Portsmouth Kate The Great Russian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Portsmouth Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Growler, courtesy of wickedpete. Thanks, Pete! Pours a dense, dark and oily chocolate brown color; thin, light tan head. Huge, nougat and dark chocolate and charred malts in the aroma; almost a roasted marshmallow / licorice note. Full mouthfeel: well-integrated licorice, chocolate, and buttery, creamy nougat upfront; relaxed carbonation; a bit of warming alcohol poking through; very creamy, chewy imperial stout; some bitter citrus and dark chocolate in the finish.

Growler, with a HUGE THANKS to bmartin08 - I sure appreciate this rare treat Brian! Pours a syrupy dark brown/black with a moderate creamy brown head; minor lacing. Aroma is very full, with powerful and rich milk chocolate, and to a much lesser extent, some caramel, coffee roast, and ripe dark fruits. Not a lot of diverse complexity in the aroma, but what is there works VERY well. Flavor brings out a lot more roastiness, with more milk chocolate and creamy caramel, with hints of molasses, vanilla, and espresso. Only a glimpse of hoppiness peeks out on the finish. Palate is creamy, coating and full. This is a very well done IS, and glad for the chance to try; thanks again Brian!

12 oz hand-bottle form BrianK. Thanks dude! Pours a nice dark black with some ruby highlights, and a light carbonation. Aroma is thcik and sweet- syrpoy, toffee, caramel, some chocolat eand coffee, but lots of anise and licorice for sure. Almost an oily flavor and mouthfeel with more anise and licorice- toasted malts, sweet dark caramel and some molasses sweetness. On the sweet side, but overall pretty good.

Jet black body with a nice mocha head. Picturesque beer all around. The aroma is great. There is a bunch of milk chocolate and coffee and it smells delicious. The taste is crazy good. It is creamy chocolate and coffee blended together. There is a bit of hotness that is probably alcohol but could be some bitterness. I can’t wait to see how this ages. When it’s cold, the body seems pretty thick but as it warms it thins out a bit and becomes almost more of an old ale consistency. I prefer RIS’s on the thicker end and served on the warmer end, so this didn’t quite meet the terms of perfection. This is a DAMN good RIS. With a little age, I think the bitterness will reduce a bit and make this awesome. This beer is MUCH better cold rather than warm, which is usually the opposite of what I find. It still has good flavor and aroma cold and the body is much better.

Kate the Great was pretty good. It wasn’t very complex but it was a good creamy easy drinking imperial stout. It was definately very filling as i didn’t feel the need to pour myself another glass. Definately worth trying.

22 oz. bomber bottle, no bottling/freshness date, but I know is the 2006 release, sampled in a snifter. A thick, syrupy pour, the darkest blackish brown with a frothy tan head that slowly settled into a thin creamy lacing, fair amount of sticky lace. Delicious smelling nose, roasted espresso beans, dark chocolate, burnt molasses, caramel and subtly tart and sweet fruity esters, plums and dark cherries. The body has an airy creaminess that slightly disguises the thick, full bodied feel of this RIS, making this a pleasantly amiable sipper. Burnt malts flavors of chocolate and molasses, followed by roasted dark coffee and caramel. In the middle some vanilla flavored cream poured over blackberries and plums fruitiness emerges, melding with the alcohol for a low grade warmth in the palate. The hops are quite subtle, hints of citrus and adding a soft spicy bitterness to the roasted grainy finish. An excellent RIS, I wish I had more bottles of this for the coming winter months.

8 oz pour courtesy of the assistant brewer at the brewpub. Opaque black with a brown head. Aroma is huge chocolate, caramel, dark fruits, and roast. Taste is both sweet and dry chocolate, sweet caramel as well as some vinous fruit. Very full bodied, but it has a velvety texture. Roast is in the forefront throughout the taste and becomes moderately bitter in the finish. Alcohol slightly apparent but still very well hidden considering the high abv. Excellent.

Bottle courtesy of porterhouse sampled on 9/15/07: Pours an opaque black with a light brown wispy-lacing head. Aroma of rich dark caramel and chocolate and dark fruity complexity. Body starts very full, malty and sweet with good dark caramel and chocolate complexity toward a bitter roasty lingering finish. A very nice, true to style and viscous imperial stout.