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Stone Imperial Russian Stout

Score
10099
OVERALLStyle
Serve in Snifter

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 2231   WEIGHTED AVG: 4.21   SEASONAL: Spring   EST. CALORIES: 315   ABV: 10.5%
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
"There’s no question that Stone Imperial Stout is revered among enthusiasts," states Stone CEO Greg Koch. "I know, because I’m one of ’em and I can hardly wait for it to come out each year!" Some may think that a late Spring release for a special brew of this sort is an odd time for it to come out onto the market. Koch justifies this with the rationalization "What better than a warm time of year to come out with a brew that tastes great as it warms up!" That’s because "ice cold" is certainly not the appropriate way to serve the beer. Nearly without exception, the darker, richer and more alcoholic a brew is, the warmer the serving temperature should be. The Stone Imperial Stout label describes the brew as being "intensely aromatic (notes of anise, black currants, coffee, roastiness and alcohol) and heavy on the palate...expect this mysterious brew to pour like used motor oil and taste even heavier! Serve at 55 degrees."


4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
Peacehammer (123) - California, USA - FEB 12, 2012
2009 Vintage on tap at Stone. Thick black. No head at all. Aroma of caramel, light toffee and chocolate. Some roasty notes, fairly smooth.

4.2
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
Anova167 (16) - Manhattan Beach, California, USA - FEB 12, 2012
2011 vintage into snifter. Pours thick pitch black with a tan head that looks like crema on an espresso. Aroma is coffee, licorice, bread, roasted malts, as this is a young batch, a bit of piney hops on the nose as well. Flavor fulfills the aroma’s promise with coffee, dark cocoa, and roasty flavors. Not much of the hop notes in the flavors and probably completely disappears over time as this gets older. Impressive lack of booziness for such a massive beer. One of the best IRS I have had (which isn’t saying much) and makes me try to get my hands on other top rated beers of this style.

4.9
   AROMA 10/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 10/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 19/20
grunx (206) - - FEB 11, 2012
Xocolata, cafè, regalèssia, mentolats, anisats, torrats, especies... Cal dir alguna cosa més? Gran, enorme...

4.6
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 10/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
Smurf2055 (146) - Seattle, Washington, USA - FEB 11, 2012
2010 vintage on draft at Uber. Pours black as night with about a finger of tan head. Smell was amazing chocolate and hints of coffee. Taste was much the same, very rich and full bodied, complex and luxurious. I had tried this early on in my craft beer adventure. It was a current vintage, and I remember it being bold, rich, and super thick. Either my palate has expanded or a year of aging mellows it quite a bit, because this beer can go tooth and nail with any other RIS I’ve tried.

4.3
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 17/20
JB84 (636) - Kitchener, Ontario, CANADA - FEB 4, 2012
Pour dark black coffee brown head good retention and decent lace. Aroma roasty, cocoa, coffee, espresso, bakers chocolate, heavy cream. Taste heavenly chocolate, cocoa, roasty, rich malts, light malt bitterness balanced well by hops, espresso, fresh ground coffee. MF super full creamy body with solid carb. Overall excellent RIS has it all roast, chocolate, coffee, body. A+

4.6
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 19/20
MBrausen (63) - Minnesota, USA - FEB 1, 2012
Reviewed from notes. A. Pours a pitch black color, thick 1 finger head, mocha head, long lasting with lots of good lacing. S. Smells of lots of chocolate, oates and malt T. Tastes of strong chocolate, light lactose, and malty rich grains. M Thick bodied, very chewy and long lasting bold mouth flavor. O. A great beer time and time again. I have a few bottles of this same vintage aging in the cellar. I can’t wait to open them in a year or two.

4.4
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 18/20
PoppaK (1) - - FEB 1, 2012 does not count
Once I tried it, I couldn’t talk myself into buying anything else. Th eonly problem is limited supply.

4.2
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 17/20
DasBierChef (687) - Lucan, Minnesota, USA - JAN 29, 2012
Glorious. Truly glorious. Thick, black, heavy, and full of flavor to completely mask the alcohol. Yum.


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Rating Notecard:
Beer: Stone Imperial Russian Stout Rating Avg: 4.21 No. of Ratings: 2231
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