Eel River Ravens Eye Imperial Stout

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

22oz. Bottle: Aroma of chocolate, roasted malts, alcohol, soy sauce, and mocha. Poured black in color with a medium-sized, dense, light brown head that lasted throughout. Clear. Lightly sparkling. Lightly sweet flavor. Tastes of chocolate, malts, roasting, mocha, burnt malts, alcohol, and coffee. Medium to full body. Thick, creamy, then chalky texture. Average carbonation. Burnt malt finish.

Cellar Reduction Night, Oct 20, 2007. Courtesy of Skyview. Black color with a thin head. A little coffee in the aroma. Strong dry roasted barley taste and a lot of raw, grain. Pretty straight forward and simple.

Small brown head with fair retention, lacing was spotty. Black pour. Light nose of roast and coffee, lightly fruity. Medium body, lightly oily on the palate. Laid back roast and coffee flavors, light pineyness with some berryish and sweet malt notes. Lightly sweet malty roasty finish. Props to captaincougar for the bomber. Thanks Tom!

gives off a strong flavor, lots of dark malts, coffee, fruits with a slightly chewy taste. strong flavor, very tasty.

Bottle. A black beer with a beige head. The aroma is of chocolate, so is the taste but a bit fruity and roasted. Medium body with a sweet dry finish.

Bottle from South Bay Drugs: Pours a reasonable dark brown color with thin layer of foam. I detect a simple amount of roast malt and light scent of black licorice but nothing more substantial. Flavor is heavy and holds its weight in alcohol and dark black malt finishing with bitter bits of chocolate. It does taste organic but at the same time a bit empty and incomplete to be taken seriously as an imperial stout.

Bomber from Sam’s in Downers grove, Illinois: This pours an opaque dark brown with some clear mahogany at the edges. The yellowed tan head quickly collapses to a film, then a slender ring. It has aroma of burnt malt, cold coffee, anise, and a smidgeon of bittersweet chocolate. This seems a bit thin for an Imperial Stout, but that’s almost refreshing after the many heavy, syrupy brews that I’ve had lately. The flavor reflects the aroma except that there’s a touch of buttery dark toffee in there and finally a hit of the strong ABV. The finish is darkly sweet with a low alcohol burn. Okay.

Solid black with a wisp of a head. Heavy, earthy, coal, tar and dusty cocoa aroma. The smells remind me of cold, nutrient rich soil. Surprising light in body. Standard mix of stout flavors with nothing particularly outstanding. Lingering bitterness and roasted flavors in the finish. No noticeable alcohol. I wonder what "nitrogen conditioned" means, in relation to a bottled stout. The overall palate in the beer is a bit flabby.