Southampton Imperial Russian Stout

Brewed by Southampton Publick House
Style: Imperial Stout
Southampton, New York USA

Bottle (750ml). Shared with blankboy, garthicus, GregClow and jerc via trade with goldtwins. Long time looking, it’s finally here. Awesome opaque oily black pour, average lasting creamy brown/tan mottled head (4+). Oily deep roast aroma, coffee, a hint of anise, some raisin - really, really dark and bitter - moderate alcohol. Taste - same - intense tart roast, somewhat alcoholicly bitter in the finish. Only moderately thick, but lots of acidity and bitter roast to tingle the tongue; long finish. Simply put, an outstanding impy - worth the wait.

From a 750mL Bottle, 2008 Vintage. Courtesy of Dickinsonbeer. Pours a pitch black, opaque color with a dense layer of tan head. Rich chocolaty aroma brimming with prunes and toasted oats. Mild molasses and star anise aromas highlight a strong malt base of char. Alcohol in the nose is clearly present, but pleasantly shrouded behind the dark malts. A subtle, bitter piney hop aroma is also noticeable. Medium full bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel with a soft, creamy texture. Flavors of chocolate and toasted oats up front on the palate. Some prune and charred raisin characters start to come out mid-palate. The finish is long and roasty, with a lingering espresso bean and unsweetened dark chocolate bitterness left on the palate. Moderately dry, with an awesome roast quality lingering in the finish. The alcohol and bitter hop notes from the nose also make a brief appearance in the finish, but are less pronounced as the roast quality of the beer tends to hide these aspects. Wonderfully executed beer; the richness of the body, dryness of the finish, and length of the roast character is exceptional. Thanks, Paul!

Bottle shared by Justin for the 7/18 hazy doom. Nose was all over in the realm of deep, dark, and roasty. Flavor was just dank!!! Dark chocolate transitions into a huge, bitter roast and a fat, but pleasant warming burn. Super, super good...I like the stouts like this that don’t come off sweet at all. ROAST!

(bottle, thanks for sharing Stine!) Pours black with a light tan head. Aroma of anise, light roasted malt, chocolate, dark fruits, and some coffee. The taste is very similar with flavors of chocolate, dark fruit and anise, which is really nice in the beginning, but a touch of astringent tasting malt makes an appearance on the finish. This astringency somewhat detracts from the nicely integrated flavors in the beginning. The mouthfeel is smooth and full, and I must echo others’ sentiments by also stating that this can only improve with aging.

Poured from a 750 ml bottle, vintage 2008. Somewhat thin black hue, surrounded in a creamy, ashy gray. Currant, mint, and lightly roasted Central American coffee aroma; a bit acidic and bright, amidst chocolate and anise. A well painted picture. Never the astringent character of the dark malt, but only the savory quality of anise and meats, and never the astringent possibility of acidic coffee beans, but only the sunny tart texture. Nice.

Rich, roasty flavor, occasionally hinting at root vegetables, but more often toward the heavy, sweet roasted coffee flavors. Like a Sumatran French roast. A gentle wash of fig and pomegranate flavors polishes away any resistant jagged edges, again with a pleasant acidity. The creaminess of mint hangs around somewhat, combining in effect with the citric and herbal qualities of the hops, lending a dryness and brightness that again is fairly perfect in partnership with the coffee flavors. There’s a lot of green and bright fruit flavors, of honeydew and pear skins, getting somewhat bitter, and toward the end the roasts gather astringency at an alarming pace, although they stay meaty, rich and burnt, yet still not particularly acrid. A welcoming sweetness of wildflower honey and caramelized almonds unfolds with the warmth. More melon fruitiness.

Consistently very sweet after mid-palate in marshmallows and berry reductions. Full textured. Velvety, but dry, and decadent while restrained. In the end, the acridity finally arrives. Bitter and soapy. Given some time to let that settle, this will be one of the best examples anywhere; its qualities are so very integrated and inviting and it’s only that one consistent nagging issue that needs to get aged into submission. And it seems bound to happen. Thanks Steve!

[Bottle, big thanks go to Stine for sharing this rarity!] Pours black with a small tan head. Aroma has quite a bit of anise, subdued chocolate and roasted malt with notes of vanilla--very nice. The alcohol is still detectable, but not offensive in the taste. The hops are balanced nicely with the roasted malt (which is borderline too charred and noticeable, but may mellow out with some more time) and chocolate. Smooth and pretty good mouthfeel with a long finish (that is not a strong point of the beer tastewise). A good imperial stout that will probably improve with some more time, but is just slightly overrated imo at the moment.

Rating #2000.
Big thanks to Ty5592 for hooking me up with my 2000th rating, hand-bottled in May 2008. Deep, opaque brown-black body, medium cream head leaving nice lacing. Plummy nose with rich depth, including molasses, licorice, milk chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts, with bitter hops notes adding complexity. Reminiscent of Bell’s Expedition Stout. Soft mouthfeel, more bitter than sweet, with plum/dark fruits, bitter roast and hops, and chocolate. Creamy and chewy, never becoming too heavy or syrupy. Bitter roasty finish. Perhaps not as flavor-dense as I expected after enjoying the aroma, with a hollowness in the initial sip that quickly gives way to the dominant dark fruits and roast. This is a fine beer. Here’s to 5 1/2 years on Ratebeer, and many more to come. Thanks, Ty!

A Mes rate: Bottle supped in the Harlequin in Sheffield thanks to Craig.
Black body, good tan head, plenty of lace. Notes of soy, heavy caramel and chocolate. Smoky and alcoholic and also slightly oxidised. Good bitterness in the finish with excellent length. Thick and chewy mouthfeel. The others at the table raved over it, to me it’s decent but hugely over rated.