Head to Head: Victory Storm King Imperial Stout vs. Avery The Czar Imperial Stout

Welcome to another Head to Head challenge. Today we two Imperial Stouts. Both come from Amercia. The first beer is Victory Storm King Imperial Stout from Pennsylvania. The second beer is Avery The Czar Imperial Stout from Colorado.

As usual the tasting was done blind and to style.

Price: Winner – Storm

Storm – $12.99 (6 pack 12 oz bottles)

Czar– $8.99 (22 oz bottles)

Appearance: Winner – Storm

Storm – Pours black with a large tan head. The head does not last long but leaves a fair amount of lacing.

Czar – Pours black with a small creamy light brown head. The head leaves very little lacing as it quickly diminishes.

Aroma: Winner – Storm

Storm – This has a very subtle but pleasing aroma. There is a moderate hop smell and some nice toasted grain aromas that slowly come in to play.

Czar – This had a very yeasty smell. There are hints of cheese and dough. Not what I would expect form an Imperial Stout

Taste: Winner – Storm

Storm – The flavor starts with a delicate sweetness. This then changes into a nice bitter flavor that builds as you drink more. There are also some nice roasted flavors to be enjoyed.

Czar – The initial flavor is sweet but it then begins to taste of vinegar. There is definitely a growing sweetness in the beer but little hops or raosted flavors I would expect..

Body/Finish: Winner – Storm

Storm – The body is not quiet full but still on the heavy side of medium. The texture is slightly oily and there is a reasonable bitter aftertaste that does not linger for to long..

Czar – The best aspect of this beer for sure. It has a full body with a reasonable sweet finish. Not much bitterness but it is at least enjoyable..

Overall: Winner – Storm
Well I must say that the storm breazed through this tasting. If I would have to say that this bottle of the Czar was not up to scratch. Even if it had been I am not sure if it would have beaten the Storm King. The victory is a great drinkable Imperial Stout. I would like it to be a bit more powerful with more roasted aromas, more body and a bit more of a bitter bite. But today it wins. But will it win tomorrow?

Of note this bottle of Storm King was also tried against another stout to be revealed tomorrow. Since the bottle was clearly not quiet right I will not bother with a H2H. Suffice to say it lost. So tomorrow we will have the mystery beer go up against the winner here.

~ by alelagerlambic on May 27, 2008.