Two Brothers Brewing Company - Northwind Imperial Stout
Oh the wind outside is blowing,
And my face, it is, a - glowing
Because if you're close enough you'll hear me shout,
"Where's a stout? There's a stout! Hooray stout!!"
Bad song...sorry...it sounded better in my head.
Tonight's beer comes from Illinois by Two Brothers Brewing Company. This is a brewer that I've not have a beer from until tonight. At quick glance on their website, there are another few styles of theirs that I'd love to try the next time I get out to the Chicago area. Hey, Ed...help a brother out!
This beer pours an opaque black color with a creamy tan/brown head on the top. The head didn't stay around too long, but there was some slight lacing on the glass while enjoying this one.
The aroma was indescribable at first. Don't take that as a bad thing either. It just took some effort to actually attempt to identify exactly what I thought I smelled in this beer. After a few minutes of carefully analyzing what I noted in this beer, I got a mellow, roasted coffee aroma with hints of smokiness. There was also a slight boozy/alcohol smell that was easy to identify as the beer warmed. Lastly, there were slight notes of fruity aromas as well. The most distinct for me was a cherry one.
The beer tasted exactly as the style should. There were the traditional coffee and roasted chocolate flavors along with a medium bitterness. The beer itself, for an Imperial Stout (9.1%), was very smooth. Sometimes these styles, for me, can be too boozy, however this one smells more of the alcohol than it actually tastes. The finish of this beer lingers on the tongue along with a slight licorice tinge. Even if you don't enjoy licorice, it's minimal and I may be making that up so never fear...try this beer!
So far, like most other beers that I've had so far this week, this beer is pretty decent, but nothing blows me away about it. I enjoy the imperial stout style and would definitely have this beer again to sip on a cold evening to warm up pretty quickly. That 9.1% hits you pretty quickly, especially on an empty stomach!
3.5/5
Now that we are a week into the #25BeersOfChristmas, be sure to check out the other blogs from the previous week! See you tomorrow for another week of beer blogging!
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