Narwhal Imperial Stout - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

RoamingGnome

Wisconsin

4.3/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Tasting Notes from 11/2/12. Poured from 12oz bottle into CBS snifter. This was served at cellar temperature.

A) Pitch black as expected. Nice thick 2 finger mocha head, which settled to a dusting relatively quickly. Decent lacing+ some legs.

S) I found the aroma pleasant, but not as pronounced as I expected. Dark roast, light coffee, malt sweetness that came off like brown sugar+ vanilla, kind of like a cookie dough. There was a whiff of booze.

T) Wonderful... Heavy roast+ some coffee flavor. Plenty of chocolate, and pleasing sweetness. Then some nice earthy hops for a little bitterness. The alcohol gives a little warmth, but is well hidden.

M) Rich, quite supple... This has a full body, with light carbonation. Feels rather thick, but goes down nice and smooth. Good aftertaste...

O) Excellent RIS right here. I enjoy a little extra hops in the flavor, and kind of expected that from SN. I love their regular stout. This one is a fantastic sipper for the cold months ahead. Glad to recommend this beer...

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2012 04:24:30 | More by RoamingGnome

fitrock2112

Ohio

4.56/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured Narwhal into a Belgian Tulip.

A - The liquid pours black as midnight with a finger of mocha head. Classic looking stout here.

S - At first sniff I'm getting dark chocolates, bitter coffee, luscious roasted malts. Again, classic Imperial Stout characteristics.

T - Bakers chocolate right off the bat, more coffee, some bitter malts and hops. Wow, this is a quality beer here. This beer does have some more bitter hop flavor than some Imperial Stouts, but this is very nice. A touch of licorice.

M - Smooth Imperial Stout, heavy mouthfeel with medium leaning towards low carbonation. Ahhh so nice.

O - Quality beer by Sierra Nevada. Highly Recommended! Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2013 00:42:44 | More by fitrock2112

Jacob007

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev -3.6%

06-19-2013 23:48:23 | More by Jacob007

Feel_the_Darkness

Virginia

4/5  rDev -3.6%

06-19-2013 23:14:53 | More by Feel_the_Darkness

b-one

California

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%

06-19-2013 02:03:32 | More by b-one

wezzul

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

06-18-2013 21:51:57 | More by wezzul

spw109

New York

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

06-18-2013 01:39:09 | More by spw109

bcuz7

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

06-17-2013 23:15:22 | More by bcuz7

PaleZombie

Arizona

4.16/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a stout glass.

A - Deep brown almost black. Cloudy, very little head. When held to the light I could not see through it but there were some sediment chunks of junk floating on the side of the glass.(Im not a fan of sediment)

S - Somewhat mild sent. Deep roasted malts, some coffee, small amount of chocolate, a mild floral hop note.

T - The taste is what is the best on this one. Up front you get smacked with rich somewhat bitter chocolate, some coffee, with a strong coffee bitterness, maybe some raisins, and a little bit of hop finish. Very bold but pleasant.

M - Smooth, creamy, somewhat syrupy, little carbonation.

O - This is pretty good, the smell and sediment was the only downfall.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2013 18:14:12 | More by PaleZombie

Teleweizen2

New Jersey

4.23/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Narwhal

A - squid ink black. A pinky fingers worth of deep tan foam.

S - very chocolatey with a slight touch of roast. Notes of cocoa powder and dark chocolate sauce. Light hints of grindy city roast coffee. Hints of cherries in the center.

T - doughy and chocolate flavors up front. Almost like a dark chocolate version of Nutella spread on italian bread. A hint of alcohol come through with a touch of coffee. Blackstrap molasses notes collide with earthy hops with hints of tree bark and pine. Finish is dry almost tannic but with a note of dusty chocolate to smooth it out.

M - thick and rich. Full bodied and high carbonation.

O - great stout. Sierra Nevada just knows how to make exceptional beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2013 03:39:49 | More by Teleweizen2

huysmans

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%

06-16-2013 13:34:43 | More by huysmans

anson42

California

4/5  rDev -3.6%

06-16-2013 02:17:36 | More by anson42

blt2646

New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%

06-14-2013 21:43:48 | More by blt2646

Matthewpakula

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

06-14-2013 16:57:03 | More by Matthewpakula

DoubleSimcoe

New York

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

06-14-2013 03:01:57 | More by DoubleSimcoe

Mersh

Connecticut

4/5  rDev -3.6%

06-14-2013 02:14:14 | More by Mersh

AuzBlackhand

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -15.7%

06-13-2013 20:35:13 | More by AuzBlackhand

djre4orm

Virginia

4/5  rDev -3.6%

06-13-2013 19:26:04 | More by djre4orm

andysc83

South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

06-13-2013 03:17:12 | More by andysc83

SebD

Ontario (Canada)

4.28/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: It has a beautiful jet black color to it. It has a nice thick dark tan head that stays around for ever and leaves lovely lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of sweet roasted malts, coffee, chocolate and dark fruit.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has a some sweet roasted malts, bitter coffee, dark chocolate, some dark fruit and an earthy hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: It has a low carbonation with a nice overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with great flavors and aromas.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2013 20:45:51 | More by SebD

JMUbrewz

Virginia

4/5  rDev -3.6%

06-12-2013 19:33:16 | More by JMUbrewz

gleemonger

California

5/5  rDev +20.5%

06-12-2013 17:51:39 | More by gleemonger

TKEbeerman

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%

06-11-2013 01:29:02 | More by TKEbeerman

PincheNorteno

Michigan

3.19/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Picked up a single 12 oz bottle, poured into a pub glass. It was a bit underwhelming. How does this qualify as an imperial stout? My benchmarks for this class is Bells Expedition Stout, and Narwal seemed more like a porter.

The mouthfeel was far too light and the flavors were not intense enough for me.
Dark roasted malt flavor, medium body, notable clarity and overall thinness. Thin tan head, hints of soy sauce and mild bitterness. I tested this beer in a selection of a dozen stouts and it was near the bottom of my list.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2013 16:21:34 | More by PincheNorteno

geocool

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -15.7%

06-09-2013 10:06:13 | More by geocool