Eel River Ravens Eye Imperial Stout

Brewed by Eel River Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Fortuna, California USA

22oz bottle pours out almost black topped with a small tan head. Aroma of coffee and dark chocolate. Tast of dark bitter chocolate, roast malt and a touch of smoke. thanks Jake65

Bottle: Near black pour with a nice creamy brown head. Bittersweet chocolate and coffee aroma. Bits of lacing. Dry taste with coffee and chocolate. Plenty of roasty malt. Seemingly a basic offering for the category, but solid nonetheless.

Bottle..Aroma was mild roasted malt not much there. Black body with tan head moderate lacing. Good roasted malt and dry coco flavor. Easy on the palate. Good brew but nothing stood out for me with this one.

Bottle at Bocktown in Pittsburgh. Pours deep brown with a dissipating tan head. Weak aroma for an Imperial, but I get some roast and sweet dark fruit. Medium bodied and more porter like in texture. Flavor of dark caramel, mild coffee, and vanilla. At the tail end of the finish I get peat or smoke, with the alcohol evident, but subdued nicely. Good, but not very "Imperial" in the flavor department. I mean that in a good way, as it was easy to drink.

Bottle... Pours murky and pitch black with a small, creamy, light brown head. Good retention. The aroma is all about sweet chocolate, espresso and caramel with a mellow smoke phenol. Full-bodied and downright velvety-smooth with tingly carbonation. The flavor is sweet and of chocolate, espresso, caramel, ethanol and ethanal (acetaldehyde). Burnt, bitter notes enhance the malty sweetness instead of overpowering it. Chocolaty, pleasantly sweet finish. Cheers to CaptainCougar for floating this bomber in my direction!

2/09/2008: Eel River Raven’s Eye Imperial Stout is very dark brown in color (reminds me somewhat of the color of black walnut wood actually) with a thin brown veil. The aroma is rich and shows some depth. In includes roasted and caramelized malts with hints of char and vanilla. The flavor is dominated by roasted malt, char, and expresso along with some dark chocolate in the finish. Overall the flavor is slightly sweeter than expected, but very good overall. This beer has a well-balanced flavor, a medium to medium-full body, and is fairly smooth. This is a tasty Imperial Stout that isn’t overly sweet, overly dry, overly roasty or overly bitter...

1 pint, 6 fl. oz. bottle (9.5% alcohol by volume) via trade with 5000. Thanks again Andre! Rating #123 for this beer...

Bottle in trade. this was very goog. Loads of espresso, molasses and chocolate. Thick and chewy,really a great feel on the tongue. This was a brew to sip slowly and enjoy the comlexity and changes as it warmed.

22oz bottle from NYbeer. Lightly roasted malt, toasted vanilla, milk chocolate, lightly charred oak, and a touch of alcohol on the nose. Pours nearly pitch black with a decent khaki head. Flavor is a little more rough around the edges than the pleasant nose. Bitter malt, some herbal hops, dark chocolate, vanilla and alcohol. The nose isn’t nearly as astringent as the flavor. Medium to full bodied. A lasting bitter wood and chocolate finish.