Review: Granville Island Chocolate Imperial Stout

Not all Granville Island beers have to taste like a watered down Rickards-like product. The problem with Granville is essentially Molson.. Molson fucked up Granville. Beer geeks worry (and they should) whenever one of the country's most popular microbrewery gets bought up by a multinational brewery conglomerate. Some people thought "Hey.. maybe Molson won't be a dick and not change anything" but we all know it's Molson, so they WILL fuck it up. Look at the beers from Granville available in Manitoba, all the beers available in 341ml bottles, such as Lion's Winter Ale and English Bay Pale Ale - taste like piss.. they taste exactly like Molson wanted to start up a side brand that's Rickard's but not quite Rickard's, which is what it is. Then there's the beer in bombers, such as their saison, Barley Wine and now Chocolate Imperial Stout, this is the real beer, the stuff made by the actual microbrewery, not at the Molson factory. I gave GIB lots of heck over bad batches of beer because the beers in the cases were truly BAD! Even Rickard's had tastier beers (either than their Blonde, that just truly sucks).

So as someone who will try any beer twice, tonight I'm trying Granville Island's Imperial Chocolate Stout. At 8.4% ABV (35 IBU), it's a stout made for bigger guys like me, wanting something to warm me up, but also be able to drink with a fork with. It costs around $6 including tax at Liquormart, so being a winter stout fan.. lemme have a try..

Appearance: Pours a rich chocolatey tar/stout black, with a bit of cookie dough beigeness, a thin layer that's not going anywhere.

Aroma: Holy.. this is a sweet beer. Immediately reminds me of Flying Monkeys' BNL Imperial Chocolate Stout in many ways, it's incredibly perfumey. Starts off with a rich homemade chocolate fudge that your aunt would make for Christmas dessert smorg, a bit of a sweeter whipped cream topping, akin to the whipped cream you can get at Tim Hortons, a scent of coffee from the roastiness of the malts and what I think to be is a smidge of caramel.

Taste: Much much much more laid back than the aroma would show otherwise. It's giving me more of a roasted malt coffee flavour off the bat with some chocolate shavings mixed in it. It has a bit of an alcohol sweetness biting the tongue a bit. The feel on the tongue is slightly milky, not that light. As I continue to drink this, the coffee notes become more subdued and it's more of a chocolatey drink for adults. Quite easy to drink, almost like a chocolate fudge stout milkshake (hey, let's make one!) Fudgey, milky feel, it's a tasty stout.

Overall Thoughts: The Limited Edition beers by Granville have never unimpressed me, they do a great job satisfying my palate, to the point I buy said beers again and again. It's a chocolate fudgey beer with notes of coffee.. Dan says it's kinda like a fudgesicle, but for me, more like homemade fudge that I'd eat til my mouth was sore at Xmas time. It isn't as sweet as Flying Monkeys' BNL Imperial Stout, but that one may be a too much for some, this one, being a bit more mellow, will be easier to accept for a dark ale/Guinness fan. Love chocolatey stouts? This is a great winter time dessert while you're playing cards with family or just wanting something to savour on while it's still depressingly cold outside.