Stone Imperial Russian Stout

Stone Imperial Russian Stout (2012)

Limited Yearly Release.

22 fl. oz. / $7.49 USD / 10.5% ABV

About: "Brewed in the authentic historical style of an Imperial Russian Stout, this beer is massive. Intensely aromatic (notes of anise, black currants, coffee, roastiness and alcohol) and heavy on the palate, this brew goes where few can - and fewer dare even try. The style originated from Czarist Russia's demand for ever thicker English stouts. Expect our version of this mysterious brew to pour like Siberian crude and taste even heavier! Malt bill: Pale Malt, Roasted Barley, Amber Malt, and Black Malt / Hops bill: Warrior."

Thoughts: This beer poured a super opaque dense black right out of the bottle and formed a thick, foamy milk chocolate colored head.

The scent comes off at first as mild chocolate and coffee. Both are noticeable, but they're laying very calmly. There's also a hint of black licorice.

The taste of this one is particularly interesting, exciting and what makes it special. Those chocolate and coffee notes start off naturally, but then there's this slow building of sweet syrupy like booze and warmth that comes in strong but doesn't go as far as to overpower anything. It falls back precisely at the right moment. Kind of stunning how it does so too as a matter of fact. It's got a sinister-like candy sweetness to it, and one of the things I'm finding that I really like about it, is that this beer doesn't abuse the mouth with massive amounts of chocolate or coffee. I was never a coffee drinker, and never really particularly a chocolate fiend, but whenever I would drink coffee it would have chocolate in it... suppose that's why I enjoy the mix as much as I possibly can.

Mouthfeel is velvety smooth and creamy, and just a tad fluffy from that foam that it's got, but it doesn't linger around. It's very easy going for a 10.5%.

As this beer begins to warm there's a creeping amount of grassy notes on the back of the tongue. It's a lighter to medium sensation and doesn't take anything away from the brew. I've got no problems with a hop tinge in a stout anyways. That syrupy black licorice starts to really come through just after about half way through the bottle, and a strange fruitiness starts to appear in various spots of scent and taste. The last few gulps of this brew it's got a lot of peppery tones. I found it enjoyable down to the very last drop. This is an awesome stout, I'm thinking about buying another bottle of this and mixing half of it with some Pumking later this year.

And I do believe that Uinta did their own take on this beer last year and called it Labyrinth Black Ale. Hmm.