Eel River Ravens Eye Imperial Stout

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

Bottle. Black beer with a small brown head. Rich, malty, caramel, slight coffee roast aroma. Full bodied. Rich malt, chocolate, caramel flavor with just enough hops to back it up. LIngering chocolate and slight bitterness. Alcohol noticeable. Well put together. Nice.

First observation is NO light passes through this stuff!! Pours a sinful black. Small frothy head which doesn’t last hardly an instant. Nice aroma of chocolate malt. Looks like a normal dark stout. Smells like a normal dark stout. Taste is closer to a normal dark stout than to the imperial stouts I’ve sampled (example: Old Rasputin), though there is a little bitter alcohol in the aftertaste. More of a bitterness in the actual taste, leaving a burnt grain bitterness on the palate in the aftertaste, which is a little too harsh for my tastebuds. Not likely to be buying this again anytime soon with the $6/bottle pirce tag, though I haven’t seen it around too much anyways. Bought at Andronico’s Market, north Berkeley, CA.

22. Thanks, Pitonka! Pours opaque black with a fairly thin tan moussy shell. Sweet chocolatey nose--easily the dominant note. Medium, slightly velvety body. Plenty of carb, but not at all tingly or fizzy. Thorough coffee/chocolate-forward mid-palate. Nice mildly hoppy cling to the finish. I’d drink the hell out of this if it were more gettable for me.

Nose-caramel coffee, cream, sweet coffee. Body-opaque with a slight ring of bubbles and a patchy film of bubbles. Taste-high CO2, wasabi, medium PNW hops, good smooth mouthfeel. Good, but simple. Chocolate, coffee.

(Bottle) Pours a dark brown body with an average tan head. Aroma of chocolate, vanilla, oatmeal, and roastiness. Flavor of hops, roasted malt, cocoa, and coffee.

Poured a black, not oily though, brew. The head is thin, brown, and gone quickly. The aroma is sweet, chocolate, coffee, light fruit, and alcoholic. The flavor is smokey/roasted, bakers chocolate, coffee, light fruit/citrus, with alcohol at the end. More shows up with warmth. Not hidden well for the abv. The palate was a little thin to be perfect. The palate is roastey and warm.

22 ounce bomber purchased at Nugget on Covell in Davis, CA. Aroma is rather roasted with a lot of anise present. Light coffee hints are also there, but the anise seems a little dominating. Some veggie notes are also in the nose. Eh. Opaque black body with a smallish brown head present, which dissipates faster than I would like. Sweet, malty, chocolate flavors are present to start. A little anise-like in the middle with some spritziness present. Finishes relatively roasted and a bit swampy. This is ok for what it is, but a little boring for my tastes. $6 I certainly won’t spend again. What’s up with them releasing this in May? Most people crave the style in the heart of winter, not late spring.

Bomber. Huge chocolate aroma backed by coffee. Opaque black/brown color with a firm tan head. A bit thin. Start with chocolate and deep toasted malt. Moves on to, ok, make it espresso. It’s not standard coffee. The finish is decently bitter. It’s well balanced. The alcohol doesn’t get in the way of the flavors. A really good imperial stout, with hints of Guinness toastiness.