Southampton Imperial Russian Stout

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

bottle shared at the hampton. thanks to whoever brought this. poued black with tan head. nose was very roasty chocolate and coffee. flavor was a tad overly roasty, chocolate, plums, and coffee. very nice!

Shared in the hotel room tasting of DLD ’07. Thanks to whoever brought this beer...never imagined I would get to try this one. This beer is dark dark black in color with a great burnt brown head. The aroma is huge with burnt roastedness and chocolates. The taste is lots of chocolate, roastiness, and a lot of bitterness that for one reason or another goes really well with this impy stout. The alcohol just a touch noticeable...I thought any of that would have subsided after 2 years age but it really was too present and didnt take anything away from the great beer that this was!

Draft. What a pleasant surprise to find this on the beer list at the Hop Devil Grill on my first trip to NYC in a year. A world-class beer in every way. Black with long-lasting tan head. A thin sheen of its oily-looking body adheres to the side of the glass after swirling. The nose is filled with roasted malts, butterscotch, vanilla, dark chocolate, peat, molasses with notes of fruit and licorice. The flavor is a nice balance of sweet and bitter — the bitterness carrying over into a long, dry finish. At first, you think the sweet taste (molasses and burnt sugar) is going to dominate, but then the bitter kicks in. Silky smooth mouthfeel from a medium body and watery texture. Wonderful balance of complex aromas, flavors and textures. Enjoyed every sip.

Tap at Hop Devil -Vintage 2004: Jet black oily pour with a deep brown consistent head. Aroma is a beautiful mix of deeply roasted chocolate malts, licorice, woody earthyness and residual resins. The flavor is nicely hopped. I like seeing that in all stouts. Salty, bitter, oily flavors, and texture, but not cloying. Dark unsweetened chocolate, oakey woodchip leading to a long roasty dry finish with an underlying hop presence. A solid Russian Imperial Stout done by Southampton, but good luck trying to find it now, along with many of their other great releases...

On Draft @ Hop Devil Grill. Poured dark as night with a pretty sizeable tan head. The aroma was delicate and inviting, smelling of chocolate and roastiness. I also thought I caught oats in there. The taste was just as delicate as the aroma. Tasted of chocolate with some coffee accompaniment. A great silky feel on the palate...just beautiful. Finish was bitter chocolate. I convinced a friend of mine to have a glass of this with me and he absolutely loved it too. He said I was spoiling him by introducing him to craft beer. Well, I spoiled myself with this one.

I made my best effort to sample this, worked out a busy weekend to come to the Hop Devil Grill at about 10pm on a Sunday. But luckily enough this had not kicked from the festivities of the weekend. Vintage 2004, Draft This is a Southampton I have been eager to try for a while, who thought I would get to actually try it on tap. Poured into a goblet glass with the darkest brown, almost black, large head. Color is opaque motor oil black. I am giving it a 5 for appearance b/c there a lot of black as night Impy’s but none have had this kind of head. Head fades in a moderate time to a halo lacing leaving behind many Rorschach-like patterns on the glass sides. Aroma is first of all chocolate (slightly bittered) with a nice strong roastiness underneath, and some charred aspects. Not overpowering, well balanced. Taste is bitter chocolate mixed with chocolate milk and an overly roastiness. Leaves a bitter roast aftertaste. Mouthfeel is extremely smooth, silky, oily, lightly carbonated - perfect for such a delicate brew. Body is lighter than one would think.

Re-rate: 1-year old 750mL bottle. Have kept on to it for the whole year and I am finally opening up. Long story short, its still too strong, lots of alcohol. Otherwise, all the regular good Impy Stout things are there. Doesn’t really separate itself much from most of the other good Impy Stouts. 8/4/8/4/16

My first RB reiveiw after "leaving BA." Vintage 2005. Been sitting on this bottle for about a year and a half. Exquisite! I think my one-word description above hits it all. Midnight black. Only way to descibe the color of this beer. Thick, dark brown head that just recedes ever-so-slowly. Great retention. Nose is dark, coffee malts, but not much else. Flvaor is overpowering coffee-like. One of the few time I really enjoy such a beer so over-blanced. As if it is meant to be. Also, some incredible chocolate and dark tofee tones going on as well. Little bit of licorice too. Very full body, Lingers throughout. Sticks to the cheeks. Very silky. The alcohol is very transparent, but nicely balance with the the malts the the slightly minty hoppniess. Realy want to get another bottle of this fantastic beer. So easy and smooth to drink.

2004. Tap at Hop Devil. Let me say straight out this isn’t the rating I’d like it to be. The sample sizes were tiny and expensive and there was too much other good stuff to try -- and I have a low tolerance. Plus, the mini pint-glasses were far from ideal. But, I’m ticking it anyway, with full plans to revisit it as soon as I can get my hands on a couple (twelve) bottles.

Pour is black with a nice brown head. Sugary malt aroma, roasty, balanced. Not too exciting. Strong unsweetened cocoa notes. Bitter dark chocolate taste, with plu, coffee. Very mellow and well balanced; not the overbearing kind of thing I’ve come to expect from top 50 ISs.