Yeti Imperial Stout - Great Divide Brewing Company

TheBrewo

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

We pour a syrupy brew of the deepest chocolate brown. It holds a one finger head of medium to dark brown bubbles. This bubbles away, showing nice retention. Sheets of lacing are left, softly adherent to the sides of the glass. Carbonation appears slow but active, and no haze or sediment is noted. The nose shows deep complexity of roasty malts, with heavy chocolates, coffee, and caramel malt notes. These retain sweetness, and don’t take on too much of a char. Molasses, black cherry, and frank melted toffee add to this sugary quality. With warmth comes stinging ethanol, mineral, metallics, and solid buttery diacetyls. Our first impression is that it is not nearly as sweet as the aroma might suggest, but it is robust as hell. As we sip, bittering char blackened chocolate hits the palate hard for an instant pucker. Soy sauce saltiness, more milky, creamy chocolates, metallic coffee malts, and cooked caramel sweetness follow shortly thereafter. Booze hits at the peak, with equally as bittering coffee and chocolate malts that suck even more residual sweetness out of mouth. Molasses sugars, as in the nose, come back through the finish, with smoke, leathery char, cooling vanilla, and faint musk. The faintest grassy and soapy hops come here as well, but this is greatly subdued. The aftertaste breathes bitterly, of light char, those same ghostly hops, sticky sweetness of caramel and toffee, mineral, and fusel booziness. The body is full, syrupy, and thick, and the carbonation is medium. There is great slurp, smack, cream, with outstanding froth. The mouth is coated with chalky dryness, and the lips are left sticky. The abv is big, but appropriate, and the beer sips nicely once to temperature.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the nose. The aromatics were bold, sweet, warming, and inviting all in one. The froth and stickiness to the mouth was equally as pleasant, adding to the tactile portion of the experience. It is easy to see why this is the base for such a fantastic Russian Imperial series, as the flavors follow nicely. It does lean towards the bitter side, but completely within the stylistic guidelines, making for a tasty, winter treat.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2012 17:41:41 | More by TheBrewo

megamass

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -5.7%

05-26-2013 02:44:01 | More by megamass

Morockm

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -5.7%

05-25-2013 22:42:49 | More by Morockm

apanloco

Sweden

1/5  rDev -76.4%

05-25-2013 17:50:39 | More by apanloco

jtladner

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev -11.6%

05-25-2013 11:28:46 | More by jtladner

RayUF07

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%

05-25-2013 05:57:57 | More by RayUF07

tmaestro

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%

05-24-2013 21:36:06 | More by tmaestro

In_Control_Mike

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +6.1%

05-23-2013 22:53:00 | More by In_Control_Mike

Boston_Steve

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%

05-23-2013 22:46:28 | More by Boston_Steve

4balance

Oklahoma

4.5/5  rDev +6.1%

05-23-2013 16:25:40 | More by 4balance

csfcmitchell

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +6.1%

05-23-2013 15:52:29 | More by csfcmitchell

Mcvs1507

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +6.1%

05-23-2013 04:26:14 | More by Mcvs1507

Isotope

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%

05-23-2013 02:43:59 | More by Isotope

Callmecoon

California

3.75/5  rDev -11.6%

05-23-2013 02:26:45 | More by Callmecoon

JReites

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%

05-23-2013 02:09:11 | More by JReites

VirginiaJeff1

Virginia

5/5  rDev +17.9%

05-21-2013 19:35:04 | More by VirginiaJeff1

PlinyBeMiney

California

4/5  rDev -5.7%

05-21-2013 07:46:55 | More by PlinyBeMiney

Ctrauty

Minnesota

4/5  rDev -5.7%

05-20-2013 01:45:57 | More by Ctrauty

Gtreid

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%

05-19-2013 23:45:05 | More by Gtreid

drgonzo2k2

California

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%

05-19-2013 23:19:54 | More by drgonzo2k2

Zachtheporter

Wisconsin

4.4/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Really great RIS. Lots of great stuff going on here. There's plenty of chocolate, toffee and sweet milk notes, as well as notes of port wine and leather. Great mouthfeel, nice and smooth while still having a small bite at the end (for an RIS). I actually almost prefer this more than the Espresso Oak aged version which I tried side by side with this for the first time. This really is an awesome beer, but not my favorite of the style. It's really good, but it didn't WOW me (I was expecting it to be good anyway.) Due to the fact that it's impossible to get in my area I probably wont be going out of my way to seek this out again seeing as though there are just so many other things I want to try out there. All in all good beer though.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 16:11:34 | More by Zachtheporter

ShawnMH

Indiana

4/5  rDev -5.7%

05-19-2013 15:41:44 | More by ShawnMH

ystazi

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%

05-19-2013 04:14:15 | More by ystazi

Burkbom23

Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +6.1%

05-18-2013 02:50:01 | More by Burkbom23

carlosega

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%

05-17-2013 17:24:17 | More by carlosega