Mishawaka Russian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Mishawaka Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Mishawaka, Indiana USA

Muddy dark brown. Chocolatey, fudgey aroma. Fruity-tart body with roast and light smoke. A little bit of burnt fruit in there as well. Light bodied and easy-going for the style.

Stout @Tampa Wkly Gathering @tpd975s Thanks JW77-growler-pours a tan head and brown color. Aroma is mild medium/dark malt. Taste is earthy-medium/dark malt.

Growler… Cloudy, dark brown ale with a small, creamy, khaki head. The nose is grainy, corny and lightly nutty with a hint of chocolate. Medium to full-bodied and oily with lazy carbonation. The flavor is grainy, but pretty bold – vanilla latte and toffee notes. Finishes mostly sweet, but also provides lingering bitterness. Bottle courtesy of JW77!

Sampled from a growler courtesy of BBB63: Pours a very dark brown, nearly opaque, with a thin off-white head. Mild sweet caramel malt and milk chocolate aroma. Body has a nice malty sweetness and dry earthy finish with a sweet mocha roastiness. A nice imperial stout, but needs a little more balance and complexity. Thanks Mike for sharing the growler!

My Bottom Line:
This slightly problematic Imperial Stout’s roasted and caramel malt flavors were undermined by an obsessive fruitiness and its nagging tartness, verging on pickled asperities.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam circumnavigates the dark brown gown.
-Alcohol doesn’t appear much in the flavor profile, which is nice.
-Cheese is perceived in the nose as well.
-The fruitiness doesn’t necessarily emulate any specific fruit as it slashes through what the malts are attempting to do.
-With so many good examples of the style in the USA, this becomes even more disappointing. Let’s hope this bad bottle is just a rogue.

Bottle.

Pours dark brown with a tan head. Smells of bitter malt, pepper, some molasses,chocolate, roasted malt. Tastes overly bitter with some residual sugary hints on the finish.

Pours with a small yellow head, that went away quickly, from the growler. The color is black and made me think of it looking thin. The aroma is anise, prunes and vanilla. Also an astringent wintergreen mint. Medium mouthfeel with low carbonation. The taste has a dark roasted chocolate with bourbon. A long lasting finish. Thanks BBB63.

On tap: Opaque with fading tan head and good lace, some oily tears. The aroma has notes of caramelized and burnt malts, toffee and molasses, light pine and grapefruit, hazelnut, coffee and minor phenols. The taste starts quite bittersweet with lots of mocha and coffee overtones. Lightly fruity and nutty undertone. A twangy molasses bite shocks the palate towards the smoky and lingering bitter finish. The feel is thin but oily and very smooth, the alcohol is mostly hidden. This could use more body but is still very quaffable. It is their Founders Stout big brother. One of best offerings from this brewery.