Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout

With a name like Narwhal, this beer must be... well, I have no idea what.  But, it's an imperial stout, so I'm going to find out.  I like stouts.  Narwhals are straight up hilarious for existing so I love them.  But I've never cared for Sierra Nevada very much.  2 out of 3, those are decent odds for liking a thing.  Plus, it has a bitchin' illustration of some hard-core nautical shit on it.

I poured it.  I looked at it.  I smelled it. I drank it.  I did not like it.  Not at first.

At first, it tasted acrid and bland.  There was a lot of noise and not much music.  Just kind of an unpleasant flavor din.  I was pretty sure that I'd hit on a fun reviewin' beer.  I could call it names and make fun of Sierra Nevada for being shit.  There would be quips and jabs, then I would sum up by saying some stuff that I thought made me sound witty.  I was thrilled by this and took another sip of my crap beer.  That's when this terrible beer turned sadly better.

Suddenly, the beer wasn't such a mess of bitter and brown.  Now there is malt, copper, raisins, chocolate, and alcohol (10.2%).  The flavors had started to settle out, taking turns instead of all trying to be the first noticed.  They stand in line, the raisins, the copper, the chocolate, the malt.  They stand in line and introduce themselves, almost politely.  I enjoy meeting them.  I'm half way through this beer, and I have sadly little to be snarky about.  I'd make a joke about the copper taste being so prominent, but I don't have any penny jokes right now.  At this point, I'd say this beer is just fine.  It isn't the best stout I've ever had, not by a long shot.  I have had worse, though.  Hell, in a pinch, I might even have this one again.

Lucky for me, in this town, I'll never be in a pinch for finding a good beer.  There is no need to settle for even this, a well intentioned and reasonably executed beer.  Because, while there is nothing technically wrong with the execution of this beer, it still feels sterile, safe, and unexciting.  Maybe Sierra Nevada, so secure in their one popular beer, doesn't have the corporate stomach to be wild or unafraid with their offerings.  That's too bad, really, because they seem to have the wherewithal to do great things and simply lack the nar-balls.