Stone Bourbon Barrel Russian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Escondido, California USA

Wonderful thick black pour, medium tan head.....very thin. Wonderful licorice, rich coffee and roasted barley notes in the palate.

Tap @ 2007 Strong Ale Fest. Poured black with a tan head. The aroma was real nice with a smooth mix of big vanilla, roasted malt, wood, and bourbon. Actually the flavor gets the same description. Medium bodied and smooth. Very nice.

What a great looking beer which is a pleasure to watch settle. The taste of the wood and bourbon is a treat for people who like the flavor that a quality wooden barrel can add to beer. What a smooth finish. A great stout!

First beer sampled at PP SAF. Lots of wood and bouron. Nice coffee notes as well. Flavor was more bourbon with a finish of wood and alcohol. Chocolate notes were easy to pick up as well. Very Very Delicious. Favorite of the night.

Sampled at the second annual Bistro’s West Coast Barrel Aged Beer Fest: Pours an oily opaque with a thin ring of wispy dark tan head. Aroma of sweet dark caramel and chocolate with nice oaky bourbon complexity. Starts fairly sweet and caramely malty with some sticky dark chocolate and drier smoky notes toward an earthy, oaky bittersweet finish. A well-balanced and fairly complex brew.

Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival ’07. My sampling of this beer was precluded by Oak Aged Yeti, how insane is that? Labeled on the tap list as Oaked Imperial Russian Stout. First impression of this beer = DAMN! Pours extremely viscous pitch black with some reddish lace, very sticky; it even left legs on the sides of my glass. Sugary bourbon, oak and vanilla extract notes in the aroma, with coffee and toasted marshmallow. Extremely smooth flavor that slips from one flavor to the next at each sip. Rich dark chocolate cake, whiskey, more coffee and burnt wood. Very warm and smooth finish, you can still taste this stuff literally 5 minutes after each sip. Highly impressive! I was stoked to try this as my second beer of the day...considering I was wrecked 2 hours later. Probably the best brew of the Festival right here.

On tap at the PP SA Fest. Dark black, viscous pour with a thick layer of creamy tan head. A huge toffee malt aroma jumps up from the glass right away, soaked in a bunch of mid-malt caramels and subtle bourbon character. Loads of vanilla, thick chocolate fudge, and a touch of that doughy, pretzely barrel character. Full bodied, creamy mouthfeel, but well weighted, being neither too sticky or heavy. Some brown sugar sweetness starts out the flavors, followed by a parade of toffee, bourbon, caramel, vanilla, oak - it keeps on going forever, building in roast intensity long into the finish. It never gets overly roasty, but develops a great dark chocolate flavor on the back end. Finishes semi-dry with a touch of hop bitterness and warming alcohol in the final smack. Smooth, complex, cohesive. It’s wonderfully complex, brimming with balanced, malt, hop, and barrel characters across the flavor spectrum. Excellent execution.

Tap at SAF ’07. Holy crap! When lookin at the line-up, this is the one that jumped out at me right from the start - I made sure to sample this one first. Everything was child’s play after this. Damn!!! Ratings are very accurate... A choco-bourbon bomb (in a good way) - leaning towards the sweeter side with big hints of vanilla. Elegant and smooth on the palate, lingering finish. The bourbon was a great element to an already great beer. I’m a sucker for these. Top notch!