Stone Imperial Russian Stout

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

22oz bottle, Black with a creamy brown head, rich smooth flavor. Everything an Imperial Stout ought to be. Unable to find it in Texas until very recently.

Deep Black. Long, brown head. Aroma: Coffee, dark chocolate. Flavor: Espresso, smoke, berries, complex. Nice flavor. Smoked coffee finish. The coffee bitterness lasts forever. Wow! This is the best stout I have found in Knoxville. It has the hop attitude found in any Stone with a quality no one can match. Yet, it keeps telling me: "I am a true Stout that will beat your brains in and MAKE you like it!" I am truely impressed.

***Review from Oct 11, 2008***
Finally drinking this sucker!
2007 vintage
F’n black! Tiny dark brown skim that is mainly only on the rim. The aroma is awesome - so complete and superbly balanced. Sweet, biscuits, mid to dark chocolate, mild over all but very good, maybe blackberries, noticed some hops early on. The flavour is just amazing! Immediately I knew I was drinking one of the best beers I’ve ever had. When it’s warm there is an initial alcohol taste but that just vanishes and is replaced by dark chocolate without the bitterness. I did not think the bitterness of this beer (which is mild) was associated with the chocolate. Dark fake cherry, weak, slight bitterness and almost no coffee and THAT IS GREAT! NO OVERLY STUPID AMOUNT OF COFFEE TO RUIN ANOTHER BEER! Nice fruit and a spice that makes a cameo appearance. The mouth feel is really smooth, minimal alc spice is manageable, very little carbonation, full bodied beer that leave a coating in my mouth that just adds to the experience. Chocolate and mid strength roasted malt finish. This is a truly excellent beer. Thanks, Dove, for smuggling this somewhere inside of your body.

Bottle. Pours black with small tan head. Aroma and flavor heavy on the chocolate, dark roasted malts, and some coffee. Alcohol is very apparent! Definite burn going down. Thick and rich, oily, with low carbonation. A magnificent example of a RIS. Glad to finally get my hands on this!

Originally reviewed 3/31/2008... Pours molasses and espresso brown with root beer barrel candy-colored head; tight and bready. Balanced and mellow scent has it all - bready yeast, extra-dark roasted maly and slightly bitter hop backbone (earthy and grassy). Just realized that my cold is precluing me from smelling anything mortal so this must be good - may update later. The balance and mellowness is both surprising and overwhelming. Not too much of anything but enough of everything. Dark espresso with a little licoricle and cinnamon sugar. Some earth, slate, grassy hops and gobs of malt. Slithers down the throat nicely - with no aftertaste. Thick but clear. Beautifully done. Extremely enjoyable.

Smells of alcohol, molasses, burnt chocolaty malts, heading towards BBQ sauciness but not too much like World Wide Stout. This is thick and skirting that limit of saturation of the palate. An intense Malt experience with Chocolate, Coffee, BBQ sauce, Burnt Sugars underneath. Alcohol is more apparent in the aroma. Great stuff, you start slow and then find its gone before you know it. Met high expectations.

I might not quite slap my mama, but this beer is lovely. Dark, nice head with great lacing. Smells like a heavenly mixture of caramel, alcohol, chocolate. Tastes even better. Palate is dark and velvety. Don’t pass this up if you ever have the chance.