Magic Hat Thumbsucker Imperial Stout
Aged in bourbon-barrels.
3.8
160 reviews
South Burlington, United States
Community reviews
C-Bus 9 shared by ogglethorp: Bottle: Pours an inky black with no head. Aroma, woody, chocolate, dark fruits. Flavor, chocolate, some soy, roasted notes, and dark fruits.
Humdinger 32 oz growler from the brewery. Black in color with a medium-large brown head. Aroma is tons of whiskey, roast, and chocolate. Taste is dry chocolate, roasty, with alot of whiskey. The whiskey was a bit intense, but the roast and chocolate malts did balance it out a bit. Medium bodied. Taste also had notes of caramel and oak. Finished roasty with lingering whiskey and a dry chocolate bitterness. Overall good, but a bit too boozy.
Many thanks to The_Epeeist for the 2004, Heaven Hill-aged sample!! Poured damn near black (ruby-tinted deep brown) with a short cap of medium brown head that stuck around for a little while. The aroma picked up a lot of deep boozy-fueled, wood-accented chocolates with molasses and fainter coffee notes. The flavor was very well covered by the intense bourbon influence.. dark chocolates deeper in there with molassess, vanilla, and more bourbon.. sweet bourbon and some semi-sweet chocolates ride through the finish with a nice roast to it. Medium-bodied (but light for an impy), and a bit sharp with the bourbon influence.. tasty overall, but likely different under different circumstances.
Humdinger from the brewery. Poured black and opaque with a slight head. Aroma is...Jim Beam? Yes, the barrels will do that. Present to a lesser extent are vanilla and chocolate. Flavor is overwhelming at first, with the bourbon flooding the palate, but after a few sips you begin to notice the coffee/chocolate/molasses in there as well. I wish I had some more of this.
From a growler. Pours pitch black with a wisp of brown head. The potent aroma of bourbon/alcohol belies the 7.8% ABV. Roasted malt, vanilla, unsweetened chocolate, and some smoke. Medium body and slightly thin for an imperial stout. A touch of sweetness in the flavor but mostly the bitter chocolate and the bourbon. If this had more body to it, it would deserve the current rating.
Growler from the brewery. Pours a dark brown color with a medium brown head. Nice strong aroma of bourbon and roasted malt. Full mouthfeel. Flavor is sweet with a bourbon finish. Hints of cherries in it. A very nice Impy Stout.
Date: 09/02/2004
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ale Atlanta
Black, light sweet roasted malt aroma that eventually perks up with some alcohol, very rich malt flavor, good fruity character, a touch of whisky in the finish
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Score: ***/4
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The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.
2004 vintage sampled at the brewery - opaque pour, with a sticky tan lace - powerful aroma of oak and vanilla (the three years it’s spent in barrels is apparent) - much less sweet than expected, with a nice dry coffee and cocoa bitterness that compliments the notes of wood, vanilla and bourbon - however, the whiskey is just a bit too apparent, making the beer a little boozy.
Thin dark brown head of very fine and dense bubbles. Light carbonation. Great powerful aroma. Sweet malts, molasses, caramel, dark brown sugar and toffee. Color is ink black. Thick, syrupy, sweet and smooth. Malted milk balls, toffee, milk chocolate, awesome! Just a hint of bourbon barrel aging. Nice alcohol warming and tingle. FInishes long, creamy and smooth. A great imperial stout. I would love to try this stuff again.
Dark Brown Coloring with Tan Skin. Chocoalte, Bourbon, Vanilla and a Noticeable Warming. Mouthfeel is a bit Thin. This is One Impy With Alot Going On....Would Enjoy Trying Again.
Bourbon vanilla aroma with some burt oak scents. chocolate bourbon flavor. everything you could ask for in an Imp Stout.
[bottle at MontreAlers meeting--thangs, tiggmtl!]
Oily black with a dark tan ring. Lots of bourbony vanilla oak in aroma, nicely married with the roasted malt and a touch of piney hops. Chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak, faint pine = flavour. This bottle was well aged and the flavours were all very well blended and smooth. Also some raisiny aged flavours. Moderate bitterness, extremely full body, lowish carbonation. Awesome.
Clear reddish brown body, light tan head. Alcoholic raisin and wine-like barrel in the aroma. Dry roasty flavor with a chocolate malt and winey barrel woodiness at the end. Acidic roasty finish with tart toato-fruit. Medium mouthfeel.
Thanks Dave. The beer pours to a very dark black body with a creamy beige head. The aroma is strong cherry, black malt, definite bourbon casking, dark fruits. Quite different than most imperials. The flavor is dark fruits, chocolate, sherry wine, interesting. Much better than it rates. The palate is medium bodied, nicely tannic, quite good.
Thanks to Dave for the sample! Has a decent, kind of strong malty aroma. Deep black body, with a nice frothy tan head. Flavor is kind of bland, bitter and slightly acidic, but not much else. Decent body and texture, and lively carbonation. Overall, it’s OK, but not something I’m a fan of.
Nice dark black pour w/ a big rich cocoa wheat looking head and some nice lacing. Aroma is very malty roast malts and a definate bourbon scent. Palate is dry and fairly well coated. Flavor is overly bourbonesque and I like bourbon a good roast malt presence and some soft vanilla. A bit overly dry and overly bourbony I think.
Bottle, RBSG, July 2005.
Head is mostly diminishing.
Body is dark brown to black.
Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, molasses), with notes of wood, vanilla, sherry/cardboard, and alcohol.
Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic.
Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter.
Medium body, velvety texture, soft carbonation, moderately alcoholic.
Kinda dull and not very well-aged, it seems.
MN Ratebeer Winter Get Together. Bottle. Rich, alcoholic (not overly strong) aroma. Unique attributes, that I can’t ID. Completely opaque; not even a sliver of light. Large bubble, light tan head. Very nice brew; mellow, with some bourbon in the finish.
[Tap @ Sunset Grill 3/1/06] The bartender said, "You want a glass of water with that? It’s a thick one" and then set the brew in front of me. It was indeed a thick one, looking kind of like motor oil, with a dark brown head. The flavors are huge, mostly dark, roasted coffee and malts. The finish is the most unique- darkness gives way to a spicy sweet hop finish.
Weird, the nose was a fine blend of molasses,coffee and chocolate but the taste was more sour bourbon.A bit if a let down
MN Winter Get Together, 2006: Black color with no head. Bourbony aroma and a bourbony taste. Go figure. Sweet malt in the body and some vanilla to the finish. Tasty, but not much other than black bourbon.
Cool bottle. This black and lightly carbonated beer has a strong alcohol aroma with underwhelming fermenting fruit. Sweet malt in the flavor and a hint of alcohol in the flavor. Full bodied and a beer to sip slowly.
Dark, very pillowy and oily brown head, nie lacing. Nose has lots of dark fruit and chocolate, nice smoky hint to it. Quite fruity. Flavor is quite sweet, almost like drinking prune juice, almost too sweet. Fortunately, the finish redeems things with a wonerful smokiness driving through the very long finish. Bit of vanilla here as well.
Well formed head with pretty lacing. Dark black colour. Chocolate and coffee nose. Goes down slightly on the thick side, some yeast flavours peak through the almost too sweet chocolate and malt taste. I would have prefered a bit more balance, but it was pretty tasy. Would make a good desert beer.
Magic Hat Thumbsucker pours to a deep, murky, opaque black color with a thick tan head that fades, and a soft to moderate amount of carbonation. The nose on this beer is complex and delicious with huge waves of dark chocolate, sweet malt, and roasty aromas, paired with big, vibrant piney/citric hop aromas, and hints of peppery alcohol. The palate is rich, full, and complex on the tongue, with big, robust malt flavors. Big flavors of bitter sweet dark chocolate, sweet malt, espresso coffee, and black currant/treacle estery flavors glide across the tongue. Thumbsucker finishes with more of those big amazing malt flavors, then ends with a big punch of pungent, piney/cirtric hop bitterness, more roasty notes, and a slightly warming burn that lingers.
This beer is true magic, and is a fantastic American take on Russian Imperial Stout. I was blown away by this beer. At 7.8% abv, this is a nice, warming, sipping brew, perfect for those cold Vermont winters. This beer would make the perfect match for rich, decadent deserts, and is a natural with chocolate
Pours very dark (black) with a dark brown head that disappears to a lighter colored foam rim around the top and with little overall carbonation. Aroma is strong of dark roasted malts (black patent) with some caramelly sweetness, coffee and a hint of whiskey/bourbon. Flavor is fairly sweet, but with an underlying (though not unpleasent) burnt astringency or bitterness. Quite complex... Chocolate, dark fruits, mild coffee, a hint of vanilla, a hint of smokiness and some alcohol thrown in on top. Very smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet and lingering with some whiskey or robust red wine mixed in. A good winter tummy warmer. This is a *really* good beer!
black color with brown head that dissipates quickly. Strong Strong burnt malt with a sweetish smoothening of caramel. It grows on you quickly. Very rich and worth the aging that was done with this bottle.
[At RBSG 2005] A pitch black beer with a small brown head. The aroma contains strong notes of bourbon and alcohol, but also has notes of caramel and burnt malt. The flavor is very sweet and the mouthfeel very smooth. The flavor contains notes of bourbon, alcohol, over ripe fruits, and candy sugar. A highly drinkable beer.
This beer has a nice nose but not great. Like its missing something, slightly roasty,slight bitter chocolate, with a hint of mint. Just wish it had a little more of each. Lace is great,pours like motor oil,not much head. Taste is rich and complex with a long lingering finish. Expansive in the mouth and settles in the back of the tongue, chocolaty and slight coffee, slight iodine taste.
I’m not quite sure what’s "imperial" about this one as it remonds me of a standard stout. Smells slightly roasted with some oakey hints. Taste is mildly peppery but not as robust as many other examples of Imperial Stout. Some chocolate and scotch notes present. Thick mouthfeel and no noticable alcohol burn wich is a plus.