Michigan Brewing Russian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Michigan Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Webberville, Michigan USA

Name: Imperial Stout
Date: August 21, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Trade
Appearance: black, wispy tan head, streaks of lace
Aroma: rich sweet dark chocolate aroma, sweet dark caramel, light roasted, touch of sweet dark fruits
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich dark chocolate and roasted flavor, sweet dark caramel is balanced by the dark chocolate, light bitterness, endless rich chocolate, touch of vanilla
Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Hand-bottled sample: Pours a viscous oily black with dark brown edges and a thin dark tan head. Young earthy dark roasty malt aroma has some mild smoke and green hops. Starts with sweet sticky maltiness, some dark fruit complexity and a bittering hoppy finish. A nice, but young imperial stout. This should age really well. Too bad they don’t bottle it.

Cask at Brazen Head. Deep black beer. Aroma is quite light. Soft cocoa and a lot of rummy and lightly toasty malts. There is a pretty substantial peppery alcoholic aroma as well. Flavour has a bit of licorice and roast. The flavour is quite thin, hot and slightly boozy. It’s got some light sweetness on the back of the palate but the beer is really hot. A touch of earthy character on the back. As it warms, it gets more plummy with a noticeable roastiness. It’s not bad, but it’s entirely too boozy for me.

Draft at MBG Winterfest. Poured a black color with an average light brown head that lasted and produced good lacing. Heavy sweet roasted coffee and molasses aroma. Medium to full body. Good complex roasted coffee and chocolate flavor with a burnt sweet long finish. Good complex sweet brew.

Bottle provided to me by Sean, thanks. Served in my Stone IRS snifter and is jet black with an initial large foamy tan head which does fade but leaves behind excellent lacework. The aroma has notes of black strap molasses, chocolate covered fig and prune, hint of charred ashy malts, coffee, alcohol, some resiny and herbal hop and associated peppery notes. The taste pretty much follows suit with a malty and dark fruit forefront, moderate hop spice and boozy back end with a chocolate and toasted midsection. There is a bit of an almost peaty and salty character on the aftertaste along with a quick note of coffee. Still seems a tad young and brash, aggressive mouth feel.

Hand bottle with a big thanks to the shipper (Sorry but I forgot who sent it). Poured black with a small tan head and brown legs. Very big aroma of freshly brewed black coffee. Roasted malt with a touch of chocolate. The flavor was sweet with plenty of coffee bitterness and nice amount of hops. Just a touch on the hot side.

Draught. At 2006 Michigan Brewers’ Guild Festival. Black with ruby highlights, very small tan head. Deep dry roast aroma, nutty, with bitter hops and some alcohol - bang-on. Taste of booze, nut/coffee deeply roast malt, plenty of hop and alcohol bitterness, some dark fruit and molasses character, possesses a wickedly long oily bitter alcoholic finish. Lovely thick mouthfeel, syrupy, very lightly carbonated, bitter and complex on my palate - other than being a little "hot" this is a superb imperial.

Michigan Brewers Festival 2006. Black body with a wee head. Oily palate is quite sweet and roasty. Mild sweet roast in the aroma with just a touch of dark malt. Palate is smooth with its medium oily mouthfeel. Solid but lacks depth and complexity. 7+/3/6/4/14