 StompBrockmore (300), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nov 22, 2007
650ml bomber, shared with VeloVampire - pours black with pretty ruby highlights when held up to a light with a thick toffee head. Aroma is biiiig and full of sweet roasty malt, hops, coffee, lots of dark fruit and chocolate. Flavour is equally big - lots of chocolate, coffee, big hop presense toward the finish which is incredibly long, bitter and roasty. Lots of yeast in the flavour as well. Really beautiful. Alcohol warms with this one and is integrated extremely well. I loved it.
502Flavors (135), Kentucky, USA
Jul 4, 2008 Bomber into sniffer. Pitch black with big puffy lasting and lacing tan head (if head was a bit darker it would be a 5 on appearance). All creamy vanilla and chocolate on nose. Flavor is just like aroma with a very small hint of hops on finish. Thick and creamy on palate, but not coating and oily enough to get a 5. Overall: not much to say except that this is a solid creamy imperial stout.
timsilvia32 (31), born in Michigan, North Carolina, USA
Jul 4, 2008 Really liked this one. Had in June, a bit past the season. Alcohol is well masked by smooth roast chocolate. I found it not as much a smack in the face as some RIS. Almost like a strong milk stout. Drinkable. Will drink again.
GarrettB (342), Centennial, Colorado, USA
Jun 26, 2008 The next in the despotic line after the Maharaja, we move North, to Czarist Russia, where regal cruelty comes with gorgeous palaces. Does the Czar show his royal side? The pour is dark and murky, pouring like fresh tropical mud. This thick morass then leaves a thin, sparrow brown head, which then caves into a hollow valley shape, floating on a consummately black body. The aroma is redolent of milk duds, chocolate malt balls, old raspberries and dust, alongside cinnamon apple pie, Cinnabon’s trademark frosting and a vapor stickiness as if from a candy factory. I love this smell - rich and decadent, though beer loves might wonder where all the beer is. The taste is less extroverted - slightly chalky and very malty, resulting in a rich chocolate flavor without the dark chocolate bitterness. The flavor is, well, husky. HUSKY. One can also say it is direct and forthright, and also candid, like a drunk, distantly related uncle. Warmth brings out a raw apple quality and a stronger coffee profile. The palate remains constant, with a density a hair too thin for the flavor. The Czar has a superior nose with reasonably good flavor, but none of the atrocity of the real deal.
highibus (209), Vail, Arizona, USA
Jun 22, 2008 wow this really hides the alcohol well. pours a deep black with light tan head. aroma of sweet roasted malt. medium to full body. nice finish.
zeke626 (173), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Jun 21, 2008 Bottle, 2006 vintage. Pours a not quite opaque black body with red hues and generous light brown head. Aroma of cocoa, coffee, light floral hops, dark fruit, and a hint of anise. Mouthfeel is light for an imperial stout, but smooth and easy to drink. Flavors of sweet, roasted malts and mocha on the front of the palate, then finishing to cocoa, toffee, and raisin flavors. Slight hops in the finish and aftertaste.
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