Eel River Ravens Eye Imperial Stout

My Bottom Line:
Roasted and caramel malts hang on till the very end in this lean and clean Imperial Stout.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam surrounds the brown-tinged blackness.
-Carbonation is comfortable and increases drinkability.
-Alcohol is well concealed in the flavor profile.
-A shady soy spiciness roams within.
-I love Imperial Stouts just like any other style when it is well made, but this one fell short in its simplicity and lack of wealth.
-This is apparently nitroed when served on tap...this might account for the slender (less than voluptuous) mouthfeel when bottled?

Bottle.

22 oz bomber purchased from Canal’s Hainesport. Pours a deep dark brownish/black with a large foamy super light beige head. Aroma of sweet chocolate, slight hint of alcohol, dark fruits dipped in rum. Medium to fuller bodied with just a touch of alcohol and a good dose of carbonation. Flavor of chocolate, dark fruit, molasses, a good amount of roastiness yet smooth. Solid Impy stout but I have had better.

Bomber via bullzeye- pours a dark black with frothy chunky beige head and sticky lacing. Nose- not alot there, faint roast and chocolate. Taste- dark chocolate, anise, hint of hotness, but overall very silky smooth. Finishes moderately dry. Body is tad thin, but drinkable

Bottle from Total Wine in Roseville. This brew aged nicely, considering the organic nature of the beer. Nice, full-bodied Imperial with coffee, malt, and chocolate flavors.

Pours black with off white head. Aroma is roasted. Taste is filled with roastiness, coffee. with chocolate malts.Alcohol is very present and warming. Thick mouthfeel, one amazing good stout.

Bottle at home ... Deep black ... deep chocolate ... silky smooth ... roat malts ... little charcoal ... little coffee ... low to medium carbonation ... little dry malts ... light hop in background...

(22 oz. bottle from Bootleggers) Pours very dark brown with one finger of tan head. Multi-faceted aroma of sweet dark chocolate, coffee, port, raisin and plum. Palate is decent but kind of thin and fizzy for an Imp Stout. A bit sticky in finish, as well as a little drying. Taste is mostly chocolate-dominated, supported a bit by some of the other aromatic elements but mostly just chocolate and alcohol with a bit of char. Features quite an alcohol burn. Pretty good but kind of just average for the style.

The last of my recent pick ups from Green’s in Greenville, South Carolina, Raven’s Eye poured out pitch back in color and was opaque when held up against light. The head topping the beer was small, but dark, and dissipated in a short time to a layer of small bubbles. The smell was milder than a typical RIS, and was mostly chocolate and coffee with little hoppyness. The taste was reminiscent of sweetened dark coffee sprinkled with chocolate. There was a hint of dark fruits, but I had to look for it carefully. There was noticeable astringent, roasted grain, bitterness to counter the sweet malts. This was an intense but approachable beer, and made me easily forget the 9.5% ABV, until the warmth in the belly reminded me. Heft on the palette, and slickness of feel was unmistakably imperial. The aftertaste was short lived. Very enjoyable due to its well rounded construction, but none of the aspects were really a standout.