Stone Imperial Russian Stout

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

Bottle. Dark as a burnt turd, with a very thin head. Flavor is big coffee, dark and milk chocolate, lactose, roasted malt, and black licorice. Some sugar notes in here as well. Full bodied with a mild alcohol burn to finish. Solid, nothing wrong with this one.

Pour is gorgeous. Dark black with a thick tan head. On the nose I get chocolate before I even get close to the glass. A slight coffee and other malt notes are also present. Taste is mind blowing. Coffee, roasted malt, and baking chocolate. Outstanding.

2006 bottle 05/14/2007 Cellared for a year. I poured this beer into my snifter and it was a dark black with slight brown edges. A short brown head faded quickly until no bubbles were left. The smell was slightly chocolate. The taste was vinous and reminded me of wine. There was a little plum flavor going on. This was much better than the 2007 bottle I had a couple weeks back but this can probably still use a year on it. 2007 bottle 02/23/2008 Beautiful smell like gourmet chocolates, an amazing improvement over the last year. This beer is a really good example of a cellar-worthy beer. 2006 bottle 04/20/08 This is about two years old now and I’m a little disappointed in how its aged. It doesn’t taste as good as the 07 I had a couple months back. It has almost six bubbles total and no carbonation. It is sticky sweet but no chocolate or roasty flavors, mostly dark fruits. hopefully this will pick back up in a couple months. 2006 vintage 01/10/09 smells malty grains, some chocolate, tastes good and probably can’t get much better. Drink ’em if you got ’em. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 05-14-2007 15:28:36

Brewed in the USA....... Pours black with a med foamy tan head that quickly dissipates. Aroma of roasted malts, molasses and mild coffee. Taste is of strong coffee, burnt malts, chocolate and creamer. The mouthfeel is smooth, well balanced and finishes on the bitter side. This Imperial stout is very enjoyable and worth your hard earned money.

2008 bottle from City Beer Store in SF. An absolute top-notch imperial stout. Black and oily with a nice brown head. Aroma is strong roasted malt and coffee, maybe some dark fruits too. Burnt malt flavor, strong coffee with cream, and dark chocolate. Really thick palate but extremely smooth. Incredibly drinkable for the ABV and style.

330 mL. Pours a used motor oil black with a dark brown, small head. Aroma of roasted malt, espresso, molasses, dark chocolate. Taste is not as intense as I was expecting after trying Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti. There is still an onslaught of coffee, roastiness, vanilla, and even cream. Hops shine through in the finish. Oily, coating mouthfeel. 11% is well hidden. Though it is not offensive and well balanced, I’m not picking up that extra characteristic that makes people rave about this beer. It is nearly perfect but not out of this world.

From the 2007 release. A- Pours a straight black hue; small, creamy dark brown head that mostly dissipates, good lacing that only slightly sticks to the glass S- Chocolate and coffee aroma; strong molasses and roasted malts; fairly stiff alcohol presence; subtle anise and fruit tones T- Roasted coffee taste dominates throughout, hints of chocolate and sweet molasses, some bitter hops and alcohol in the short finish M- Very full-bodied stout, creamy and thick texture with soft carbonation D- Complex yet balanced IRS, easily drinkable given the ~11%abv yet I wouldn’t drink more than a few in one sitting, another great release from Stone

Pours black as night and looks like pure motor oil. Great looking beer in the glass with thick, fluffy, tan head. Nice lacing. Aroma of dark fruits and chocolate. Nice thick, creamy mouthfeel. Smooth texture. Taste of dark chocolate, vanilla, roasted malt, and mild coffee notes. Alcohol is well hidden.