Long, Dark Voyage To Uranus I Sawdust City Brewing Co.
Country: Canada
ABV: 10.2%
Style: Imperial Stout
Colour: Uranal fluid
Price: $5.25/473ml can
ABV: 10.2%
Style: Imperial Stout
Colour: Uranal fluid
Price: $5.25/473ml can
Sawdust City continues its rich tradition of giving their beers long, weird names with their latest offering called Long, Dark Voyage To Uranus. It's marketed as a "Uranal imperial stout," and I think they can safely say that they are the only company offering this style of beer, as far as I know there is no intelligent life on Uranus, and if there is, they likely aren't brewing imperial stouts. Thankfully this beer is delicious, because if it wasn't I would be forced to make all manner of unsavory Uranal - urinal comparisons.
Before we go any further let me just say that if you don't like dark, heavy beers you might as well not bother with this one. Now that all the wimps have been weeded out, let's proceed. Coming out of the can it looked as viscous as engine oil, and just had a really heavy appearance to it. The colour is interesting, as it doesn't seem black like most stouts, but has more of a really dark brown colour instead. The nose is also quite interesting, with initial blasts of malt, dark chocolate and gummy worms, but further inspection reveals some musty and earthy scents as well. At first I thought that the aroma was a bit boring, but it ended up being really complex. As for the taste, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this beer's subtle quality, as I was expecting something over the top based on the name and titanic ABV. In point of fact, this beer is exceptionally well balanced for an imperial stout with an ABV of 10.2%, but it also has all of the big flashy aspects of an imperial stout that you would want: malty character, a sweet flavour profile, and the sting of liquor. The balance comes in the form of 60 IBU's which keep the other elements from going over the top. Initial hints of sweet malt and dark chocolate are followed by the sweet sting of alcohol, and the back end turns slightly bitter and dry. Perhaps a little too dry though, as my only real complaint is an unfulfilling dryness at the end of every sip that seems to eliminate the alcohol flavour. On the other hand, some may see this as a good thing. Another part of the subtle quality of this beer is that it really doesn't taste like it's 10.2%, and I've had many other imperial stouts that tasted way more boozy than this one. As it says on the can, this beer can be dangerous as it is likely to sneak up on you (the can actually says "sneak up from behind you" which is borderline creepy). This was my first beer since I got back from Cuba and it was a good introduction back into the land of real beer.
Overall, a very nice beer that may be one of my favourite imperial stouts.
Before we go any further let me just say that if you don't like dark, heavy beers you might as well not bother with this one. Now that all the wimps have been weeded out, let's proceed. Coming out of the can it looked as viscous as engine oil, and just had a really heavy appearance to it. The colour is interesting, as it doesn't seem black like most stouts, but has more of a really dark brown colour instead. The nose is also quite interesting, with initial blasts of malt, dark chocolate and gummy worms, but further inspection reveals some musty and earthy scents as well. At first I thought that the aroma was a bit boring, but it ended up being really complex. As for the taste, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this beer's subtle quality, as I was expecting something over the top based on the name and titanic ABV. In point of fact, this beer is exceptionally well balanced for an imperial stout with an ABV of 10.2%, but it also has all of the big flashy aspects of an imperial stout that you would want: malty character, a sweet flavour profile, and the sting of liquor. The balance comes in the form of 60 IBU's which keep the other elements from going over the top. Initial hints of sweet malt and dark chocolate are followed by the sweet sting of alcohol, and the back end turns slightly bitter and dry. Perhaps a little too dry though, as my only real complaint is an unfulfilling dryness at the end of every sip that seems to eliminate the alcohol flavour. On the other hand, some may see this as a good thing. Another part of the subtle quality of this beer is that it really doesn't taste like it's 10.2%, and I've had many other imperial stouts that tasted way more boozy than this one. As it says on the can, this beer can be dangerous as it is likely to sneak up on you (the can actually says "sneak up from behind you" which is borderline creepy). This was my first beer since I got back from Cuba and it was a good introduction back into the land of real beer.
Overall, a very nice beer that may be one of my favourite imperial stouts.
