2015 will see us release a few riffs on our Smokestack Series Limited Release Imperial Stout. As a base beer, Imperial Stout serves as a ridiculously sturdy starting point for layering flavors by incorporating new ingredients or barrel aging methods. Imperial Stout has a huge grain bill featuring several types of malted barley, wheat, rye, oats, and spelt. Robust grain and chocolate/coffee flavors are counterbalanced by date and plum notes from Scottish yeast.

Our first variation, Imperial Stout X – Coffee, incorporates freshly roasted Ethiopian Sidamo beans from our friends just down the street at The Roasterie. After fermentation is complete and the beer has been crash cooled and the yeast removed, our brewers transfer Imperial Stout into a sanitized stainless steel tank that has been fitted with bags of coarsely ground coffee beans. At this point, the beer is at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Infusing the coffee at this temperature is similar to the cold toddy method of brewing coffee. The cold toddy method extracts far fewer acids from the coffee resulting in remarkably smooth, yet concentrated flavors. We allow the beer to rest on the coffee for close to 48 hours before removing the beer from the coffee beans. Imperial Stout X – Coffee is not barrel aged.

The resulting beer is a marriage of huge, round, chocolate/caramel notes from the base beer with incredibly smooth coffee notes featuring sweet lemon/citrus and floral flavors and aromas. At 11% ABV and 63 IBUs, Imperial Stout X – Coffee is a one time release available exclusively in 750 ml corked and caged bottles.

- Jeremy Danner, Ambassador Brewer

While it’s always our intention to release new beers in our home market first, the State of Missouri is operating under a higher than normal backlog of new beer registrations. It’s amazing and very positive that the Midwest craft beer scene is expanding at such a tremendous rate. We’re never happy to delay a release of a new beer, but it’s difficult for us to be upset with this reason. Due to this delay, you may see Imperial Stout X – Coffee on shelves outside Missouri before the beer hits shelves in the Kansas City area. After conferring with our compliance folks, we are targeting a release date of February 10th and will keep you posted of any changes that may occur. Thank you for your understanding.