Sacramento Russian Imperial Stout

Formerly brewed at Sacramento Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Sacramento, California USA

This was ok but it did not have the kick like most IPS and had a a coffee and bitter taste to it,roasty and dark but up to the standards of a real RIS.CHEERS!

~Had on tap ~Black pour with no head. ~Alcohol smell, kind of like wine.? ~Has alcohol taste followed by a biter coffee flavor. ~Palate is light with tingles from alcohol. ~Wouldnt pay the price for it again, but it was a decent beer.

GABF 2007. Black body with brown head. Faint roasted malt aroma. Roasted malt body with chocolate and coffee.

Bottle. Virtually no head, with a rich dark color, with a burnt dark chocolate flavor, seems thin and watery but looks very dark. Disappointment when compared to North Shore’s Imperial. Acidic aftertaste. Nothing remarkable here, although the high ABV saves this.

Date: 10/13/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, GABF

black, scant tan head, rich dark chocolate aroma with some vanilla sweetness and a touch of roasted, rich malt flavor, lots of dark chocolate, nice balancing bitterness blends with the roasted character,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+/4

Thank God I was given this beer and did not actually buy it. I am astonished that a brewery would actually sell this stuff. Opaque black color, poured into a snifter with a small tan head. Smelled like cinnamon and wierd soap. Taste was slight roast, upfront sour, very acidic. Quite thin body, almost a little watered down. This was an instant drain pour.

22 oz bottle, via trade. Pours a very dark brown, almost black with a smallish very dark brown head that quickly faded. Nose is heavy caramel and tar with lots of chocolate. Very minimal roast with a touch of alcohol. Whoa, heavily burnt caramel and roast with a finish that features boiled peanuts, acrid burnt coffee, and a touch of diacetyl. Yikes! Mouthfeel in medium bodied with an oily and somewhat sticky finish. Moderate fizzy carbonation. This was pretty atrocious. This was just as bad as their Scotch Ale I had a while ago.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 3     Light Brown(1)->Pitch Black(5) : 2     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : XX
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 2   Off-White(1)->Dark Brown(5) : 2   Lasting: XX   Lacing : XX   Nitro : XX
Aroma:
Intensity : 3  
Yeast : XX   Bread : XX   Apple : XX   Tropical Fruits : XX   Ink : XX   Tar : XX   Olives : XX   DMS : XX
Malt : 3   Biscuity : XX   Burnt Toast : 2   Caramel : XX   Nuts : XX   Pumpernickel : XX   Cereals : XX   Coffee : 4   Dark Chocolate : XX   Vanilla : XX   Grapes : XX   Blackberries : 2   Cherries : XX
Hops : 2   Noble(1)->American(5) : 4   Leafy : XX   Floral : XX   Lemon/Lime : 3   Grapefruit : XX Orange : XX   Herbal : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : 2
Notes :   Earth : XX   Wood : XX   Mint : XX   Smoke : XX   Soy : 3   Bourbon : XX   Anise : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 2   Sourness : 3   Lactic : 3   Bitterness : 1   Complex : 1   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 1   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : XX   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : 2   Metallic : XX

Comments: Sourish, oldish imperial stout at 2 years old. Not one for the cellar apparently and rather thin both in complexity and body.