New England Brewing Co. Imperial Stout Trooper
New England Brewing Company began brewing in 1989 in South Norwalk, Connecticut. But in 2001 head brewer Rob Leonard moved the brewery to Woodbridge, Connecticut, and it was at this point that the brewery’s profile really began to rise. Shortly after this their beer began showing up regularly on shelves throughout New England.
From the start they set themselves apart by choosing to can all of their beer. This was at a time when hardly any craft brewers were canning their beer, with the Oskar Blues Brewery being one of the other notables doing this. According to owner Rob Leonard the decision was initially a purely economical one, owing to the cost of purchasing glass bottles. In the end though, the brewery really got behind this idea and has stuck with it throughout the growth they’ve experienced in the past few years.
Each year they brew a special release beer, and Imperial Stout Trooper first appeared in 2007 as part of this series. It instantly began receiving rave reviews, and initial batch quickly sold out, and the beer itself quickly became a cult item.
Its cult status owes in no small part to its name, borrowing from George Lucas’ Star Wars series. No doubt, choosing the name Imperial Stout Trooper was genius, and as a homebrewer who struggles to choose interesting/fun names for my beers, I could only hope to ever hit upon something so brilliant. My favorite part is that when asked whether they would brew Imperial Stout Trooper again, Rob Leonard remarked, “We thought the Imperial Storm Trooper would be a one time only brew, as we expected a cease and desist order from Lucas Films. It never came, though, so you’ll probably see it again next year.”
Lo and behold, they did brew the beer again the following year, and released it in December of 2008. This is one of those many elusive beers that gets incredible ratings on sites such as Beeradvocate and which you rarely, if ever, see in a shop. And yet, somehow I was lucky enough to land two bottles of this rare bird. Needless to say, not only does the name rock, I’m smitten by the fabulous label too:
The statement on the label says: “Brewed in a brewery not too far away and not too long ago…Imperial Stout Trooper is a full bodied stout with a majestic blend of seven different malts and Northern Brewer hops.” The brew date is indicated as 2008.
The beer pours beautifully, thick and viscous with a thin creamy looking, chocolate-colored head forming. A thin, persistent layer of head sticks around for the duration. The nose has rich notes of rum, black licorice, coffee, and black-strap molasses. A whiff of alcohol is in there as well. The palate is luscious, thick and velvety textured. A simply amazing texture to this beer, easily right up there with some of the best beers that I’ve drunk. Flavors of roasted coffee and dark, bittersweet chocolate (think 85% dark) flavors dominate, accompanied by flavors of black licorice, salted caramel, and a very noticeable malty backbone. The alcohol flavors are pretty well-masked by the texture, and are not very prominent. The finish wraps things up perfectly, with pronounced flavors of flourless chocolate cake, dark chocolate pots de creme, and chocolate-covered raisins.
Holy moly. This beer really did live up to the hype. It’s so seldom that a beer manages to do that, but the Imperial Stout Trooper totally knocked this one out of the park. The flavors were incredibly well put-together for an imperial stout, but it was the texture that left me awed. I hate to say it, on account of the extremely limited availability of this beer, but it is a must-try for anyone who loves imperial stouts.
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