Big Sky Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Missoula, Montana USA

Thanks aspidites. Poured dark brown/ black, chocolate, wood, vanilla, bourbon, little alcohol, little coffee, slight dark fruit.

Best of the night at our April ’09 tasting. Pours viscous deep brown with a pillowy dark tan head. Nose is rich with chocolate, vanilla, coconut and coffee. The flavor is all of that well blended with a smooth creamy mouthfeel.

Bottle shared at rattle and Hum thanks to whom ever brought this. Pour a black body with no head. Alcohol, bourbon, molasses and licorice. Hints of soy, vanilla, coconut, chocolate, milk chocolate with more soy. A light woodiness with a milky finish. Decent. I think EDA had a seizure drinking this sweet treat, good times.

750 ml bottle. Pours black with a large brown head that lasted through the first third of the glass and left a partial coating of foam. Very pleasant aroma of caramel, raisins, vanilla, bourbon and some lightly roasted malt. The flavor is equally enjoyable with plenty of caramel, raisins, bourbon, vanilla and mild roast. A little hot on the palate, but that seemed to dissipate as the beer sat. An enjoyable offering from the folks at Big Sky.

25 oz bottle, via Liquid Solutions. Pours an inky black body with a good sized fizzy brown head that retained as a thin film. Fairly heavy Jim Beam nose, wood, roast, burnt caramel, vanilla, just a little alcohol. Fairly alcoholic and bourbon dominated up front, it finishes a little bit smoother when the woody and vanilla qualities emerge more. On the sweeter side with lots of caramel and black strap molasses. Mouthfeel is fairly sturdy with a slightly oily clinginess on the finish. Overall, this was decent, but not being a big fan of Jim Beam, it wasn’t really doing it for me.

Courtesy of SeaBass. The liquid pours deep darkness with amber edges and full mocha head. The aroma is wood, chocolate, vanilla, molasses and caramel. Very inviting smell where the aromatics blend together with a sense of harmony and balance. The taste is much the same with caramel, some molasses and robust levels of vanilla. To midway bourbon, coconut and wood enter the picture. The wood notes grow into the finish moving from a supporting flavor role to a dominant one. It has a pleasing mouth feel too where the body wasn’t overly thinned out from the barrel treatment. Very nice stuff.

Name: Ivan the Terrible
Date: March 28, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party
Appearance: black, wispy tan head, bits of lace
Aroma: sweet dark chocolate aroma, touch of dark caramel sweetness, sweet bourbon and vanilla
Body: rich creamy body
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, touch of roasted, rich bourbon, lots of sweet dark caramel and vanilla enrichens the chocolate, balancing earthyness
Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.2/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+/4

Bottle #125 (of 1152). Appearance: Pours a dark brown, near black body with a thin, off-white head. Smell: Rich, fragrant melange of roasted maltiness and downright delectable bourbon aromas. The Yankee Candle Co. needs to knock it off with candle fragrances like Plumeria and Blue Hydrangea and release a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout series of votive and jar candles. Taste: Sweet, roasted malt flavors of dark chocolate, caramel, Breakfast Blend coffee (with cream and sugar, natch), and licorice sticks. Oh, but here come the bourbon tastes: brown sugar, vanilla beans, wood, coconut. Mmm-mm! Round and round the flavors go, my friends. A light, earthy bitterness peeks out through the heavy layers of malt and bourbon flavors. No more than a minor hint of booze. Finishes with a pleasant mixture of bourbon barrel hints and sweet roastiness. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: There was a time, if you can scarcely believe it, that I had little faith in Big Sky’s offerings. In fact, it was any day prior to 3/28/09. But I was blown away by this one, it is one very tasty, highly enjoyable barrel-aged Imperial Stout that would pair remarkably well with Sergei Eisenstein’s films on the subject, provided you have those Criterion disks conveniently lying around.