Iron Hill Russian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Iron Hill Newark
Style: Imperial Stout
Newark, Delaware USA

Bottle (750ml) shared with HogTownHarry & garthicus -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours black with an average size diminishing creamy light-brown head. Nice aroma of roasted malt, lots of green hops, dark chocolate, some smoke and dark fruit. Flavour of roasted malt, mocha, lots of hops and molasses -- tastes great and goes down easy! Nice roasty bitter finish. Alcohol well hidden. Medium bodied, creamy mouthfeel. This is fantastic stuff, I don’t want my glass to run out!

Bottle (750ml). Shared with blankboy and garthicus, via trade with glouglouburp. Oh my GOD this is such a great imperial stout - we all remarked how we could have pounded back pitchers of it. Gahhhhhhrllll ... pitchers ...... Anyway. Poured opaque black, with a lasting average-sized creamy mottled tan/brown head (4+). Smooth, literally mouth-watering aroma, of chocolate, table cream, tons of roasted coffee beans, mild floral hops, very mild alcohol. The taste had more bitterness, but still extremely well balanced and smooth - moderate resin/herbal bitterness, a hint of tart raisin, plenty of dark chocolate and strong coffee, a little more alcohol than the aroma, but still restrained - lovely and balanced. Silky, smooth mouthfeel, quite rich and creamy, moderate carbonation (who needs much carbonation in an impy?), with a balanced, medium-long roast/bitter finish. Stunningly drinkable, no strong aftertaste ---- dammit, where’s my pitcher of this stuff?

750 ml bottle purchased at the Newark, DE location last August. Pours black with a moderate tan head that lasted until mid-glass and left partial lace. Very pleasant aroma of roasted malt, bitter chocolate, coffee, prunes, raisins and a bit of alcohol. The flavor does not have any of the fruit components offered in the aroma, but is still quite nice with roasted malt, bitter chocolate and some coffee. An alcohol flavor with some mild warmth emerges and builds into the swallow and lingers briefly afterwards. Light bitterness at the finish. Not as full bodied or as richly textured as I would like in a RIS, but otherwise this is a very good beer.

Shared kindly by HogTownHarry with BlankBoy and I. Appearance: Pours a wonderful pitch black with a large pancake mix coloured head. Aroma: Cream, cream and cream, malt, coffee, nutmeg, peat, vanilla and chocolate. Delicious. Flavour: Wonderful coffee, hops, peat, leather, dark chocolate, spices, very warming, superb. I wish I could get beers like this more often.

On tap at Pizza Port Carlsbad. Deep black pour with a small creamy brown head. This is a very nice imperial stout. It has chocolate, sweet candy notes, molasses, plum, raisin, roasted malt, nuttiness, wood, and hints of smoke. Silky smooth mouthfeel. Really nice, it gets better as it comes to room temp.

Machfive55 provided this beauty. Black pour small brown head. Aroma is full of molasses, fruit, chocolate and roasted malt. Flavor is full of fruit notes, chocoloate, toasted malt, some very light notes of tartness...damn this is nice. Really delicious as it warms to room temp. cheers and I want another!!

bottle stated it was brewed in wilmington contributed by the illustrious superdave70...

pours a rather opaque thick looking black (reddish at the edges) with a small tan head. it lingers the duration and leaves some spots of lace on the glass. smells very rich and almost like it has some bourbon in it?... spicy, vanilla, smokey wood, brown sugar, molasses, roasty malt, chocolate and cream with some dark elusive fruits. lots of fruity sweetness on the palate is fought well by ashiness and a dry finish. ashiness lingers long into the aftertaste... flavors of chocolate cream, tons of roast, brown sugar, coffee nuttiness, vanilla and charred wood (again, bourbon-like) with some spiciness on the finish. medium bodied yet quite a bit sweet. ashiness makes it much smoother and easier to drink as well as keeps it incredibly well balanced. pleasant surprise given dave’s penchant for ’odd’ beers... 8/4/8/4/16/4.0

Draught in Phoenixville: This one poured an inky dark brown. There was a small tan head on it. The aroma is nice. I get coffee, roastiness, chocolate, and slightly smokey. It had a very full taste. Coffee, roastiness, chocolate. The sweetness is help in check by a ton of hops, and they leave a slightly citric finish. Very Nice!