Fish Tale Poseidons Imperial Stout (Batch 5 +)
Bottled November 2004, Batch 5. This big Imperial Stout is brewed from Northwest ESB, chocolate, and caramel malts, with Columbus hops to bitter and Cascade hops for flavor. This is the first batch to not be aged in oak wine barrels. 10% abv. The 2006 bottling is 8% abv.
3.7
347 reviews
Olympia, United States
Community reviews
2006 vintage. Bomber. Pours a watery, opaque black with a soft white head. Nose of sugar, malt, oats. Flavor is sweet, malty, oats, light smoke, brown sugar, toasted bread. Tasted a bit like a dopplebock. Finish is medium bodied with some light smoke.
Eh...... Doesn’t feel very ’imperial.’ Lots of malts, sweet, boozy, some roast and a bit of chocolate. Kind of disappointing overall but not terrible.
Bottle. Pours black with a small ring of tan head. Aroma of sweet roasted malt, charred malt, sweet molasses, vanilla, booze. Flavor is similar with very sweet, heavy roasted and sweet malts, molasses, sweet dark fruits. Heavy palate and somewhat boozy (I was surprised to see the 8% abv). Meh, a little boring for me and I wasn’t a fan of the flavor profile.
7/4/7/3/13 [3.4/5]
Fish Brewing Company--Poseidon’s Imperial Stout--Artist Series Batch #5. 2004 12 oz. Bottle. 10.00% ABV--65 IBU’s? (4.5 / 5.0) Stout--Imperial--Espresso lacy head. Opaque Obsidian Black Red color. Roasted sweet tangy hop spice front. Sweet mellow big rich roasted burnt mild cocoa rich espresso fruity body. Big hot EtOH hop spice end. Aged Smooth. Sampled 5/26/2006.
A: A beautiful looking pour from a 12 oz bottle. The beer is black and viscous with a finger’s worth of tan head.
S: The smell is a bit of a let down, especially considering my hopes for this beer. There is a fair amount of alcohol and acidity to the nose which sort of overpower even the coffee and chocolate.
T: There isn’t any improvement in the flavor, I’m afraid. A strong bitterness to the beer and an almost medicinal astringency. Behind that, the chocolate and coffee flavors do come out, but I’m having trouble getting past the faults.
M: At least the mouthfeel is nice. This is a full bodied beer with low to moderate carbonation.
D: Just too much unwanted and unpleasant bitterness in this beer to overlook it. Hopefully I just got a bad bottle, but as for now, I don’t think I’ll have this beer again.
Bottle dated 2008. Nose is sweet and alcohol and coffee. The taste was initially a dark, rich fruity sweetness. It turned to an aspirin bitter, and quickly moved on. Of the remarkable brews shared that evening, this was not the highlight. Not bad by any measure, just not amazing.
2006 version. Black with a light brown creamy head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, raisin, coffee and liquorish. Flavour is reasted malt, chocolate, coffee and liquorish.
On tap at Stone. Pours pitch black with bubbly beige head. Chocolate chip cookie nose, sweet malt, very inviting, very light smooth taste with chocolate roasted malt and hints of dark red fruit. Very easy to drink and pleasing.
Dark brown almost black with a creamy tan head and lace. Coffee and chocolate on the nose. Chocoffee flavor with medium malt bitter. Full bodied with good carbonation.
Well, holy shit. I’ve been sitting on two bottles of this since the first week it hit the shelves up here waaaaaay back. 2006 Vintage - will it have gone bad? Lets find out. Nope! Wow. I can’t wait to do this review so I can just sit back and enjoy.
Black, good sized cap created - dark brown and quite thick with good retention and some sticky, spotty / ropy, silty lacing. Every swirl creates a new lavish carpet of foamWhat would have this been like fresh? The aroma just waffed everywhere: initial impression is quite strong: oak, red licorice that might lean towards a mellow version of cherry Halls, chocolate, creamy, figs... this is making me drool... I don’t smell the alcohol but it smells like there would be alcohol. I’m trying hard to define the malts, which are there, but they have mellow so much. Sure there is some roasted malts here but... crap... what is this aroma reminding me of? Some sort of orange as well - I think I could come up with scents forever. The taste is just great, even with the straight up bitterness followed by roaming alcohol. The tons of malts that I thought I would find get steamrolled over by the yummy sweet fruit. Ah, there they are... roast and chocolate all at once. Smooth, bitter chocolate, figs, grapefruit hop lingerings, some coffee, more alcohol hotness... well shit, I’m fairly drunk and I’m rambling adequately. Even more very bitter chocolate in the finish, licorice as well along with an aftertaste that can only be described as the worlds most appealing ash tray. ahahahha I just discovered if I pour the second half of this 650ml bottle into my glass from about 6" away that it creates an estimated 4" cap (if I scoop up the overflow back into a much larger glass). Now the appearance is a 10! I gotta remember this.
After letting the last half sit for quite awhile i’ve disovered that i can barely type anytmoer. I like this beer alot aside form the overuse of hops.. still, it makes it wahhat it is. Good tasty fruity front that ends in bitterness and lingering coffee. I need to eat some food
Bottle. Pours opaque black with a lasting beige head. Aroma of intense espresso, dark chocolate, brown sugar, black licorice, and sweet alcohol. Very instense and satisfying. Palate is soft and cream, with mild carbonation. Flavor starts with bitter chocolate and coffee, albeit with some minerally notes. Mid-palate is a bit light in flavor, but what it contributes is a nice pairing of vanilla and roasty bitterness. Finish has a really nice roasty component. Overall, this Impy Stout has some fine qualities, but something “muddy” about the flavors just can’t match the excellence of the nose, putting it a bit below other premiere versions.
06 vintage. 12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Darkest possibly shade of brown, nearly black. Some amber highlights when backlit. Nice dark tan head struggles to form through the viscous liquid. Aromas of cocoa powder, graham crackers, iced coffee, and prune/raisin fruitiness. Flavor is loads of roasted barley but not in an acrid way. Lesser notes of caramel, dark chocolate, graham crackers, raisins, figs, and prunes. Slightly acidic, solid roasted bitterness, dry without much astringency. Hugely flavorful but not crushingly thick-bodied. Very easy to drink. Damn good RIS.
12oz bottle, 2006 vintage I believe, courtesy of dave12285 poured into a tulip.
Pours dark opaque black with only the faintest hint of light showing through the edges when held up to light. The head is small and tan, fading quickly to a tiny ring and leaving no lacing.
The aroma is fairly one-dimensional, with the dark, sweet roasted malts dominating the nose altogether. It’s definitely sweet with some chocolate, licorice and dark fruits.
The taste let me down a bit as it seems to be a watered down version of the aroma. The sweetness isn’t nearly as deep, with the chocolate malts and licorice present, but in less amounts. The finish is chalky with a bitterness that lingers through the aftertaste.
The mouthfeel is light, almost watery, with low carbonation and much less body than I would expect from an RIS.
The nose had me looking up but this stout ended up a little too bland and watery to be great. It’s a decent example of the style but nothing to bring me back for another one.
Nice black color with a lacy tan head. Sweet raisin and smoked wood aroma. Nice roasted malt, raisin and bitter chocolate flavors. Medium carbonation.
Palate was a little thin for me. Overall,very nice.
Bottled sample. Near black in colour with moderate carbonation. Aromas of dark chocolate, a bit of stewed fruit, French roast coffee, and ash. Quite dry and chalky in the mouth, along with more roasted malt (coffee and chocolate) notes. Some caramel malt flavors are present as well, along with some oxidation as the bottle was a few years old. Medium bodied. An average impy.
Bottle thanks to decaturstevo. Inky thin black with a thin quick light tan head. Aroma is roasty chocolate, coffee. Taste is ashy, roast, bitter coffee and chocolate.
2006 Bottle shared by STLWill (Thanks!) Dark brown pour, rich and smoky coffee aroma. Flavor was very smoky, peat, little coffee and finished dry. Decent.
12oz bottle. Black with a medium sized tan head. The aroma is a pleasant mixture of coffee, licorice, and dried fruit. The flavor has a pretty strong roasted character that is like very dark chocolate. Bitterness is on the hight side, and there is more alcohol burn than you would expect for a beer with only 8%abv. Light fruity character, full bodied, with medium bubbles. Poseidon’s is a pretty solid imperial stout all around and drinks bigger than it is, though it isn’t very distinctive.
Bottle. Pours oil black with a 3 finger dense tan head that results in great lacing. The nose is burnt malt, toasted oats, cocoa and light coffee. The taste is ashy cocoa, roasted coffee beans, dark fruit and baker’s chocolate with some bitter hops in the finish. Medium semi-creamy mouthfeel, thought a bit light for the style. Good IS.
Poured black with a tan head. Aroma of chocolate, coffee, and citrus. Coffee, chocolate, and fruit flavors.
Black, black, black oh my god is this stuff black it’s a black whole sucking in all thing color leaving nothing but blackness around it, capped off with tall and thick brown head, the head phenomenal retention and left curtains of lacing behind. The aroma is amazing Rich dark roasted coffee mixed with rubbing alcohol (not really a fan of this) and strange sent what can only be described as bitter milk chocolate (is that even possible?!?!?!?) Fawk I’ve been sniffing now for 20 min. I can’t get enough of this sent the rubbing alcohol has vanished now, great strength to this aroma not to strong and no problems detecting it. Oh so good thick and creamy feeling, so much intense flavor, smoky dark roast coffee and bitter chocolates, so very malty. Insane bitter after taste, intense flavor this is a stout.
Tap @ Bailey’s Taproom... Poured black with a light brown head, nice lacing. Milky aroma, and a little yeasty. Light, foamy palate with chalky cocoa flavors and fruity malts. Not very complex or dark tasting as it would seem for an imperial stout and the 10% abv -- but still tasty. Had a sweet, cookie-like finish.
Draught.Poured black with thin head. little lacing at first but increased as beer warmed. Aroma of roast malt and alcohol. Flavour of chocolate, coffee, malt and alcohol. Malty finish with a coffee kiss.
On-tap at Bailey’s Taproom poured into Snifter glass.
Pours straight midnight black with a creamy mocha colored head that lasts and eventually forms a thick ring around the glass. Aroma is milk chocolate and coffee. Very pungent. Flavor is tart fruit, chocolate, roasted malts and a touch of coffee. Its a medium bodied beer that is fairly slick. Extremely enjoyable although maybe a little sweet.
Bottle pours black with light tan head. Aroma is light malt and pretty disappointing for the style. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor is chocolate, some roast malt, and finishes with some hop flavor. Overall a nice brew. Nothing more to say about it than that.
Bottle thanks to Zinister!
Dark brown, thin tan ring for a head. Nose is very plummy, also some chocolate and alcohol, vanilla with warmth. Flavor has a stronger roasted malt presence and heavy dark chocolate. Thin body, rather short finish in some dry roast and alcohol. A sweet, simple, pleasing beer. The dark chocolate is definitely the highlight.
Bottle. Pours a black beer with a light brown head. The aroma is chocolate with notes of alcohol. The flavor is roasted malts and chocolate. The palate has notes of vanilla, proberbly from the oak aging. Overall a good balanced beer.
Bottle. Pours dark brown, with some light penetrating through, and a thin soapy tan head. Aroma is roast, caramel, hint of vanilla. Flavor is dark choclate, coffee, caramel, vanilla. Palate is medium bodied, on the thinnish side for an IS. Mild carbonation, finishing bitter with a poke of alcohol. Very nice.
12 oz. bottle courtesy of a trade with AmEricanbrew. Pours a dense black with a thin mocha brown head that already started disappearing as I took my first sip. Very pleasant aroma of raisins, malt, chocolate and alcohol. The raisins, which are so prevalent in the nose, are barely noticeable in the flavor, which is strongly dominated by roasted malt and a bit of char. There is some chocolate present in the flavor as well. After a few seconds, a fairly strong alcohol flavor emerges and carries through to the end. A bit thin in the mouthfeel for an imperial stout.
Dark body with a nice tan head. The aroma is roasted malts all the way. Flavor is nice espresso and chocolate and a little pleasantly sweet and bitter all at once. Nice drawn out finish that leaves a dark chocolate taste in your mouth. The biggest shortcoming I felt was the mouthfeel which felt a little thin. Other than that one factor, the rest of the beer is excellent.