Night Stalker - Goose Island Beer Co.

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BA SCORE
92
exceptional
-
1,252 Ratings

rAvg: 4.1
pDev: 15.12%
Reviews: 708
Hads: 544

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Goose Island Beer Co.

Illinois, United States

Style | ABV
American Double / Imperial Stout | 11.70% ABV

Availability: Rotating. bottle (599), on-tap (84), growler (25).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

Reviews

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Reviews by ThisWangsChung:

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

2.35/5 rDev -42.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Bottle says 11.5%. 22 oz bottle poured into a Duvel tulip.

A: Pours a pitch black color. The head is a one finger light tan color with poor retention. There's splotchy hints of lacing left down the glass.

S: Hey, someone misplaced catty Simcoe hops in my imperial stout! That green, citrusy aroma is unmistakeable. Underlying roasted malts, tart fruits, and cocoa powder try to balance things out, but there's something oddly medicinal in the nose. Please don't carry over to the flavor...

T: It's not as harshly bitter as I feared...actually, it's too far in the opposite direction; more on that later. A bit of roasted coffee appears initially, before ending with a lot of bright fruit sweetness and a bit of booze. The finishing hops bring along a significant grapefruit presence - actually, the finish is downright candy like in its sweetness combined with the chocolaty, fruity flavors. It's just like biting into chocolate-covered grapefruit. Without a doubt, it's too sweet at the end of the day - I really need some roasted bitterness here (if not some herbal, piny hop qualities too) to balance out the citrusy/chocolaty nature. A bit of hop harshness appears when the beer warms up, which doesn't balance things any.

M: A bit thinner and more carbonated than I expected from the base of BCBS. The finish is quite sweet and lingering, which kind of kills the drinkability in conjunction with the booze presence. Despite the sweetness, it doesn't feel sturdy or substantial like it should.

O: Not what I was expecting. This comes across like a glorified citrus-and-chocolate dessert liquor instead of an awesomely balanced hoppy RIS; I REALLY wanted more hop and roasted bitterness. All the Simcoe dry-hopping gives it such a weird cloying flavor that's even a bit unpleasant. Time to cork this bitch up - no way I can drink this in a single sitting.

---

Readjusting my scores; I sampled about 1 oz. from another bottle (also dated 11/19/12) and it tasted exactly the same - there's far too much strange sweetness and offputting citrus character. I'm still torn on whether it's infected or just not very good, but I'm lowering my scores regardless. Two bottles tasting exactly the same doesn't bode well for this batch, if not the beer in general.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 04:27:32 | More by ThisWangsChung

More User Reviews:

Nihilistkid

Illinois

4.5/5 rDev +9.8%

05-19-2013 05:32:55 | More by Nihilistkid

jakeox

Illinois

3.5/5 rDev -14.6%

05-18-2013 23:32:54 | More by jakeox

Photekut

Azerbaijan

3/5 rDev -26.8%

05-18-2013 20:53:06 | More by Photekut

jono0101

Missouri

4.5/5 rDev +9.8%

05-18-2013 16:30:44 | More by jono0101

Honus1

Ohio

4.25/5 rDev +3.7%

05-18-2013 02:45:14 | More by Honus1

darvinlikemarvin

Iowa

4/5 rDev -2.4%

05-17-2013 18:30:36 | More by darvinlikemarvin

SHerninko

Pennsylvania

3.39/5 rDev -17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

2013 - Craft Ale House, PA
ST-Draft for Goose tap takeover.
A-dark, stout, not much lacing, typical
S-Smell was sweet stout mixed with a strong chemical smell. It smelled like ground black pepper was poured on top.
T-followed the smell, good basic stout, but then some weird syrupy strong cough medicine taste and more black pepper.
M-apart from the taste it was smooth and creamy.
O-I had a sample luckily, not sure if I could have finished a whole bottle or full pint. I've been told the recipe has changed as they moved back to brew this again after some time off?!? InBev may have messed this brew up a bit. I have a 2011 bottle and I will compare that to this fresh tap version.

Serving type: on-tap

05-17-2013 13:32:22 | More by SHerninko