Southampton Imperial Russian Stout

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

Pours pitch blaack with a coffe colored head. Aroma is dominated by roasty malts. Also, oatmeal some coffee, chocolate and caramel. A lot of oatmeal up front followed by rich creamy chocolate maltiness, roasted coffe flavor, chocolate and toast. Dry finish.

bottle shared with the crew at the Pizza Port Bottle Shop....my notes are a little weak on this one...poured dark brown, almost black with reddish hues at the edges. soapy head was tannish to light brown.... aromas of chocalate, molasses, sweet malt, and a strong coffee roast component.... flavor was sweet cocoa, chocolate with that added roast quality. mouthfeel was creamy and full.... pretty nice and should improve with some age.

Pantanap brought this gem to the PP bottle shop on his visit to San Diego. Thanks Kan! Had at PP bottle shop with pantanap, alohaC, Sean, John, and Ryan. Gets better as it warms up. Lots of chocolate nib bitterness. Black tan head. Not sweet or dry. I guess I would call it balanced (but I prefer sweet). Malty aroma. Very good.

Southampton Publick House. Complex assortment of yeast mixed in with the coffee and other sweets. Liquorice and other plants create wonders in developing a strain equal to a vinous and carefully aged brew.

Definately too fresh. Coffee roastiness comes through heavily and predominates the beer. A year or two should do wonders for this beer. Re-rate: Third time having this beer, i was not to big on it alt all. Although after mixing with some St. Lamnivus, it’s pretty crazy.

2008 Vintage on tap at the brewpub. I was really expecting to be blown away by this beer and I even drank two snifters to really give it a chance. sadly I was underwhelmed. Poured dark black with a small lacing of mocha colored head. Aroma is coffee, dark chocolate, tar, a slight hint of smoke and a touch of alcohol upon warming. Although it has a full mouthfeel it could have been a slight bit thicker but still very pleasant. Initial flavors of coffee, chocolate, dark pitted fruits and a slight touch of alcohol. Aftertaste has a large amount of hops bitterness that mixed with all the dark roasted malts leaves a taste of burnt coffee that I really didn’t care for. I think this one will improve with some serious age so I’m burying my last bottle in the back of my beer closet.....unless I get a crazy offer that is.

2008 Vintage. On draft at the brewpub on 2/16/08. Poured pitch black, with a fairly small ring of brown bubbles around the circumference of the snifter. Rich roasted malt aroma, along with anise, black liquorice, and cocoa. Flavor was primarily roasted chocolate malt, with some toffee, espresso and molasses. Finished with a long, bittersweet chocolate flavor. Well balanced and very enjoyable.

2009 Vintage.On tap at SPH served in a snifter. Wow. That is my one word description for this year’s RIS. Pours black with a rich, creamy and bubbly dark brown head that lasted through mid-glass. The aroma is excellent with lots of roasted malt, chocolate, coffee and some raisin notes. As much as I enjoyed the aroma, the flavor is even better. Lots of luscious rich chocolate, roasted malt, and coffee with mild bitterness at the finish. Full bodied with a smooth, silky mouthfeel. No sign at all of the alcohol flavor that I felt impacted last year’s edition. I forgot to ask what the abv was for the 2009. A superb imperial stout in every way.

2008 Vintage. On tap at SPH served in a snifter. I’ve been searching for my notes on this beer for a long time and never came up with them. Thankfully, a new release will now allow me to rate this beer. Pours black with a luscious brown head that quickly disappeared. The aroma was fantastic with lots of chocolate, roasted malt, raisins and a bit of alcohol. The flavor was very nice as well, but a little stepped back from the aroma with chocolate, roasted malt, and raisins. The alcohol flavor was a bit stronger than i remember from the earlier versions, and I think the higher abv (10.5%) may be masking the flavor just a bit. Full bodied with just the right amount of bitterness at the finish. An excellent RIS. 9-4-8-5-17=4.3