Coast Range Russian Imperial Stout

Formerly brewed at Coast Range Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Gilroy, California USA

This Imperial Stout pours a deep eclipse black color from a 7oz bottle. Small sized tan foamy head, quickly dissipating. Aroma is roasted malts, chocolate and coffee. A medium to full bodied Imperial Stout. The malts are chocolate and coffee, touch of vanilla. The hops are earthy and herbal. Very smooth tasting, mellow stout. Some bottle aging has mellowed the malts and added a touch of oxidation that somehow works well. Very smooth tasting. There is a complex mix of flavors going on here, chocolate, coffee, cocoa, dark fruit and vanilla. It hides the 11.4% alcohol extremely well, glad its in a small bottle. Nice beer that has aged well. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet with some bitter overtones or is it bitter with some sweetness.

Courtesy boboski. Deep, dark mahogany body. Wispy, almost non-existent film at the top that left virtually no lacing behind. One whiff indicates that this is a special beer. The aroma is nothing short of intoxicating. Chocolate, dark roasted caramel, nougat, and molasses meld together almost flawlessly in the nose. The flavor, while solid, is not quite as impressive. The chocolate and nougat flavors lay the groundwork, while hints of dry roasted coffee and light soy sauce provide highlights. Mild hops add nice balance. The body is just on the heavy side of medium, smooth, and somewhat viscous. The mouthfeel was solid, though slightly flat, with a bit of oxidation noticable. Very nice beer that I feel might have been a little past its prime. Thanks Jason! I enjoyed it.

nip bottle. This came from my nor cal pal tever, who hooked me up with this incredibly rare brew. The pour is of course very very very black with a one finger light brown head. The nose is rather forboding with hints of licoricce and malt and a bit of fruit and smoke. The taste, the main event is very bold malty and sweet, clearly a strong brew with a bit of alcholic potency behind every sip. Smooth drinkable and damn good.

Bottle. Black colour with a little head. Wonderfull aroma of dried fruit, roastness very smooth. Also very wonderfull flavour of roastedness and coffee, in a very balanced and smooth way. A very wonderfull imp. stout.

(Bottle 21 cl) Courtesy of Degarth. Completely opaque black with a tiny, light brown head. Aroma of licorice and dried fruits. Very full and rich body - this almost pours like tar. Loads of roasted malt and sweet, dried fruit, a touch of vanilla and perhaps wood - although I don’t believe this is barrel aged? Very vinous and delicate. The finish is slightly ashy with a very subdued bitterness. 090407

Bottled. A pitch black beer wtih a thin brown head. The aroma is sweet with some acidity form hard roasted malt. The flavor is sweet with notes of prunes, and over ripe fruits, as well as some oxidation. The mouthfeel is quite flat.

7oz bottle, big thanks to davecooks for this bottle. pours pitch black with almost no head. looks thick too. nose reminded me a lot of Stone IS, very big, roasty nose with some licorice, dark fruits, and floral hop hints in there too. flavor is very roasty and chocolatey with charred dark fruits, nuts, licorice, tobacco, and caramel. mouthfeel is slick and full. alcohol is well hidden. very nice example of the style.

Nip courtesy of Davecooks, tank u vedy much. Poured into snifter glass (split in two). Absolutely no head with a few brown specs of lacing. Pitch black body (no clarity) with a dark blood red ring at the edges. Aroma is strong with chocolate, alcoholic raisons, and charred sweetness. Its pretty boozy. The prunish chocolate is what i would love in an imperial stout but the booziness gets in the way. Taste is a bit thin. Still plenty of chocolate (now more like powdered cocoa) and no longer any charred aspects. There is no more alcohol presence, which makes the taste nice but it goes thin on all the other aspects. Aftertaste is dry with bitter coffee. The aftertaste is extremely strong, stronger than the taste (which again is weak for such a big beer). Long, long dry coffee flavor left on my tongue. Body is a bit thin, carbonation is subdued, bitterness is on the lower end and sweetness is very subdued. Overall, the weird dicothomy of alcohol prsence in aroma but not taste adds up to a bit of a confused Imperial Stout.