Blue Point (Sour) Cherry Imperial Stout - Blue Point Brewing Company

Hibernator

Massachusetts

4.16/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Blue Point Sour Cherry Imperial Stout
22 oz brown bottle
Served in a 20 oz tulip glass

Pours a pitch black, reminiscent of ink. Opaque in appearance as I contrast the beer to background light and nothing penetrates. A thin ring of a head forms on top with a sudsy light brown form.

Dark roasted coffee notes with a smokey background and a faint whiff of candy sweetness.

Each sip provides flavors of dark chocolate and espresso. This is a super malty brew, an interesting imperial stout that intertwines a reasonable amount of cherry sweetness. Perhaps a tad sour as advertised, but nothing overwhelming. One thing I particularly like is that the cherry profile is subtle and not artificial tasting like some other beers.

Think Cellas Chocolate Covered Cherries in pure liquid form with a deceiving and surprising 9% ABV. This is a nice lil sipper on this Friday evening as I watch the Red Sox game.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 00:26:05 | More by Hibernator

KTCamm

New Jersey

3.74/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Poured from 22 ounce bomber into a perfect pint glass.

Pours very dark brown, bordering on black, touches of foam. Faint cherry smell, light malt. Taste is a fruity malt, with a robitussen like cherry taste. Bit of a bite at the end. Not very sour. Sherry hints, backed with chocolate. Takes some getting used to - essentially a fruity stout.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2013 11:51:36 | More by KTCamm

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.81/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Served on-tap at Rattle N Hum in New York, NY

A: Pours an opaque jet black in color with minimal amounts of visible carbonation and some light amounts of cola brown highlights. The beer has a half finger tall off-white head that reduces rather quickly to a medium patch of very thin film and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of dark and roasted malts along with sour cherries.

T: Upfront there are light to moderate flavors of dark malts and roasted malts. Moderate flavors of sour cherries which get a little stronger as the beer warms up. Light hints of alcohol.

M: Medium bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth.

O: I really enjoyed the flavors of sour cherries in the imperial stout style - I found it to be interesting and a touch unique but enjoyable. Alcohol is well hidden and this one is easy to enjoy sipping on for a while.

Serving type: on-tap

04-14-2013 19:58:07 | More by dbrauneis

stakem

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2.75

Bomber into a tulip, the brew pours black in color with a khaki finger of head. The cap displays decent retention but as it fades leaves a webby pattern of lacing effect on the glass.

The smell includes noted of cocoa and some earthy roasted grain aspect. A little bit of dirty to vegetative character emerges in the nose across the back and increases in character as it warms up. Overall the smell of this is quite yeasty.

The flavor includes cocoa and chocolate grain, mild roast. Quite an abundant amount of yeast fills the profile with some mineral elements that are not that enjoyable. This is a marginal stout with some off character. Where are these mentioned cherries? Sour what?

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. This has a well masked alcohol inclusion but is certainly not tart nor sour at all. The overall yeastiness and mineral aspect found in this brew make consumption a bit of a chore. With or without the advertised cherry character I would avoid this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2013 18:37:20 | More by stakem

nickfl

Florida

3.95/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours with one finger of medium brown foam on top of a black body with just a hint of ruby showing through. The foam settles at a moderate pace and leaves nice lace.

S - Chocolate, light cherry, and a bit of caramel.

T - Thick, sweet malt up front with notes of chocolate and nutty caramel. Some fruity character comes out in the middle with a bit of espresso and a finish of cherry, coffee, and molasses.

M - A fairly thick, syrupy body, moderately low carbonation, and a sweet finish.

D - Not bad It delivers on the cherry in the flavor more than the aroma. There is some coffee and other roasty character, but it mostly focuses on dark sugar. It borders on cloying, but doesn't quite get there. It is drinkable enough, but it would need some barrel aging or something else to make it anything special.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2013 08:03:16 | More by nickfl

alpinebryant

Connecticut

3.74/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A: Pours a dark chocolate brown color with little to no head at all. Some tiny bubbles at the edges.

S: Aroma of sour cherry, deep roasted malt and some mild base malt aromas.

T: A nicely rounded sweet malt and sour cherry flavored imperial stout. There is nothing overpowering on either end, instead the flavors just seem to meld well together. Prickly carbonation that adds to the sour flavors and there is a chalky finish on the end, reminding me of a lactose like chalkiness that I think is from the strain of yeast used here.

M: Prickly stinging carbonation and a medium body. The carbonation is way to high in my opinion and takes this down a notch in my opinion. The mouthfeel/body otherwise is pretty good.

O: Overall its a decent stout, but nothing is really begging me to revisit this. I guess this has beaten my expectations in terms of flavor. Bluepoint can make good beer, I just have not had anything in a long while that really knocked my senses out. This at least seems to be a notch up from some of their seasonal releases that are less than exceptional yet tolerable.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 22:24:02 | More by alpinebryant

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A-Pours very dark. Light doesn't penetrate much. Thin tan head is barely consistent. Very light lacing.

A-Well, the label correctly states "sherry notes" all over the place. A pleasant mix between fruit and roast. Chocolate-dipped maraschino cherries. Not an excessive amount of tartness. The nose is very unique. It has its goods and bads. The charred notes remind me of an extinguished matchstick. Digging the sherry aroma.

T-The flavor is on par with the nose. Again, there are positives and negatives. The sherry flavor is present but its not really close to being sour at all. Chocolate and coffee with some maraschino cherry added in. Flat Dr. Pepper. Still sticks close to its RIS roots.

M-Body isn't too viscous or heavy. Light carbonation. Alcohol hidden well. Slightly sticky.

O/D-I was expecting it to be a lot crazier. I think the use of the word 'sour' on the label is bold. When you judge it just on its flavor and disregard the information behind it and its name its a pretty neat brew. I am happy to try it.

P.S.- I am awkwardly ecstatic that I didn't get any gross cough-syrupy/medicinal cherry extract flavor. I often find such a flavor in (non-lambic) beers that somehow institute cherries in the brewing process. Kudos to Blue Point for that.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 03:28:19 | More by VelvetExtract

ColForbinBC

New Jersey

2.49/5  rDev -34.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

22oz bottle poured into a snifter

A dark brown, near black, body with a fizzy brown head that falls quickly. Nothing special to look at.

The nose has an odd metallic note along with a cherry/vanilla aroma. The cherry notes are almost sweet, like maraschino, as opposed to sour. I also get a faint metallic note. Not off to a good start here...

No sour cherry, but plenty of sweet cherry/vanilla. Almost like a cherry--vanilla milk stout. Some extremely mild roast and metallic notes poke through. As it warms, the metallic notes seem to fade a bit, but it doesn't help this guy.

Medium body, smooth and creamy. Easily the best thing this beer has going for it.

I didn't get sour cherries at all and that is a major disappointment. This beer just straight up failed to deliver.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2013 19:01:09 | More by ColForbinBC

AlexFields

Tennessee

3.71/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Appearance is pretty typical for a stout, dark brown/black color, average looking brown head, solid appearance but nothing special.

Smell is awesome, this smells like a chocolate cherry milkshake, emphasis on cherry and milkshake. Nothing sour about this.

Taste is a little more tame, still sweet cherry/vanilla ice cream character, mild sweet chocolate, but the fruit aspect is more tame and this is closer to a typical stout. Tasty but much less so than I hoped from the smell.

Good beer and worth drinking it again. If the taste were a little more like the smell this would be something really special.

7.3/10

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2013 04:53:40 | More by AlexFields

beerluvr

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Alrighty, poured into the Duvel tulip and it produces a decent dark khacki head that doesn't stick around too long. Pretty much your standard opaque black heavy stout as far as color goes. The nose, hmmmm I get a whiff of sourness I'm assuming is from the cherry addition but barely any true fruit aromas. Beyond that is a medium roasty note...that's all I get. I like the mouthfeel, smooth and not super carbonated. The taste is comprised of roasted malt with verrry slight cherry sourness...I get a hint of phenols too...I will say the 9% ABV really isn't a throat burner. It's finishing more like a robust Porter than an Imp Stout. I expected a bit more "bigness" in all areas with this one. This is a one timer for me.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 02:06:40 | More by beerluvr

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.65/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Pours maogany with a thin layer of mocha head. Nice viscosity, some head retention & lacing

S: Choke cherry, raisin & carob

T: Baker's chocolate, sour cherry, faint coffee notes, figgyness & dark chocolate up front. This takes on sweeter chocolate flavors as this warms, along with more figgyness & some cocoa powder & some cherry tartness. Finishes slightly dry, with dark fruittyness & chocolate sweetness

MF: Medium bodied, slight carbonation, actually thins out a bit as this warms

Drinks easy enough, but was hoping for way more from this one. Lack of body doesn't really help the cause, but the ABV is well hidden, worth a try

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 22:27:42 | More by russpowell

jtierney89

New Jersey

3.3/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Super super dark brown with a thin brown head that fades extremely quickly. Smells faintly of a chocolate shop or one of those dark chocolate covered cherry candies. Nice sweet smell but has roasty burnt malts as the dominate smell with some coffee as well.

Pretty good and pretty standard as far as imperial stouts go, definitely sweeter though and without enough bitterness. I would sooner call this an american double stout rather than a russian imperial one, hops are low on this. Nice roasted coffee flavor through out, sweet chocolate and dark chocolate flavors. Cherry flavor is extremely subtle but it's there. Sourness is there in a weird acidic flash on the back of the tongue with the swallow. There is a nice cherry flavor that lingers on the tip of the tongue. It's a pretty good beer but dont expect a lot of sour or cherry flavor if thats what your looking for but it is there. Actually with each sip, the lingering flavor tastes more and more like a dark chocolate covered candied cherry. Body is a little thin though and the beer gets a little acidic.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 04:54:39 | More by jtierney89

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Black as night. The head was small and the lacing doesn't take much effect. Looks okay in my new Courvoisier snifter glass (Xmas present).

The aroma is a little muddled. Some tanginess in a berry sense. Cherry? Yeah, it's there. There's also some medicinal aromas permeating.

Lightly tart black cherry and sour grape flavors. Reminds me of a wine barrel-aged stout. There are also some rich malty roast flavors; dark chocolate, burnt grain, and reduced caramel syrup. Not too sweet. Contrastingly, a bit too tangy. Maybe it should have just been more tart. I still like drinking this.

The feel is the winner here. No stick, no pucker; just a smooth and soft body with nice thickening and an appropriate light carbonation. Silky. Alcohol was also very well-maintained here.

Cherry had a strange presence here, and I wouldn't call it 'sour'. It's an average to above-average Imperial Stout, overall.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2013 03:00:00 | More by thecheapies

Brad007

Vermont

3.83/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a pitch black with a one-finger head into my glass. It's pretty much the bog standard as far as appearance goes.

Roasted coffee, cocoa and a hint of cherry in the nose. Warm and inviting to the nose. It had better be good.

Flavors are coffee, cocoa and some tart cherry. It's not as prevalent as I had hoped but it's there.

Body feels a bit thin towards the back of the throat. Carbonation is excellent regardless because you don't get the "burn" from the alcohol.

Not bad but I've had much better. Give a try though!

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 23:43:30 | More by Brad007

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle served in a snifter.

L - black with a tan head that thinned to a light layer leaving trails of lacing.

S - cherries jump out at first with plenty of roasty aromas in the background.

T - the cherry flavor is subtle as the roasted malt and coffee flavors make for a complex good tasting brew.

F - medium bodied with a creamy, smooth feel.

O - this is good.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 00:21:31 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

duracell

Quebec (Canada)

4.55/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Farmhouse tap and grill, Burlington, VT. 9.0% ABV.

A - Pitch black color with light brown creamy head. Excellent lacing and medium retention.
S - Very balanced between malt (roasted and toasted) and cherries with a hint of floral hop which completes perfectly the blend. I would keep my nose into it forever.
T - Flavors start with aromatic hops and sour cherry. Then come coffee and chocolate notes and finishes with roasted malt which adds a certain dryness that lingers forever.
M - Slightly tart from the cherry. Was expecting a stronger sweetness along with the assertive bitterness. Very smooth overall.
O - Cherry is not overpowering as it could be in other similar brews. Great balance and well thought out. Would have liked more residual sugar but that being said this IS is close to perfection!

Serving type: on-tap

10-21-2012 02:15:12 | More by duracell

Tschnab

New York

3.95/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- the pour is a pretty classic RIS pour, black with a mocha brown head.

S- dark malts and raisin come out the most, as well as dark chocolate and cherries.

T- It is a medium bodied RIS, not as much coffee as I would like, but the rest is on point. Sweet raisin, sweet malt, sweet raisin, dark chocolate. Coffee flavors are sort of there but more would make this beer even better.

O- a nice RIS here. Unfortunately, this is a type of beer with some fierce competition, and it falls right in the middle of the pack.

Serving type: on-tap

04-25-2012 14:21:38 | More by Tschnab

alexkeil

New York

2.63/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This is a very nice looking beer. Overall it didn't work for me. I was hoping the sour cherry would help balance the sweetness of the malts used for the stout; however, the cherry added more sweetness and reminded me of sweet stout with cough medicene. I think it needed more bittering hops and maybe a different type of cherry if fresh cherries were used.

Serving type: on-tap

03-31-2012 14:07:46 | More by alexkeil

mdfb79

New York

3.48/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Had on tap today at Fireworks in Arlington, VA at their Blue Point Steal the Pint night. Served in a tulip.

a - Pours a very dark brown, almost black color, with one finger of dark tan head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of roasted malts, metal, light sour cherries and dark fruits, and bitter dark chocolate. At first there was a weird metallic smell, but as it warmed up it got much better, and more dark fruits came out. Bumped it back up from a 2.5 to a 3.0.

t - Tastes of dark chocolate, roasted malts, coffee, lightly bitter hops, and dark fruits, though not very sour. No metal at all, much better than the nose.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. Pretty smooth body and no alcohol evident.

o - Overall a decent beer. The nose was weird and metallic at first, but got a ton better. Not overly sour but a good beer, worth checking out once.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 23:02:36 | More by mdfb79

One2Remeber

Florida

3.65/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass.

A: Creamy, khaki colored head sits for several minutes after pour. Leaves silky film after each sip. Body is black with a dark brown hue.

S: Potent aroma of real cherry, so heavy it blankets any other smells. There is a medicinal, cough drop presence.

T: Cherry through out, with hint of milk chocolate on the back end. Straight forward in taste, not complex by any means.

M: Full bodied with a silky smooth touch. A slight bubbly carbonation feel lets the flavors shine.

O: Not in love but still impressed. For the style it is spot on. Rich body with full flavor, smooth and drinkable, not filling.

Serving type: on-tap

03-13-2012 02:14:49 | More by One2Remeber

DapperGrowler

District of Columbia

4.35/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I tried this beer on tap at the Blue Point Brewery on Long Island.

A: The beer was black. It truly had a “Imperial” vibe.

S: Malt, taste of chocolate and coffee

T: Dark malt taste with a slight cherry taste on the back of pallet.

M: This is a great beer, nice heavy (full) mouthfeel.

O: This is a unique beer. I really enjoyed it, although the cherry taste tasted slightly like syrup.

Serving type: on-tap

02-07-2012 16:33:54 | More by DapperGrowler

merc7186

New York

3.93/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

darkI had this beer on tap at Crabapples in Cheektowaga NY, poured into a pint glass.

A: Dark Opaque Hue, Passes No Light, Great Foamy Brown Head, Great Lacing

S: Dark Roasty Malts, Milk Chocolate

T: Dark Roasted Malts, Light Cherry Syrup, Chocolate

M: Great Carbonation, Full Bodied, Smokey, Dry

Overall, a really good Stout that isnt boozy or overly fruity, nice balanced flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

02-02-2012 04:03:09 | More by merc7186

angelogarcia3

New York

4.88/5  rDev +29.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Had this beer at Bobbique in a pint glass. The beer is dark as midnight with a slight reddish tinge. The head is tan with again a slight reddish tinge. The aroma is of chocolate with a hint of cherry. The first sip is heavy and thick with flavors of milk chocolate, cocoa, and a hint of cherry. Don't let the name fool you, this beer is not sour or bitter at all. Making it a fantastic beer that went very well with the BBQ combo platter we had.

Serving type: on-tap

02-01-2012 23:38:41 | More by angelogarcia3

vfgccp

New York

4.22/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - great deep brown/black with brown highlights. Briliant foamy head from the pump action of cask, head has great retention but low lace. Head is a nice brown.

S- notes if bitter chocolate and roastyness. Sweet malty smell with notes of nuttyness. Also hints of coffee beans.

T- a nice char and smokey taste, slight cherry tartness but nice coffee bitterness.

M- really nice and smooth. Great coating feeling and lingering taste. Lack of carvonarion due to cask actualy helps to apreciate some of the more subtle flavors.

O- great beer, even better on cask. The warmth and lack of carb changes the drinking experience for the better. The slight cherry bitteness is more noticable and has great drinkability.

---Rated via Beer's Advocate for iPhone

Serving type: cask

11-03-2011 20:35:03 | More by vfgccp

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This beer was pumped from a cask at the Tap & Table before it closed up. The beer was brought over to me and I was surprised that I was almost able to see through it. So the color is a deep brown with a thin creamy tan colored head on top. The smell of the beer has a faint amount of cherry on the nose. Very subtle but nice. The taste is really nice too some roasted malts with a super light cherry flavor in there. The mouthfeel was thin but still had a little creaminess to it. Overall I don't feel that this is a RIS. However, whatever it may be I found it to be quite good. I actually ordered a second one right after the first, which for me is a very rare thing.

Serving type: cask

07-22-2011 01:59:01 | More by Knapp85