Pennichuck Pozharnik Espresso Russian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Pennichuck Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Milford, New Hampshire USA

Bottle. Nose is light chocolate and caramel with some vanilla. Nice looking inky black to brown with swirly head. Chocolate and vanilla flavors with a light coffee presence in the finish and a touch of alcohol. Silky texture. Very well balanced with good complexity. Understated for a beer with such over-the-top ingredients.

Bottle. Black, motor oil coloring. Consistency and appearance of soda/cola. No head to speak of. Vanilla, malty, white whine, clear hints of whiskey blend all together. Extraordinarily smooth flavoring. Thin consistency for a RIS but not at all lacking in character. Somewhat flat; I suspect the seal wasn’t tight enough. Nicely done, though didn’t blow me away.

Don’t remember this one too much, this is just a place holder for now, until I have another to do a true rating.

Cool bottle, 1L. Great looking pour, deep black with mocha head, looks tasty. Aroma is timid compared to flavor and doesn’t reflect the robust and heady flavors which explode the palate. Espresso is obviously noted, as well as vanilla and caramel aromas. Chocolate, caramel, and a soothing vanilla element combine like Voltron to create the ill fighting force in the universe. The flavor is palate shatteringly powerful and perks the tastebuds up for sure. Easy drinkabilty proves that this brew in this bottle can be a monster.

Magnum. Black in color with a light brown head. Aroma of weird funk and sourness- not the traditional horseblanket/tart fruit you normally get as well as roasted malt, chocolate, whiskey. Not a good combination. Taste is roasty, chocolate, and molasses, with a strong presence of that weird funk again. I really couldn’t pick apart the rest of the beer because I couldn’t get past the funk in this. Obviously this was in the barrel and the brewer had no control over it, though the results didn’t please me personally.
Earlier Rating: 1/20/2007 Total Score: 4.3
750 courtesy of dirtymike, thanks alot! Pours just about black with a light brown head, pretty compact. Aroma is alot of chocolate, coffee, notes of whiskey and wood, rasberries/cherries and caramel. Taste is chocolate, coffee (espresso), whiskey, oak, some vanilla, dark fruits, alcohol well hidden. Oak and some roasty bitterness in the finish.

Bottle 2006: Pours near opaque, with only bit of light coming through at the meniscus, and has a creamy/dense khaki head. Huge mocha aroma. Has some chocolate ice cream, hickory smoke, a touch of tobacco and apple wood. A drop thinner than expected, but it’s leanness makes it very drinkable. Has a meaty flavor. Some hickory notes upfront, followed by dark chocolate, mocha-chip, roasted coffee beans, mild smoky notes (wood), and a bit of resiny bitterness (both hop and coffee) into the long roasted finish. A rich Imperial filled with mocha & hickory notes, yet remains drinkable. Nice.

Pours opaque black with barely translucent mahogany edging when held to light. A half inch head of dark beige settled slowly, and left some seismic lacework and a placid surface, except for a solid ring around the edges. Aromatics lead off with espresso, caramel, nougat, dark fruit, vanilla, whiskey, and a hint of red wine. Mildly earthy with a hint of oaky tannins. Very mellow and complex. The whiskey is quite subdued considering this is 100% from a whiskey barrel. Creamy and chewy mouthfeel, without being tar-like. Somewhat drying and vineous body. Spilled wine on crushed velvet. The pallet is a myriad of fruit, coffee, whiskey, and vineousity. Espresso, chocolate, and caramel quickly give way to cherries and red wine. Mild whisky and vanilla follow through. Alcohol is warming but is a mere shadow in the balance of the brew. Finishes with lingering vineousity, light boozy notes, and drying red fruits. At first I was dissapointed by the lack of whiskey, but the fruity vineousity is far more complex than whiskey or bourbon ever gets. Some very nice oxidation at work here, with plenty of sherry qualities. I try not to compare brews in a review, but this one is somewhere between a barrel aged Posioden RIS and Older Viscosity. Not bad company I suppose. Just let this one warm up to do her justice.

1 litre bottle, obtained in trade. Expresso coffee is intrinsic, and its in the aroma. Very nice lacing on the black body with mocha covering. Dry for an RIS and also medium rather than fuller mouthfeel for the style. Vanilla is there, and it helps to make up for a lack of carbonation. Dry biter chocolate.