23 people descended upon the J.Clyde this past Sunday for a blinded Russian Imperial Stout tasting and if you missed it then you missed out.
We tasted 10 beers that are available in this state and the results were interesting to say the least.
Blinded tastings are my favorite kind as I have no bias towards a beer based on its or the brewer’s reputation. I do a lot of reviews on Beer Advocate and while I do my damndest to stay unbiased I’m sure it has crept in at some point. It’s probably impossible for it not to.
Beers were judged in four areas: appearance, aroma, taste, and mouthfeel on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Here are the results…
Tasting # Beer Average Score
1 – Good People Fatso 3.93
10 – Bell’s Expedition Stout 3.78
9 – Sam Adams Imperial Stout 3.73
6 – Great Divide Yeti 3.50
5 – Avery The Czar 3.49
3 – Straight To Ale Laika 3.47
4 – Moylan’s Ryan Sullivan’s 3.42
8 – Left Hand Imperial Stout 3.27
7 – 1 Yr Old Fatso (wrong yeast)3.25
2 – Sweetwater Happy Ending 3.04
There were some good debates during and after the tasting which was one of the great things about it.
Congratulations to Birmingham’s own Good People Brewing Company for taking the top spot. GPBC definitely knows what Alabamians like in a RIS.
Can’t wait for the next one and hope to see you there.
