Peace Tree Imperial Stout Review

Name: Peace Tree Imperial Stout 
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10%

Tonight I'm trying out a new brewery from Iowa called Peace Tree Brewing, of whom I have been seeing offerings on the shelves in stores around here. The only other high profile breweries that I know of that are Iowa-based are Toppling Goliath (which is supposed to be available in Minnesota later this year) and Exile Brewing. I decided I would take a look at their Imperial Stout and I found it to be decently priced for a bomber.

The beer pours a pitch black color with a filmy brown head. There are a few bubble which climb along the sides of the glass and the lacing retention is minimal at best.

In the nose are some chocolate malts, cocoa nibs, cloves, and licorice. Interestingly enough, there is a fairly prominent smokiness in here too, but not in the Baltic Porter/Rauchbier sense. What I mean is that it smells like actual smoke from a house fire.

The flavor is quite roasty with notes of roasted barley & malts, smokiness and mild cherries. There is also an encompassing ash-like characteristic here, which derives from the smokiness which I picked up in the nose. It's different but I'm not sure if I'm digging it. The mouthfeel is quite heavy and it has some pretty moderate carbonation.

It's got some decent flavors going for it but the flavor way too smokey/ashy for my liking. If it had a more balanced flavor profile, this would've been a great Imperial Stout. For right now, it's probably in your best interest to spend that extra $2 on a better Imperial Stout.

Peace Tree Imperial Stout - 7/10