Sprecher Russian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Sprecher Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Glendale, Wisconsin USA

Completely pitch black coloured body with a muddy look and a nice dark brown head atop - pretty nice! Aroma of super roasted (burnt) malt, coffee (a la starbucks - again, burnt), caramel, toffee and a bit of deep macadamia nuts. Full-bodied; Suprisingly light grape taste up front, then masked almost entirely with the burnt malt tastes soon after, touched by a tiny bit of honey and caramel. Aftertaste is definitely bittered out by malt, molasses, figs and a touch of licorice. Overall, an overpowering, strong and agressive imperial stout - not my favourite, but showing character and impressionable. I sampled this bottle, aged about two years, purchased in December 2006 from Oliver’s Beverage in Albany, New York, sampled on 10-January-2009 at home in Washington. The bottle was 65 cL with a golden wax seal (that cracked a bit into the bottle)with a small notecard attached.

16 oz bottle. Pours a thick, black with a tan head that has nice retention and laces very nicely. Aroma is very malty with dark chocolate, roast, and a touch of coffee. Flavor is dark chocolate, a bit of caramel and a hint of coffee. It gets a bit sweeter as it moves across your tongue. The mouthfeel is very nice too. Rich and silky. I am very surprised how much I like this beer! If you havent tried it yet....do it. Its worth it.

Bottle shared by Robert at SL. Pour was pretty typical for the style, deep dark black color, choco-colored head that was not all that big in size. The aroma was cocoa-chocolate and light roast, some faint vinous notes, lacking hop aroma. The flavor followed the aroma, chocolate (milk chocolate at that) at the fore of the experience with only light roasty character. Somewhat boring and lacking bold character to be excellent, but it was decent. Mouthfeel was full and silky.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a very thin light brown foamy head with minimal retention and no lacing. Aroma of black chocolate is pretty intense with some note of roasted malt. Taste is also a mix between some black chocolate and light roasted malt with some spicy notes. Body is a bit thin for the style with some low carbonation and no apparent alcohol. I thought this may lack some complexity but very enjoyable overall.

A very tasty imperial stout. Flavorful and strong with a balance of dark chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt. A serious beer with a serious flavor.

Tallahassee, Fl. - Liquor Loft - 16 oz bottle. Pours a black tar color with a khaki colored head that sticks around for the whole pint. Nice aroma of dark bitter chocolate, coffee and some prunes. Flavor has some good day old coffee accents, some marshmallows, a bit of dried fruit. Mouthfeel is thick, creamy and rich. Very impressed - Sprecher took it up a notch on this one - very enjoyable drinkable impy stout.

[Bottle from April 08] Pours a thick very viscous black with a small tan fizzy froth. Very rich burnt roasty aroma with lots of dark creamy chocolate and some grassy notes with a light touch of soy. First taste is very bitter coffee and dark creamy chocolate, followed by some sweet burnt molasses and finishing with lasting sugary burnt coffee. Vague licorice aftertaste. Medium/full syrupy body on first taste followed quickly by lots of lively carbonation. Pretty tasty but a tad too burnt.

Pours a very thick dark brown color with a disappearing head. Nice aromas of roasted malts, coffee, and fig. The fig is very apparent in the taste and finishes with a smokey flavor. Full-bodied and sort of oily, but I still found it to be smooth and drinkable. Very good beer!