Grand Teton Black Cauldron Imperial Stout

Brewed By: Grand Teton Brewing Co. in Victor, Idaho 

Purchased: 4-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 8.0%

I love Summer in Russia.

Nothing says, "I do what I want," like drinking a beer made for the coldest of Russian winters during the middle of summer. Of course, the temperature did drop...last week it was all like 100+ degrees, with 90% humidity, and the homeless and elderly were dropping like flies. Now it's down to a modest 81 degrees, which feels like 60 because conditioning. That's why. I'm thinking about renaming this to the Beer and Weather blog. 

Anyway, I have high expectations for today's Stout, so let's talk about Grand Teton, and then about the beer:

Grand Teton Brewing Company is a brewery located at the base of the Teton Mountains in Victor, Idaho. The brewery advertises fresh ingredients, including water from glacial run-off, home-grown malting barley, and hops straight from Southern Idaho hop farms. The brewery was founded in 1988 by Charlie and Ernie Otto, originally called Otto Brother's Brewing Company located in Wyoming. The brothers secured the first malt beverage manufacturers' permit in Wyoming in 35 years, and were the first modern micro brewery to be opened in the state. The brewery also credits itself with reintroducing the modern Growler, in 1989. After battling Wyoming's state laws, the brothers opened Wyoming's first brewpub in 1992.

Due to the brewpub's popularity, in 1998 the brothers decided to open a brewery at the base of Teton in Victor, Idaho. In the Fall of 2000, the company changed their name from Otto Brother's Brewing Company to Grand Teton Brewing Company to give props to the people of Teton, where the new brewery was located. In April 2009, Charlie Otto sold the brewery to Steve and Ellen Furbacher. Since the Furbachers have taken over, the brewery has continued to expand. Right now the brewery is an 11,000 square foot building, with a 30 barrel brewhouse, and 660 barrels of fermenting tanks.

The Black Cauldron is an Imperial Stout, of course. This beer is described as being brewed with caramel and roasted malts, and spiced with Nugget and Cascade hops. The beer also features some beechwood-smoked malt, to give it a slight smokey profile. Clockin' in at 8.0% ABV, and 43 IBUs, this is a modest entry to what has become an extreme and bloated style of beer.

One cool thing to note about this beer is that it is brewed to recognize and honor the women in the history of brewing. Grand Teton states:

"Brewing has been women's work since the dawn of civilization. In all ancient cultures, beer was a gift from a goddess, and women maintained status and power through their skills as brewsters. This remains true today in indigenous cultures from Asia to Latin America, Africa to remote villages in Scandinavia. Around the world, women baked bread and brewed their own beer. 

The artwork is good stuff.

In Europe, the rise of cities brought commercial brewing, as governments realized the potential tax revenue to be had from large breweries. By 1445, the first all-male brewers' guild was established, the campaign against witchcraft burst forth across Europe, and the purge of women from brewing had begun. Beer historian Alan Eames has written that, when an occupation was listed, most of the women burned for witchcraft in Europe were brewsters or alewives. 

Most of the imagery we associate with witchcraft today originated with the brewster. The large black cauldron bubbling over with foam? A brew kettle, of course. The black cat? Necessary to keep rats out of the grain store. The tall pointed hat? It allowed the brewster to be seen over the heads of taller men in the marketplace. A broom? The symbol of household domesticity, it is still associated with brewing all over the world."

This is really interesting history (assuming it all is true). I really appreciate the amount of information that Grand Teton provides about their beers, and it seems like a lot of thought goes into their beers. Their website is really nice, and the bottle art and packaging their beer comes in is awesome as well. I have to say they do a really good job with showcasing their product. With that said, let's get this into a glass and see what's happening.

Black Cauldron Imperial Stout

This beer pours like a Russian Imperial Stout. It's actually a really nice pour. Straight out of the bottle is this really inky, thick, black stuff. I would describe this beer as inky black. The beer pours with an inch of thick, bready head. The head has a dark-brown, coffee color to it. The head dissolved fairly quickly, leaving a nice cauldron effect and some lacing. There are alcohol legs, which you would expect for an 8.0% ABV beer. Really though, good looking stuff; but what Imperial Stout doesn't pour like beer porn. 

The aroma on this is really complex, and features these big roasted esters, hints of meat and smoke, and some nice coffee aromas. There's also some underlying caramel sweetness, and some elusive dark fruits; raisins, meaty cherries. I do get some wood/campfire from the roasted malts, and just a hint of booziness. 

The taste is just like the nose, only with an added chocolate kick. Huge flavors dominate the palate of this beer, as I'm getting caramel, dark fruits (raisins; cherries; plums; elusive berries), roasted malts (wood; campfire), baker's chocolate, some earthy/bitter hoppiness, coffee (Chicory; earthy), and a hint of alcohol warming in the back end. The finish is roasty and dry, and ends with campfire notes. I swear I'm tasting Dogfish Head's Chicory Stout in this. 

This is a heavy, dense, thick, full-bodied beer with a thick/full-bodied mouthfeel. It's not oily or sticky though, and I think that is thanks to the moderate to high carbonation. Still, this beer fills its 8.0% ABV shoes. And honestly, that's fucking awesome. I have much appreciate for big beers that fill their big shoes. This beer does just that. Really, you could sip on this beer, or pair it with some bold foods. This has a giant palate depth, and big complexity. Up front are big chocolate and coffee malts; this rolls into some dark fruits, caramel, and hops; the back end is lingering hops, roast, campfire. The finish is dry, roasty, campfire, and there is some nice alcohol warming on the back end. 

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew rating on this beer. This has to be one of the most underrated Imperial Stouts. Or, maybe not. The Imperial Stout category is filled with giant beers that receive giant hype. But this is a giant beer. This beer really has a density and complexity to it, and you really feel like you're getting your 8.0% ABV's worth. Some beers that dial up the ABV don't have the body, flavors, or density to hold up to the huge ABV. I'm impressed with this beer, and you should check it out. I look forward to trying more from Grand Teton in the future. Until next time, 'something something in Soviet Russia Stout Imperials you.'