolate to start- vinous, bitter, and complex over a nice roasty stout base, and a touch of rounded molasses sweetness to tie it all together. Balanced and delicious. Firm and rich in the mouth with some slight tannins to give it some backbone. Really nice!

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2010 14:28:21 | More by Georgiabeer

CrazyMacHarris99

Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 1 quart flip top. Pours a thick black engine oil with a thick dark mocha head. The smell is strong burnt malts with a hint of chocolate and coffee. The taste has a quick bite which mellows out to a creamy thick milkshake mouthfeel. Drinkability is low with this one but then again, it is the amped up version of East End's amazing Blackstrap Stout.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2009 09:15:46 | More by CrazyMacHarris99

wingman14

Ohio

4.63/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

4th Anniversary labeled on the Bottle.

Pours like motor oil, thick and black, with the darkest brown head I've ever seen. The smell is sweet with nice chocolate and burnt notes. The smell leads into the great taste, starting sweet with some fruit notes, that are very different for a heavy stout, but are very well done and complement the beer very nicely. The flavor moves to a malty taste, then finishes with a nice burnt/smokey flavor. The smoky flavor lingers in the aftertaste inviting another sip. The mouthfeel is as heavy as they get with a smooth liquid velvet feel. This is a great beer, with nice drinkability, an amazing stout that everyone should check out!

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2009 05:04:42 | More by wingman14

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.63/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Ohh yeah. I was beyond happy to land a bottle of this. Easily one of my most sought after big stouts, this one just had to accompany me this past Friday. Served chilled, but not too chilled and poured into a pint glass, this one was split with my brother in law and consumed on 07/31/200p.

Appearance 4.5 - Poured deep and dark black. Rich looking with no light peaking through at all. A huge tan head of foam comes up and over the top, only barely settling down as time passes. Lots of foam on top with rich side glass lacing. Really nice look here.

Smell 4.5 - Roasted malts, hints of molasses and caramel and an abundance of coffee undertones light the way for me here. Really nicely done. As it warms some touches of vanilla peak their head out and really start to show off quite nicely.

Taste 4.5 - Smooth, even from the first sip I relished in the smooth flavor that was exhibited on this one. Rich roasted malts covered notes of cocoa and coffee. A burn molasses like taste and a hint of delicate hops as it faded. Very sweet with undertones of vanilla and brown sugar all over it.

Feel 4.5 - Full bodied with a nice rich feel to it. Carbonation was near spot on and even after 30 minutes or more it was still going very strong. No complaints at all, in fact it was very, very solid.

Drinkability 5 - I could have drank this one all day, and I am not kidding. It was just that smooth and enjoyable. Rich notes of vanilla coming through at the end were the icing for me. ABV all but hidden.

Overall 4.55- Very well done here. I was not sure what to expect going in but I was more then pleased with the end result. This was a very nicely done RIS and something I would like to see come back one day.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2009 02:10:29 | More by mikesgroove

Gyle41386

South Carolina

4.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bottle into a tulip. Consumed at a tasting with a handful of fellow BA's. Review is from tasting notes.

Huge thanks to khiasmus for sharing.

Pours pitch black. This pour is the definition of a motor oil pour. Three fingers of creamy chocolate head. This beer looks perfect.

Aroma is of milk chocolate and roasted malts. The name Toaster is appropriate, as there is a toasted grain quality in the nose and flavor, like a slice of bread left in the toaster for a little too long.

This is a pretty hoppy stout. The roastiness is very nice. I'm not much of a roast fanatic, but I enjoyed it here. Again, this is literally toasty.

The mouthfeel is the highlight here. Thick, viscous feel. Super rich and creamy. Tremendous coating. Just awesome feel.

Very drinkable Imperial Stout. Unbelievably good.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2009 06:05:13 | More by Gyle41386

khiasmus

South Carolina

4.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

It's another nightmare. The fourth in as many nights. The black oozes into my brain yet again, the jagged edges of my sight slowly being overtaken by the dense darkness. I look up and see the head, as dark as coffee beans, capping this bloody darkness. It lingers, it lasts, moussy, and I drop into the black abyss, out of sight. There is no escape, there never is, from the claws digging into my spine, into my heart.
Burnt grain, burnt grain, burnt grain, burnt grain, and then a hop, the earth, the hops of the earth, earthy ones. Dark roasted barley, and the earthy, earthlike, the chasm, hops. And the black. Patent, absurd, complete. Black Patent. yes. The dark. And milk. Black milk. Imagine. No, not milk, but milk stout. The Peculiar sweetness. And then the embracing silence, and bitter darkness of earth herself.
And thick, the darkness, this chewy-thick, the dark thick-chewy, milky black, heavy-resistant... The mud, the black closing in, and dry. A thick bitterness, one that can be felt, the flavor of blackness, of dark, an ancient evil inviting me to taste and savor, to give myself over to her, to the dark, the lonesome, thick, sweaty black mud, the embrace of nothingness, of a sledgehammer to my head... I want another. I want more. These tastes of hell, of the inseparable feeling of oneness with nothing, the density of jagged edges lurking, stealing their way into my brain, my vision, all I can remember...
I want more.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2009 03:28:45 | More by khiasmus

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Huge bottle split with oglmcdgl. Thank you so much for breaking this gem out.

A- Toaster is a flip top bottle and once it opened a faint sound followed. This toast was burnt to oblivion with a deep dark black tar like presense. It oozed out of the bottle filling a large snifter. A very sturdy almost whip cream like brown head stayed on top FOREVER. This left sheets of thick film on the glass. This stuff looks great.

S- Toaster is for sure toasted with deep roast like scents and some smoke as well although the smoke is not in the forefront. It took a while for toaster to open up but once it did it left traces of burnt, charred wood, roasted malts, deep chocolate and some faint coffee.

T- Lucious malts just pouring out roast and bittersweet chocolate. I had a few sips and just waited 20 minutes so it would really shine. More roast and just a bit of char and smoke. In the middle comes some coffee and vanilla beans. While I dont know the ABV on this I am sure it is high but it is hidden so well. Also if I look for it hard enough some bacon comes to mind. Toaster is a good candidate for breakfast, on your day off.

M- Thick, and even more thick when I come to think on it longer. This stout is full bodied and lightly carbonated but full flavored. The alcohol is not a problem at all. This one needs to be sipped for maximum pleasure.

D- Not so sure of the ABV but the way im feeling afterwards tells me it's high. Either way this is highly drinkable and goes great with some worthy chocolate pieces. This was a great addition for east end's 4th anniversary beer and here's hoping to many more. Still need to try homewood reserve and other's but it's going to be hard to top this. I guess some aging would not hurt this beer but it's pretty much perfect at the present moment.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2009 02:11:14 | More by onix1agr

Wasatch

Utah

4.5/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks goes out to Hojaminbag for this brew.

Swing-Top Bottle

Poured into a chalice a thick black color, very nice carbonation, with a nice thick/creamy tan head, with some nice islands and sticky lacing around the edges. The nose is malty, toasty/roasty, with some chocolate/toffee/coffee notes, also a good dose of caramel. The taste is sweet, malty, with a nice roasty/toasty note, vanilla, with lots of chocolate/toffee/coffee/caramel. Medium body, this is a tasty, smooth, creamy brew, slight bitterness on the finish. Very drinkable, not sure of the ABV, but it can't be much, or it's hidden very very well. Thanks Ben!

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2009 20:04:16 | More by Wasatch

rudylaw

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to my man ericwo for this! Sampled tenth in a ten stout tasting and finishing third.

Pours black with a nice creamy tan head. Looks very beautiful and to the style.

Smells like roasted coffee beans with hints of caramel, toffee and chocolate.

Tastes exactly the same but with vanilla as a welcome undertone. This is going down much too easily.

This is medium-bodied and is shockingly drinkable! I was expecting a huge coffee bomb and that's what I got. A perfect selection to end the evening.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2009 14:16:07 | More by rudylaw

koopa

New Jersey

4.43/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle purchased at Capone's in Norristown, PA

Appearance: Classic murky black with small dirty khaki crown that rapidly dissipates and leaves little lace.

Smell: A world of good things going on in this glass....vanilla, oak, roast malt, a tinge of alcohol, etc.

Taste: Lots of oak and vanilla sweetness up front which then pass the torch to the deep roasted malt goodness. Not very coffee like, which is nice.

Mouthfeel: Lite side of heavy bodied with minimal carbonation.

Drinkability: Goes down surprisingly well for this type of beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2009 22:16:19 | More by koopa

billab914

Virginia

4.43/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 1 liter swingtop into my Devil's Backbone tulip. It poured pitch black with a dark chocolate colored, bubbly head covering the top of the beer.

The aroma shows a lot of roasty and smoky flavors to it that I'm really enjoying. Some sweeter molasses and milk chocolate come out in it as well. Really nice aroma to it, I loved the smokiness.

The taste also has a very robust smokiness to it. Dark chocolate mixes with some sweeter caramel and molasses flavors. Everything blends together very well. I really loved the flavors in it, especially the burnt smokiness.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied for the style with carbonation being moderate. It's a little slick feeling as well. Overall I thought it was a great beer that has really held up well. I absolutely loved the smoky and burnt flavors it had. It still managed to be pretty smooth and drinkable as well.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 18:03:28 | More by billab914

brentk56

North Carolina

4.4/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pitch black color but not much in the way of foam or lace

Smell: Roasted malt with dark fruit and chocolate

Taste: Chocolate and dark fruit up front with a growing roast and coffee edge by mid-palate; after the swallow, there is plenty of coffee and roast in the finish as well

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Another fine beer from East End with lots of dark fruit subtleties to accompany the chocolate and coffee

Thanks, northyorksammy, for the sample

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2010 02:30:28 | More by brentk56

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Been sitting on this one for quite some time. There is a nice smoked tone on this one that lingers. Real thick malts and a real thick body overall. Super smooth feel on it and extremely easy to drink as well. I honestly was expecting something different from this one, but I am still liking it. Too bad it's a one-off.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 05:36:17 | More by RblWthACoz

Hojaminbag

Colorado

4.38/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Toaster has a deep, dark, black body that light seems to find absolutely inpenetrable. A dark brown head foamy head with very large bubbles sits on top. The head shows above average retention but only leaves spotty lacing.

A noticeable bitter chocolate aroma that reminds comes with lots of roasted notes.

This one is tasty. Chocolately up front, with chocolate flavors ranging from bitter dark chocolate to flavors. A touch of toffee comes through from behind the chocolate. Finishes with a rather intense roasted flavor and some very slight hop astringency in the background. Maybe a touch of warming here from the alcohol, but not much.

Thick, creamy, full bodied. A great mouthfeel.

For a stout that is 11+% ABV, the alcohol was prettty damn enigmatic in here. Another winner from East End.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2009 20:03:52 | More by Hojaminbag

smuttanator

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

First off, I rarely care about the appearance of a beer, but this one looks perfect. It's ink black color caught my eye as I was pouring it. The taste is great, featuring a lot of smoked and burnt notes. I wish the mouthful was thicker to match the appearance. All in all a very solid RIS.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2009 02:29:10 | More by smuttanator

rhinos00

Colorado

4.38/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Been saving this bottle for a while now. Split three ways. Poured from a bottle into a wine glass.

A- Pours a dark, chocolate brown. Zero clarity. Produced a tan, mocha colored head that reduced to a ring. Some lacing as the beer was consumed.

S- Toasted and chocolate malts are noticeable. Also picking up some layers of caramel and dark fruits as well.

T- Chocolate malts and some raisins / figs are the first to hit the palate. From there toasted malts takeover...very unique because while prominent, there was no hint of burnt malts. Finish is slightly robust with the toasted malts, but has an additional sweetness from caramel malts and dark fruits.

M- Looked super viscous. However, it wasn't quite as thick as it looked. Medium to heavy bodied, with a hint of silkiness.

D- Very drinkable. My sample disappeared rather quickly.

Overall, this was a very good beer. I usually don't take to overly roasted RIS that well, but this was one managed to get those flavors without the burnt qualities. Well done.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2009 20:07:47 | More by rhinos00

mgbickel

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes (04/25/2010)...

Big thanks to Stigs for bringing this one to our late night, six people in a small room, tasting!

Split a few ways with Stigs and dtx000 and our gals. Poured from a 32oz bottle into various glass(and plastic)ware. Formed a nice, 2 finger mocha colored head that stuck around for some time...small amounts of fluff coated the side of my glass (yeah...real glass)! The body is thick, solid and black.

The nose is dosed heavily with black coffee, dark chocolate and roasted malts. You can also detect some hints of molasses and maybe even some cream in the background.

Wow...the taste follows the nose. Starts off with a roasted malt flavor the turns a little sweet toward the middle. This fades into the finish which finds a (almost acidic) black coffee bitterness.

The mouth feel is on the thicker side, creamy and oily with mild carbonation.

This is a great stout that I am thrilled to have tried. It is very drinkable and I really wish that Scott would brew this again!!

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2010 14:12:42 | More by mgbickel

paco1029384756

Illinois

4.35/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle thanks to thebouch01.

Pours a deep black color with a short dark brown head and a sharp, smooth ring of very sticky lacing.

Scent of coffee, chocolate, roasted malts, molasses, earth, smoke, dark fruit, and a hint of oxidation. Finds a nice balance among the variety of characters.

Taste of smoke, charred oak, fresh oak, tobacco, earth, chocolate, spice, roasted malts, sugars, ash, and some dark fruit. One of the most complex Imperial Stouts I have come across, and remarkably balanced for the complexity.

Mouthfeel is medium heavy bodied and biting, nice, but the bit of carbonation is a bit too much for the style.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2009 22:20:29 | More by paco1029384756

DrJay

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Looked thick and dark during the pour with low carbonation. A fine, dark brown cap appeared slowly, then formed a thick ring after settling a bit. Sheets of bubbles coated the glass. Great head retention. No edges that I could detect - this stuff is black. Roast and burnt aroma, cocoa and toffee, faint leafy hops, slight sour cherry and alcohol. A bit fruity as it warmed. Malty and sweet with moderate hop bitterness that lingered in the finish. Dark malts contributed additional bitterness and a bit of astringency. Dry roast and burnt notes melded with the sweeter chocolate and toffee flavours. Alcohol was present throughout, but stayed mellow. A bit fruity up front, but that became more noticeable as it warmed. Great balance. Full bodied with low carbonation, fine bubbles, quite smooth, mild warmth. Quite an easy drinking big stout.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2009 20:00:39 | More by DrJay

tpd975

Florida

4.3/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Huge Thanks goes out to the LEGENDARY ibrew2or3 for this one.

A: Pours a beautiful dark jet black hue. Nice tall creamy mocha head that seems to last and last. Lace, yeah there is enough here to weave a doiley or two.

S: More like toasted than toaster, but this baby is shiny and new. To say the malt is roasted is an understatement, that is unless it were to be roasted in hell. Burt malt up front with hints of smoke, dark chocolate, and over roasted coffee.

T: It is very much roasty in flavor as well, but not to the level of the nose, which is a good thing. Wonderfuly roasted malt with just a touch of smoke. Decadant chocolate and dark roast coffee. Very tasty and complex.

M: Full bodied. This one clings to the glass and your jowls.

D: It's a bold brew, but one that is a real joy to sip.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2009 21:11:18 | More by tpd975

glid02

Georgia

4.3/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Had this courtesy of Georgiabeer - thanks!

Pours pitch black with a one-finger dark brown head. The head slowly recedes into a thin pancake on top leaving solid lacing. This is a dark beer.

Smells of deeply roasted malts with hints of chocolate and coffee. As it warms the roasted aromas grow even stronger - the smell is living up to the name.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Charred malt flavors up front are backed by unsweetened chocolate and hints of coffee - both in small quantities. The roasted flavors carry through until the solidly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a very nice thickness with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is good. This is one of those that's easy to drink for a glass or two but then the quality that made the first two so easy to drink make the next two hard to drink. That sentence may or may not have made sense.

Overall this is an IS that went crazy with the roasted flavor and turned out well. Definitely worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2009 15:11:42 | More by glid02

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.3/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bought this at Capones a year or so back. Don't feel as if the extra time did this beer any harm whatsoever.

The beer pours a very dark, blackish brown color with impressive coffee colored head with very good retention and lacing. The nose on this beer is also impressive, with a considerable amount of coffee, dark chocolate and leather. As good as this beer smells, it really tastes that much better. Flavors replicate the nose on this moderately sweet stout, but I appreciate the hoppy, bitter finish, and the notes of licorice at the end. The hoppy bitterness counters the moderate sweetness very nicely, making for a pretty well balanced RIS. Mouthfeel is very full and rich, with a mouthcoating presence on the palate. Drinkability is pretty good, with the alcohol very nicely integrated into the flavor profile. You can still tell it's up there a bit, but this beer is not at all heavy or tiring.

Very nice beer from East End. Maybe the best thing I've had from them yet.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2010 21:12:21 | More by johnmichaelsen

nickd717

California

4.3/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

1L bottle thanks to bring. I should also thank DavoleBomb, who sent me one in a trade, but I have yet to crack that bottle.

This is a black one - dark as hell with a lasting brown head and some lacing.

Aroma is roast, chocolate, anise, and molasses. Nice.

Flavor is really intense, very roasty and a little hoppy even. Coffee and dark chocolate as well. Complex and very tasty.

Drying roasty char on the palate with very full body and a slick mouthfeel.

A very good RIS overall. Always good to try a new awesome one from my real home state of PA.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2010 06:30:58 | More by nickd717