United Nations of Beer

John By Imperial stout

by Sam Corbeil
(Beer Delegate, Ontario, Canada)

John By Imperial stout: the little beer that could

I actually purchased the John By Imperial stout from Scotch Irish Brewing quite some time ago. But due to its diminutive size, it sadly got passed up time and again, for larger, more appealing-looking beers. And with the continuous flow of new beers in and out of my fridge, it slowly made its way to the dark and lonely, nether regions of the back of my fridge. Soon it was all but lost in a forest of towering long necks.

But as time passed, some of that long neck forest was clear cut due to serious environmental issues, such as heavy drinking events. This allowed the sun to break through (and by sun I mean the fridge's interior light) the canopy of caps and shine a bright beam of light onto the "little stubby that could".

Finally after countless weeks of neglect, I saw the John By Imperial Stout at the back of my fridge. And it occurred to me that it didn't matter that this was a stubby, the beer was an Imperial stout and was bound to pack a punch. It wasn't the size of the bottle, it was the size of the beer that mattered.

A curious reel of past Sean Astin movies began to play through my mind. First Rudy; where the small player with the big heart shows that world that he can play football with the big guys. Then The Goonies, where a band of small, poor misfits goes up against not only bank robbers but also the bank! They beat the robbers to the treasure and bought back their homes from the evil bank. Finally it was The Lord of the Rings, where two small hobbits go up against all odds and travel to the depths of Mordor to defeat the evil Lord Sauron.

All of them wonderfully uplifting tales centering on the small guy defying the odds. Each one showing us that, it's not the size of the person but the size of their heart that matters. It was time to give John By his due.

When I began to empty the beer into my pint glass, it came out syrupy and black as Lord Sauron's evil heart. It poured a thick, pillowy tan head that lasted for some time. I gave the glass a swirl as I bent over the pint to smell it. Huge aromas of chocolate and roasted malts leapt out, followed by a gentle touch of alcohol.

It was time to drink.

The flavours mirrored the aromas. Chocolate, roasted malt and coffee notes were all in there. This was a seriously big, malty beer. The alcohol was there too but it wasn't overpowering. At 6.7% ABV, it packs a serious punch, but it was actually at the weaker end of the spectrum compared to other Imperial Stouts I've had recently, which ranged from 8% to 10.6%.

The mouth feel was silky and with a moderate touch of carbonation that allowed the beer to melt over your tongue. As the beer made its way down the glass, I continued to spin it to release the lovely chocolate aromas. The head was resurrected each time, tan and swirling with milky lines of dark stout.

I continued spinning and sipping, enjoying each breath and each taste until the last drop.

John By Imperial stout was my own personal Sean Astin. It showed me that the beer doesn't have to come in an awe-inspiring large package to still be a big beer.