Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti

Some Yeti variations are among the best beers on the planet. This one is good, but not that good.

Like most imperial stouts, this one pours a deep mahogany with a thick brown head, which is surprisingly persistent (given the high ABV). The aroma is straight out of your coffee maker: rich espresso, medium chocolate and fairly subdued alcohols.

The flavor is full and smoky, with a slightly burnt coffee note and medium-high bittering, no doubt aided by the chocolate. There is a touch of astringency that is balanced a bit by a semi-sweet finish, with alcohols and a green wood flavor lingering into the aftertaste.

Despite being an Imperial Stout, the body is only medium, so you can drink quite a bit of this!

Overall, it was a good attempt. The chocolate and wood may have each done a bit too much to bring out the tight, bitter flavors, and at the end of the day it wasn't a perfectly happy marriage of ingredients. Still, this was better than about 80% of the imperial stouts on the market!