Grand Teton Black Cauldron Imperial Stout
This thick, rich ale was brewed with plenty of caramel and roasted malts, and subtly spiced with American Chinook and Willamette hops. It boasts flavors of chocolate and coffee, along with raisins and dried fruit soaked in sherry. We’ve accentuated the natural smokiness of the brew by adding a small amount of beechwood-smoked malt and aging the brew in an oak whiskey barrel, which also adds notes of oak and vanilla.
3.8
461 reviews
Victor, United States
Community reviews
Bottle picked up in Wisconsin from notes. Pours dark brown to black in color with a medium sized tan head. The aroma and flavor have roasted malts, dark chocolate, some smoked malt character, dark fruits, molasses, earthy and woody. Pretty solid.
shared bottle, 2015. poured a rich oily black colour with a small mocha coloured head. nose of roasted malts, chocolate raisins. toffee, earthy, slight vanilla oak, sweet chocolate, light dark forrest fruits, slight sticky molasses, sticky maple syrup. can’t detect any of the whisky barrel, only a hint of vanilla. expected a bit more
12oz bottle dated 10/23/12. Pours dark brown with a medium brown head that quickly fades to a ring. Aroma is raisin, molasses, dark chocolate, charred wood. Flavor is molasses, dark cherry, charred oak.
Grand Teton puts up a solid full bodied and full flavored stout. Oozing dark roasted espresso in both aroma and flavor but also exhibiting some bakers chocolate and mild dark fruits. The flavors evolve through the glass, winding up with a light sweetness and hints of vanilla and roasted nuts. Pours pitch black with a thick rocky tan head.
Pours up an oily black, with a small tan head. Aroma is like roast, bread, cocoa, peat, coffee. Flavor is slightly acidic with coffee, some earthy herbal hops, and a spiced bitter finish. A nice stout
Fine beer although middle of the pack for an IS (which means around 17/20 on my scale). You’ll get what you expect out of IS, which is good, though probably not much more.
Tap at ox cart with commonmac and samadouche and Qponnagy. Black with small off white head. Subtle aroma. Heavy roast malt. Alcohol there. Syrupy a little bit. Too much peat. A strong beer. I?m boiling in this cauldron.
Bottled: August 2015. Tasted Feb 14, 2016. Started with a ~3 or 4 oz pour. Very dark with a nice tan head (about 1/2 inch). Too dark for any visible carbonation. Nutty aroma, perhaps a bit of chocolate and raisin. Some vanilla. Very smooth initial taste, thick feel, stickiness on the tongue and throat in the aftertaste. Taste follows the aroma, nutty and dark fruits a bit past their prime. Alcohol is present in the taste, but not dominating (but it certainly hits you soon enough!). Semi-sweet. Very pleasant, but no bittering at all. Very, very smooth, thick, and mild. I consider the total lack of bittering to be a downgrade on what is otherwise an excellent stout.
On tap at Bear Trap, Grand Targhee, served way too cold, but warmed really nicely. Nice head and lacing. Roasty, chocolate and cherries with a touch of smoke. Delightful after a day on the slopes!
Pours minimal head on a black body.
The aroma is all the good things: coffee, milk, chocolate, licorice and a touch of smoke.
The taste is pleasantly easy. Roasted malt and caramel sweetness, a little coffee bitter.
The texture is thicker and silky.
Really enjoyable.
750 mL bottle The Bottle Shop At Tyler’s Taproom, Raleigh (August 2015 release-listed as 9.5% ABV). Dark brown/black pour with a creamy khaki head. Aroma of star anise, mild coffee, and faint floral hops. Rich taste of dark chocolate and espresso upfront with background notes of oak, vanilla, and booze. Hearty and almost silky mouthfeel with moderate warming. A great imperial stout!
On Tap at Kip’s pint glass, pours black with a thick khaki head that lasts and leaves slight lacing. Aroma of bourbon, smoke, cherry, molasses, chocolate, and raisins. Mildly carbonated with a medium body. A decent Impy overall.
A decent stout, but the flavors are a little messy. Kind of all over the place, and very fruity, lots of cherry for a stoutPours a deep black with a tan head. Smells of cinnamon, chocolate, and vanilla, with a smokiness. Taste starts off bright for a stout, with smokiness, then the chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla and grape juice come in, with some booziness throughout, and some lemon and holiday ale herbs in the finish. Reminds us a bit of a cuvee, or a mix of a few different beers.
Taste is toasted coffee bean, toffee, molasses notes.
Black and opaque.
Roasted malt and coffee nose.
Full body with dark tan head and webbed lace to head.
2015 vintage poured from 750 ml bottle into a chalice glass
Appearance – The beer pours a nearly pitch black color with a one finger head of tan colored foam. The head of the brew has a great level of retention, slowly fading over time to leave a ton of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is heavy of a dark and roasted malt smell with tons of coffee and a good strong showing of aromas of chocolate and a raisin. Along with these aromas comes some lighter notes of licorice and vanilla as well as a little bit of a toasted wheat bread smell and some light vanilla.
Taste – The taste begins with a nice roasty and toasted malt flavor with a decent showing of a chocolate and lightly molasses sweetened expresso taste. As the taste advances, it ends up getting slightly sweeter as more molasses and chocolate, as well as a hint of sweet crème, vanilla and some raisin come to the tongue. All the while however, the sweetness is balanced by some char and an almost grainy like taste. Some boozy tastes of bourbon come to the tongue more toward the end of the taste, and with a slight increase in the sweet, end up leaving one with a dark and roasty, warming taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is on the rather thick and chewy side with a creamy texture and a lighter carbonation. These feels are fantastic for the rich dark, roasty, and lightly sweet and boozy tastes of the brew and make for a very pleasant slow sipping beer; accentuating all the rich tastes of the brew very nicely.
Overall – This is a very nice imperial stout overall. Not overly sweet, but very much sweet enough. It has a great roastiness and a fantastic feel, which overall creates a mouth coating, rich and roasty feel.
nice 3/4" lite brown creamy head with good lacing that lasted until the last sip. Aroma is chocolate malts and roasted grains... big aroma that reminds me of a cool mocha.. a little sweetness with a bunch of chocolate and coffee ... Flavor begins with the body... Fantastic body ... up front full mouthfeel ... viscous ... feels like it has a higher ABV .. creamy chocolate melts into the roasted barley ... not getting alot of hops, but I know they’re there.. Dark fruits.. chocolate covered cherries.. yummy... Drinks like a bigger RIS.
One of my new favorite beers! Big, roasty, rich, but not overly sweet. The aroma is the same. Something I’m going to get plenty of to lay down in the cellar!
Bottle (750ml $10). Black with brown head. Nice imperial stout. Full body with some bitter sweet chocolate taste. A little vanilla too. Toasted malts.
Dark and well balanced. Good imperial stout. Good coffee and vanilla notes. Clean finish
A great sample from a rep at Grand Teton Brewing made this an easy one to review, but just because I made a new friend doesn’t mean I am going to pull any punches. I guess we see how it goes. -- The bottle is chilled, the 45 degree beer pours slowly, a deep nut brown, and once into the glass it becomes a sea of black, untouched by the light around the snifter. A minimal latte-hued head rises on the surface only to dissolve into the brew, leaving a lace of thin foam; a threadbare veil exposing the nuances of aroma to the air above the glass. -- I lift the snifter and inhale. The aroma is smoky-pine, dark chocolate and espresso. The smokiness electrifies my olfactories and I can already taste the accents on the back of my tongue. To complete the circle of senses, I draw the cool, thick beer and let it slip over my tongue, washing under it; I bring my lips together to draw it more deeply, allowing it to fill my mouth, and then I swallow. It’s sweet, smoky, spicy and raw. I breathe out and enjoy a new experience...vanilla and dark fruit now accompant the previous parade of flavors and my interest is peaked for the complexity of the beer. The warmer it gets, the more flavor comes through and every time I bring the glass to my lips, the head rises again; tenacious. -- The finish is warm and soothing, the flavors staying with me for a time, but not invading my thoughts. It’s pleasant and tasty through to the next sip; no matter, it seems, how much time has passed between them. -- I wasn’t going to pull any punches and to tell you the truth, I really didn’t have to. This is a damn tasty beer and I’m hoping that my new friend does his job right and gets it to my region. This will most definitely be a go-to for me.
Bottle bought at Dart in LT on 7.16.15. I did not notice the date on bottle was 9.9.13. Pitch black with a big tan head that slowly dissipates. Nose mostly roast malt and milk chocolate. Tastes of roast malts, chocolate, Liquorice, some coffee, mineral tones and something was just a little off. Probably how it was aged.
Bottle share from Ron. Thanks Ron! Thick sudsy head on a clear pour with dark brown and orange highlights. Soapy lacing. Smells malty, nutty, vegetal. Vegetal taste along with chocolate. A bit thin. Bottle dated 9.9.13. This stuff may not age well.
Bottled 11/27/12. Pours inky black with a tan head. Aroma is booze soaked raisins, candied orange peel, a bit of cola, molasses, some spice, and lots of roastiness. Taste is raisin, roasty, dried fig, burnt sugar, caramel, slight sweetness, and medium bitterness. Med-full body, very smooth, maybe a touch too much residual sweetness. I prefer an imp stout to finish drier. Overall very good though.
12 0z bottle poured to a tulip. Black with a small tan head. Notes of cocoa, dark fruit and a hint of coffee. Slight sweetness and black cherry flavor. Very smooth and drinkable, a slightly bitter finish. I think it’s a nice stout to start with.
Tons of flavor of plum toffee coffee and aroma to match. Sit by fire and enjoy. Bottle conditioned so lively carbonation and wonderful presence!
12 oz 2013 bottle.
Aroma: rich and complex with a solid base of dark malts and hints of oak, dark fruits,
Flavor: rich and complex with plenty of dark malts and hints of oak, toffee, dark chocolate; black coffee, whisky, smoke, raisins and other dark fruits,
Feel: full, very smooth body with appropriate light carbonation.
bomber dated 11/1/11 - must have rec’d in trade... aroma had many different things - roast, vanilla, wood, dark chocolate. pour was a perfect - 5 - darrrrk. Taste was solid - subdued version of aromas - nothing standing out, balanced. palate was a 4 - heavy but not as thick as I like. good, not great stout - but easy to drink.
355ml bottle. 2013 vintage aged at the dristro, purchased at Walgreens for 9.39 a 4pk. It has a large head and its a beautiful looking stout. The head is massive, maybe form extra time inthe bottle and more yeast farts, it isa nice tan color and recedes slowly. Luckily it has aged well, it smells like bread, cocoa, peat, port wine, cinamon, coffee. Flavor is acidic coffee, dark fruits, port wine, scotch, some earthy/herbal hops, spiced bitter finish. Bit of metal, otherwise a ncie impy stout.
Bottle from trade. Nose is sweet, tobacco, chocolate, a hint of smoke. Pretty intense pour is pitch black with minimal brown head. Tastes lightly tart initially with a light acidic note. A bit of coffee in the flavor, medium mouthfeel. No barrel flavor in the taste, no oak, no vanilla. I think the tartness takes away from the flavor. Very burnt tasting. Not a fan.
i thought this beer was surprsingly well done. a little on the hoppy side, which was nice, with some decadent roasted chocolate and coffee in the flavor and aroma. dangerously smooth, and easy drinking for an IRS. Only 8%, but full flavored and bodied."