Eel River Ravens Eye Imperial Stout

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

Uninspired imperial stout. Nice coffee / alcohol nose, but from there this beer goes south. It’s black, yes, but with little character and strange translucence towards the top of the glass. Taste is meaty, and not in a good way. All in all, there are certainly better imperial stouts, but this one is still quite drinkable, just not necessarily a quality you want in this type.

Pours a very dark molasses color with a slight reddish hue if held up to the light. Head is a thick 1 finger foam that is a medium beige color. Aroma is an artificial chocolate Tootsie Roll with a very oatmeal / spent grain note. Very sweet, almost pipe tobacco characteristic. Flavor is also very roasty with a burnt chocolate syrup overtone. Subtle hints of some smoky stale cherry or raspberry. Finishes with a relatively bitter taste with a little bit of cigar . The body is somewhat light for the style, but still drinks pretty smooth and velvety. I like this better than a lot of other things I’ve tried from this brewery.

Pours an opaque dark brown with a large beige head. Aroma reminds me of a scotch ale: Candi sugar, generic dark malts, a little dusty. Flavor is again dusty, the malts end up tasting like unsweetened iced tea. Low hoppiness to boot. Minor coffee profile. Good solid mouthfeel, medium carbonation. I really wanted to like this one, but I can’t say that I’m blown away exactly. Overall, fair to good.

Bottle. Toasted malt, molasses and coffee notes up front, with light resin and earth for the hops and yeast, with dark dried fruits in the background. Head is large, fizzy, light brown with good lacing and is fully lasting. Color is dark brown. Flavor starts moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then the long finish is lightly sweet and acidic and moderately bitter. Palate is medium, watery with a lively carbonation and a fairly dry finish. This was a surprisingly a deep and rich Imperial Stout. Now let’s start distributing it to a few more places.

More interesting than anything and seemed more like a Porter to me. Appearance: Dark black, with a nice dark head of foam. Looked tasty. Smell: Had the traditional RIS aroma, heavy fruit, molasses, caramels. There was more hop aroma that I typically would expect. Taste: The initial impression was that it was thin for RIS, then flavors of molassis and cherry/plum fruitiness with some unexpected smokey flavors as well. The finish is dominated with Washington State Hops (Cascades?) which are not my favorite, but under control here, so it did not ruin the beer for me. This seemed more a good Porter to me. Mouthfeel was too thin for an RIS Drinkability was about average. A good beer to enjoy slowly.

bottle. Nearly black. Lots of roast in this one. Behind the roast some molasses/prunes/raisin notes with chocolate as well. Over roasted flavor. Not enough fruit/chocolate/coffee for me.

Brown sugar/molasses...Raisins/cherries/vinous... Double chocolate cookie... Slick, sugary mouthfeel... Huge roasted malt presence... Substantial bitterness merely compliments, does not overtake malts... More barleywine or old ale than stout... Sweet, fruity, with dark roasted malts coming through more when warm...

Bottle. I finally see why my friends get picky over Imperial Stouts, most are decent, some are great. This one does not stand out, heavy malt, roasted flavors, some coffee, earthy tones, and alcohol. Nothing too special here.