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Friday, July 29, 2011

Left Hand - Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout

Dead Soldier
Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout
Left Hand Brewing Company
1265 Boston Avenue
Longmont, CO USA
Est. 1994

Brain Damage Quotient = 10.2 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 22.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Dark mahogany color. Brown with reddish tones.
Mostly chocolate, roasted coffee. Faint whiffs of oak on the nose.
Thick, two finger tan head that lasts quite a while.
Thin string lacing down the side of the glass.
Roasted malts and dashes of vanilla in the taste. Some oak, but not much.
Lightly carbonated.
Light to medium bodied. Thin and slippery mouth feel. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Imperial Stouts are usually a bit on the dark side. Aggressive malting will make them pour with the color spectrum of used motor oil all the way to jet black. This stout was - - - not so much. It was a dark brown, at best. On the other hand, the alcohol will be noticeable. At 10.2% ABV, Wake Up Dead was on the boozy side, so good points for that. And it did give forth a luxurious frothy head. Another point added.

Some of the flavors that you would expect in an Imperial Stout were there; roasted malts, licorice and coffee. But overall, there were some flavors that I couldn't derive. Even the oak was a bit more of a suggestion than fact.  It did slowly work its way into the profile late, late, in the glass.

A good ale? Yes. An Imperial Stout? All things considered, I had high hopes for what should have been a slam dunk write-up, given my macabre nature and the name of the stout. But, my fellow pallbearers, we will have to bury this one for now. I will say that while it was enjoyable, it wasn't my expectation of an Imperial Stout.

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