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Spring will be here in no time, so I’ve decided to lump in three winter beers before I have to convert to lighter fare.  This year Sam Adams rolled out three different imperial beers: a stout, double bock and white ale.  I grabbed a bottle of each, and over the course of a week managed to test each one.  Good thing I didn’t try them in the same night.

First we have the Imperial Stout. At 9.2% this was the weakest of the three.  It had a very good roasted flavor and poured very dark and thick out of the bottle.  It reminded me of Pennichuck’s Pozharnik, which is also an Imperial style stout.  This tasted great with my grilled sandwich I made for lunch.

Next up is the Double Bock. At 9.5% this was a little smoother than the stout.  For each bottle of this beer there is a half pound of malt used, think of it as drinking a loaf of bread.  It had a slight bitter flavor, and I thought of a way to cut that: vanilla ice cream.  With a spoonful it made the beer taste a lot better.

Finally, the Imperial White. At 10.3% this was a little different.  At first this beer was pretty strong and tasted kind of bad.  After I let it breathe for a bit I noticed that the flavor smoothed out, and it wasn’t too bad.  This is brewed like a witbier, too bad there weren’t any blackberries floating in it.  Giving it a mild chill was a good idea.

I know these beers are on limited series and supply, if you happen to come across them give them a shot.  True, the snow is melting outside, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a good dark beer from time to time.