Stone Give Me Stout Or Give Me Death

Stone Give Me Stout Or Give Me Death is an American Double/Imperial Stout brewed with raspberries and blackberries from the Commonwealth of Virginia, 9.5% ABV. The beer was created in collaboration with Ardent Craft Ales, Hardywood Park, and Va. Governor Terry McAuliffe at Stone’s new Virginia brewery.

The beer pours with a thick black color that maybe has the slightest red highlights towards the bottle of the glass. A big chocolate brown head retains like a real champ as well. I am a bit surprised by an overall mild aroma. Some chocolate and mild roast has only the slightest hints of some generic fruitiness from the blackberries. Not a bad smelling beer, but it lacks the oomph I expect from Stone. Again I am taken aback a little by the taste, this stout has a good amount of unexpected bitterness. Dry and bitter bakers chocolate is joined by some fairly strong, and bitter, roasted malts. The hop presence in the beer is bigger than I was looking for as well. Some piney/earthy/spicy hops come in strong towards the finish. The fruit is pretty much absent for me in the taste. That said, Andrew who was drinking this with Lee and I tasted strong fruit upfront. The mouth-feel is thinner than I like in the style.

I feel like this is drinking much more like an Imperial Black IPA than an Imperial Stout, and when I think of this beer in that style I enjoy it more.