Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout

I thought I would taste this and review this because I was digging through my blog and saw a lot of lighter beer recently and somewhat overall. So I though why not do a stout and I will review more stouts, browns and porters later on. But I am starting with a prime example of a true Imperial Stout. An Imperial Stout or Russian stout is one that was originally brewed and shipped to Imperial Russia and was a favorite of Russian Nobility. Today there are a number of different imperial beer out there, like imperial pilsner, imperial IPA, imperial lager and so on. That just mean that is double the alcohol volume, and has a stronger taste. But this here is a true orignal imperial stout from England, at 7.0%ABV. This Sam'l Smith is fermented in stone Yorkshire squares, which is basically a large square tub or vat made of local stone. This Samuel pours a dark brown/black dark roast coffee color, with a big light brown to tan thick two finger bubbly rocky head. I saw the head and I thought of nice brownish hearty bread. Nice appearance on the imperial stout. Now the taste on this is common to stereotypical to this style. This has a nice roasted coffee, that dark robust coffee, The kind I like. This has a dark fruity scent of raisins and figs. I got bit of the alcohol there as well. The way this looks and smells really intrigues me to drink this. Drinking this Sam'l Smith you first get that rich dark coffee taste, followed by a raisin and fig note that is simi-sweet. I also found a nice chocolate note there, but wasn't a real sweet chocolate taste, but the dark fruits, raisin and figs help make that chocolate a bit sweet. This imperial stout has a big mouth feel that has a very little warming feel to it as you go though it  It was more of a good bakers chocolate, and I didn't get much of the 7.0% alcohol. This bee here is a bit on the heavy side but just enough, it's not overly heavy like some stouts can be. The aftertastes really stick in your mouth with this. The finish is nice with a faintly sweet  coffee finish. This imperial stout in not a very bitter but has some bitterness, the IBU (international bitterness unit) of this is 35. Samuel Smith's India Ale is 46 IBU, some beers can be as higher. Overall this is a great old world example of a great Imperial Stout. Samuel Smiths brewery has some of the best examples of English beers and the are all organic. I would recommend this and all of Samuel Smith's beer to anyone looking to get into the world of beer. So over all I would give this beer an A+. Just a very good example of a nice nice imperial stout. I was really enjoyed this as I do most Samuel Smith's beer. A great representation of an English Imperial Stout. Please go out and get this and all of Samuel Smiths beer, I highly recommend you do! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!