Pothole Filler Imperial Stout
Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Company

Pothole Filler Imperial StoutPothole Filler Imperial Stout
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From:
Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Company
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV:
9%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.03 | pDev: 9.43%
Reviews:
77
Ratings:
207
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 23, 2021
Added:
Sep 07, 2008
Wants:
  25
Gots:
  44
This beer is a strong, inky dark ale, brewed with 6 malts and blackstrap molasses. It is a thick beer, with an intense roasted barley flavour, with notes of chocolate and licorice.

65 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by strang:
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Rated by strang from Canada (AB)

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%

Sep 13, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.23 by mistahmojoryan from Canada (SK)

Oct 23, 2021
Photo of BPVandenbroek
Reviewed by BPVandenbroek from Canada (AB)

4.09/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pothole Filler Imperial Stout fills my glass with a viscous beer that is as black as anything I’ve ever seen. The head is coffee and cream colored, and is decently lasting.
Taking a sniff, this imperial stout is enticingly fragrant. The aromas are rich, roasted, malty, and sweet with much underlying complexity. Up front aromas of milk chocolate combine with rich caramel malt and the requisite aroma of roasted grain. Aromas of damp earth, leather, dates, and tobacco add complexity. The complexity in Pothole Filler’s nose is surprisingly delicate, given the deep and intense nature of the style of beer. Slightly leafy hops make their presence known before fading into the background.
On the tongue, Pothole Filler is full bodied, smooth, and lush in its fullness. Roasted grain makes its presence known before moving into a full flavored malt sweetness. Malt sweetness seems like a combination of general dark malt sweetness combined with roasted grain and a general booziness, which shouldn’t be surprising given the beer’s brute alcoholic strength. All of this moves into a grassy, leafy hop finish before fading slowly into the night.
This is a wonderfully rich, powerful, and complex example of a Russian imperial stout. What impresses me most is how the beer gives you complexity without being so full of complexity as to be all but undrinkable. Rather, this is a fine, strong ale to drink by the fire on a cold, winter night.
Feb 04, 2021
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Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle from Tres Bonne Cuisine. Dark,inky black, small beige head. Dark roast aroma,ashy. taste is big roastiness, gets, dry and chalky, also sticky.. Chocolate, burnt toast.
Jan 03, 2020
 
Rated: 4.11 by Eric_Standard from Canada (BC)

Oct 08, 2019
 
Rated: 4.6 by Chrism11565 from Canada (BC)

May 06, 2019
 
Rated: 4.06 by IPAnicked from Canada (BC)

Apr 05, 2019
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Rated by Rikkicarey from Canada (BC)

4.69/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
My go to stout. I buy it every time I see it for sale just to make sure they never stop producing this fabulous stout.
Mar 11, 2019
 
Rated: 3.76 by Latarnik from New Jersey

Feb 17, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by kylehay2004 from Illinois

May 26, 2018
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Reviewed by BlackBeerPirate from Illinois

3.71/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Taste: Rich roasted black malt, molasses smoked, some alcohol bite. Bold oak malt sweet nose. Very dark brown, mostly opaque tan refined head some lace. Full body. Sticky mouthfeel. 65 IBUs
Mar 26, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Mar 10, 2018
 
Rated: 4.26 by jgarvis from Illinois

Feb 04, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Walleybeer from New Jersey

Jan 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4.5 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Jan 01, 2018
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Reviewed by ChrisCage from Canada (AB)

4.26/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
A- This one pours a very dark brown....almost black color and seems to have good clarity all things considered. The head is lovely with a solid two finger thick foam layer covering the liquid and it is nice and dense....plenty of wee tight bubbles that maintain their composure and slowly settle down into a caramel colored thick layer. Lacing also appears to look good, as there is a good number of small sticky protein pockets clinging to the side of my glass!

S- This has an interesting smell.....definitely sweeter than a normal Imperial Stout. Dark chocolate, coffee and burnt woody aromas give way to the molasses used in this, which brings a clever baked molasses cookie richness, as well as cashew/almond hints....like a burnt almond chocolate bar. The finish seems to linger, again being a mix of sweet and dry....caramel and/or dried fruits, yet Earth tones.

T- This is good! It reminds me somewhat of a Milk Stout in terms of sweetness, but it has a yeasty/creamy character throughout the taste. Dark chocolate, creamy almond bark, mocha and slightly astringent blackstrap molasses sweetness are the main flavors, along with background notes of char, Earth, bittering cocoa, nuttiness, heavily toasted malts, vanilla bean, cooked brown sugar, and a sweet, turning into a quick bitter hop finish....this lingers on for a minute before another sip is in order!

M/O- Medium-full bodied, I feel like there is something to chew on here! The carbonation is creamy smooth and as the appearance suggested, bubbles are in fact wee tight and really allow the flavors to come through on the palate! The alcohol is well hidden and the velvety feel makes this a highly drinkable Stout! I would be happy to enjoy this on any given night, and it really calms down the stomach after a big meal! Full marks and I recommend it! I will seek out again!
Nov 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4.02 by csmrx7 from Canada (AB)

Nov 07, 2017
 
Rated: 4.1 by DrBass from Maryland

Sep 03, 2017
 
Rated: 3.69 by Coronaeus from Canada (ON)

Aug 03, 2017
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Reviewed by ScruffySouthpaw from New York

3.98/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served in a pokal glass, not my first choice.

Appearance: Thin brown to black body with medium bubbles creating a thin tan head rising just about a quiarter of an inch at best off the body.

Smell: You smell brown sugar and malts.

Taste: Sweet brown sugar and heavy malts. The bitterness might be a tad overhwhelming at first but you need a bit of time to let it warm up and the flavors become an espresso infusion you will like a lot.

Mouth: Medium carbonation, very sticky with a slight sour after taste.

Overall: Nice pick-up which didn't even cost much, shared it with my parents and both of them approved. Always in a glass my friends. Salud.
May 07, 2017
Pothole Filler Imperial Stout from Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Company
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 207 ratings