Scotch Irish John By Imperial Stout
Our John By Imperial Stout is so deep brown in colour you might as well say it is black. This ale’s powerful malt flavour is not overwhelmed by its alcohol content. Just the thing to ward off the cold of a Canadian winter.
3.7
173 reviews
, Canada
Community reviews
Pours a luxuriously thick head, much like a nitro widget would but without the actual widget. Impenetrable black colour, reeking of chocolate malt and slightly burnt burnt bread. The high alcohol content does not come through which means the chocolate cake flavor is able to dominate.
Tap at Volo. Pitch black with a creamy tan head. The nose is herbal with fudgey milk chocolate, cocoa and a rich, figgy maltiness. A little bit of licorice on the back of a fairly boozy palate. Full-bodied despite this with a heavy roastiness and some light spiciness as well. Licorice and heavy charry roasted malt. It’s quite nice – less intense than many Impys, which serves it well.
Thanks to TheJester (S4AD today!) for this dark treat. Blaaaaaack. Nice dark brown coloured skim with some spotty lacing. Thick aroma of wet coffee filters, underlying dark chocolate helps out, toffee, molasses, sweet berries mid smell - something similar to Swedish Berries candy - nice and soft. Dark coffee that stays robust yet not overpowering, more dark chocolate, mid sip reveals some berries and a light citrus but this then gets paved over by the other flavours returning. Ashy mouthfeel especially when warm - a damn fine beer at room temperature as well. Medium coffee bitter harshness sticks around for a long time as does an underlying tang. This was better than I thought it would be.
Super dark pour with a quite dark brown head. Aroma is a bit odd - coffee and styrofoam. Flavor is more coffee with a touch more of that plastic-y-ness. A bit thin on the palate, but not all bad.
Bottle courtesy of Bobsy. Black pour with a thin but creamy brown head. Aroma is quite chocolatey, some roast coffee, something slightly stale. Taste is quite bitter, lots of roasted character, better than the aroma. Palate is thin, lacks body for the style. Not bad, but not great either.
Was surprised to see this one at the LCBO, in a single stubbie. Glad to see more and more of Scotch Irish brews there. This one pours an almost black colour with very little red highlights. The head is nice and foam-creamy with a light brown colour to it. Retention is decent, but not much lacing come out of this one. A beautiful smell of coffee and roasted malt appears at first, but then, the scent turns into a rusty water one (I guess it is the hop sticking out). The mouthfeel is pretty flat (did not hear the normal sound as I popped the cap), but had a nice thickness to it. Very well hidden alcohol, with the taste of plums, chocolat, roasted malt, some candy... but very well-balanced, not too sweet, nor too bitter, but yet, still very tasty and drinkable. This one grew on me, as I drank it.
Aroma:coffe aroma,rosted malt...
Appearance:Dark,light head...
Flavor:coffe and rosted malt flavor...
Bottle consumed 1-30-10....Dark rich brown/black with a lt. brown sugar head....sweet rich malt...some caramel + chocolate...nice, but not too heavy....light burnt malts in the body...an easy to drink stout with nice aromas and typical characteristics for the style...some weak coffee additions as well...nice dotted lacing..its good me like....sweet sugar on the finish
Bouteille de 341 ml. Arômes de chocolat au lait, légère touche de café. Robe noire et opaque, peu de mousse et effervescence faible. En bouche, la bière possède une texture veloutée, mais semble un peu mince. On retrouve de belles notes de chocolat au lait et de café. Finale sèche de cacao. Donne l’impression d’être une stout à 5% d’alcool, ce qui veut dire que l’alcool est très bien dissimulé, mais également qu’elle manque un peu de caractère pour une Imperial Stout.
Bottle. Pours a black body with a yellow tan head. Sweet irish cream notes, mint chocolate. light espresso + cream sweetness. Vanilla and a touch of minerals. Sweet oily with a soft body very light carbonation and an inky espresso finish. Light and sweet for an IS, i like this one quite a bit, a nice surprise, a mild roast y bitterness with a touch of licorice and that irish cream again. Very nice. Also 8.5% now.
Bottle. Luscious black beverage; no head, even with an aggressive pour. Big nose of fresh-ground coffee. Dominant coffee/dark chocolate flavour nuanced with a slight herbaceous background, brown sugar and a bitter chocolate + wood finish. Highly drinkable for a 8.5% alc./vol. Very good.
2009/10 edition, 8.5% ABV. 11.5 oz bottle from LCBO. Pours black with a small tan head. Head fades quickly, leaving slight lace. Aroma of roasted malts and hints of chocolate and vanilla. Flavour begins honey sweet, develops an alcoholic spiciness through the middle and finishes with a long, lingering hoppy bitter finish. Medium-full in body with a creamy texture and soft carbonation. Not as complex as some other imperial stouts, but very drinkable. 2010-02-27
(bottle) opaque very dark brown colour, very small light brown head; aroma of dark chocolate, soy sauce; balanced flavour with long, light bitter finish; not very complex but very drinkable and likable
Not completely opaque coke coloured pour which builds up a nice and lasting beige cover. Malt-focused nose possesses a fair fruitiness to complement the cocoa nibs and charry biscuit notes. Indeed, soft pear and raisin nuances complexify the burnt cookie base. In mouth, we’re staying in the same mold, though the fruits seem less forward and the toastiness becomes bulkier. Medium-full body offers more bubbles than your average impy, but is perfectly suitable. While certainly noticeable, the alcohol level is not disturbing. In the finish, hops join with the roastiness to provide a drying bitterness. Not a particularly complex offering, but effective. Most satisfying, much better than ancitipated in fact as I’ve not liked Scotch Irish as much as most.
Bottle, 8.4 ABV. Pours back with an extremely thin bubbly head despite a vigorous pour. Aroma is coffee, chocolate, some booze and soy sauce. Nice roasted malts and some good bitterness. Way too thin for an impy. Mild carbonation makes for great silky mouthfeel. Judged on it’s own merit , John By is a very good beer, if judged by it’s style criteria it fails miserably.
2009 bottle. Aroma of roasted malt and chocolate, with a ilttle sourness but nothing overpowering. Appearance is near black with no head to speak of. Taste is much like the aroma with some nice roasted malt flavours but a strange grainy taste as well. Palate is smooth with little carbonation. Overall pretty good, I find it varies from bottle to bottle though and have never been too impressed.
Thick, with a strong and bitter coffee flavour carefully wrapped up in cocoa sweetness. Great aroma, great taste, and terrific ’dense’ feel with hints of alcohol. Excellent overall.
Top popped off sort of abnormally, it is possible that it was slightly loose? But the beer was not skunked, despite the lack of head... Will rerate if the next bottle I have is better.
Extremely strong and good aroma with tons of fruit and heavy roasted malts showing very powerfully with a slightly sour and barnyardy smell hiding behind the fruit and malt. Pours black with a weak brown and quickly dissipating head, disappointing. Huge roasted malt flavours up front, although not rivaling some Imperials I prefer, still very nice. Slightly too thin of a body for an imperial, bitterness comes in much later, almost feeling like an intentional afterthought. An artistic aftertaste, with some licorice notes. This bitterness drops out quickly, overall, the flavours do not linger greatly. No boozyness despite 8.5% and a thin body, I could see getting drunk off these beers quickly, easily, and VERY enjoyably! But that’s not exactly what I’m looking for an my average imperial stout. Warms you up just like promised on the label, a good but not great beer. Worth trying if you’re in Ontario and can grab a bottle at your local LCBO.
bottle, via trade with garthicus, deep brown color with some thin off white foam, aroma has a lot of vanilla and wedding cake, flavor of cream and cocoa with some bitter coffee to finish
On tap at Volo in Toronto. Pour is hued blackish brown. Powerful malt and chocolate aroma. Taste is toasty with rich chocolate
opaque brown with a small beige head that fades away. dark coffee, slight buttery smell, burnt wood. taste is rich, bitter coffee, herbal, light hops at the end, a little salt. drying, fairly thin feel. would buy again occasionally, price is fair for it.
8.5% ABV, while it was 6.7% ABV last time i had it
341ml bottle. Pours a dark brown. The first stout in a while through which the light can penetrate. NO head at all. Major cocoa on the nose. A little dark roast coffee, and malt. As for taste, a little boozy. Bitter licorice, mild cocoa notes. Long dark malt, and citrus bitter finish. Very nice.
341 ml bottle from LCBO. Pours a dark brown, virtually black, with small brown head. Nose is quite sweet with dark chocolate, roast, coffee. Flavour is mostly bitter with a light sweetness underneath - strong coffee and dark chocolate presence. Long, bitter dark chocolate finish. Quite nice.
Bouteille. Noir opaque surmontée d’une fine mousse fauve qui se dissipe très rapidement. Arômes de café, tabac, malt, torréfié, fumée et bois. Saveur de bois, fumée, tabac, café, malt torréfié suivi d’une finale légèrement amère. Corps moyen.
33 cl bottle, Mulmur, ON, Canada. Deep black, no head except for a whisp of tan smoke swirling around. Heavy roasted malt aroma, some ink and a touch of motor oil. Thick in the mouth, licorice and a great bitterness. Long dry bitter finish.
Pours black, a little brown through the sides of the glass in the right light. No head and I can hear no signs of carbonation.
The aroma is slightly sour, with espresso and a hint of cream and vanilla. The sour leans me towards "french vanilla." A little roasted malt and a very slight hint of came fire smoke.
The taste is full of tannins as is a cold americano / espresso. Hints of vanilla, bitter cocoa, and red plums. The smoke is in the mild bitterness that lingers.
This is thin, flat, and mildly slimy. Real ale has more body than this.
Some flavours are there that I really enjoy, but some of the sourness (not saying good or bad) is just not for me. I’d prefer to drink cold coffee at this point.
This is drinkable, as I do enjoy cold coffee at times. Yet, it’ll be a while before I give this another go.
Sampled at the DC Local tasting. Pours an opaque black with a HUGE frothy, tan head. Aroma is a little boozy, coffee, toast. Flavor has coffee, toast, dark molasses. Finish has a lactic sourness that’s off putting.
341 ml bottle from weeheavySD. Pours dark brown to black with a tan colored head that is dense and lasting. The rich aroma carries a really nice assortment of cherry and dark chocolate, but has a slight tart note as well. This beer has a very good roasted malt flavor also containing dark fruit, dark chocolate, and a slightly burnt characteristic. This was a decent beer, but I had a hard time seeing anything imperial about it.
Bottle. Pours pitch black with a medium brown head. Head retreats quite fast leaving some lacings. Aroma fills the room as I pour it. Big roastiness, sweetness and chocolate. Very rich and sweet. Some green olive hints. Carbonation is very low. Taste is roasted malt, very malty. Not as sweet as nose suggests. Small sour hint there..not sure if I’m imagining it. There is something weird with his brew. Not much alcohol. Ok beer.
Bottle. Pours black with thick tan head. Black cherries, dark hocolate and light coffee. FInish is long and bitter. Tasty brew.