Big Sky Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Missoula, Montana USA

Serve in Snifter

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Really nice smell on this beer. Oaky and bourbon with so coacoa. Taste is sweet and smooth. The bourbon is there but not hot very balanced. I can’t believe how great this is. Well worth a try.

UPDATED: MAR 22, 2012 750 ml bottle. 2009 vintage. Bottle 2789/3000. Pours an opaque brown with a small, creamy tan head. The aroma hints at oxidation, with cardboard, chocolate, toasted crackers, wood, earth, and olives. The flavor improves significantly, with chocolate, vanilla, caramel, molasses, and oak- the bourbon itself is subtle and smooth. Light-medium bodied, with a smooth, sweet mouthfeel and low carbonation. I should have opened this vintage earlier. Don’t sit on it any longer if you have a 2009.

Aroma intermingles alcohol, chocolate, vanilla, and oak, in a beautiful melange of expectant flavors... Taste exceeds the aroma in depth... Cocoa delves deep into the palette and creates a solid base to intermix the nuanced vanilla and oak, and slightly heavy-handed sugar and bourbon. Finish is sweet, milky, and bourbon.. Solid.

Shared a 750ml bottle. Poured a dark black color with a tan head. Aroma was chocolate notes, mild vanilla, a bit of woody bourbon. Flavor was roasted and toasted dark malts, bitter chocolate, wood, bourbon notes. Enjoyed.

From notes. First reviewed 3/11/2011. 2010 release. Bottle 2569/3800. 750 mL bottle poured into a tulip. Thanks to readbaron for sharing this. Ivan pours almost black, with walnut brown edges. Thick and viscous, with a small mocha head that recedes to a thin cap. The aroma has bourbon, raisins, and figs, roasted malt, and a little bit of toffee, molasses, and peat. The malt flavor is definitely heavy here, with a surprisingly strong and noticeable peat flavor. Bourbon soaked raisins and figs combine with smooth toffee to provide a nice sweetness. A little bit of smoke and tobacco step in on the back end. Full bodied, with medium carbonation. A sticky residue is left after each sip, and it has a sort of buttery smoothness to it. A very enjoyable beer, it is a shame this is only released in small quantities.

Vertical 8 9 and 10 at FeDubbelfest’s place...pours dark unclear like black coffee with a mocha head. The aroma is sweet bourbon and roasted malts, especially on the fresher bottles. The flavors of the roasted malts and light sweet vanilla bourbon blend pleasantly on the tongue. The body is medium and the carbonation is just right.

Pours dark and black but looks thin for imp stout. Big brown head. Nose is vanilla and starting to smell a little metallic. This is a 2010 bottle maybe it’s gone to far. Flavor is sweet and just a tad bitter. Big alcohol still. The bottle is definitely drinking better than the nose let on. Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth. Long aftertaste. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

My Bottom Line :
Blueberries and bourbon oversee this Imperial Stout’s chocolate and coffee flavors for an enjoyable, if not forgettable, sipper.

Further Personal Perceptions :
-A lingering head of foam stalls atop the blackness with dark brown edges.
-The nose is nearly all bourbon and oak.
-Roasted malts mostly turn into coffee bean impressions, providing soothing flavors.
-This is not really complex, but it is very flavorful.
-This is not poorly done at all; I’m simply not a fan of Imperial Stouts in which I taste more barrel and alcohol than malts and hops.

Bottle.

2008 bottle Vintage, #527/1152; Sampled January 2012
A steady pour produces an almost two-finger thick, light brown colored head. The beer is fairly black smelling and it is clear if you look through a thin sliver of it, but is opaque otherwise. The beer smells vaguely of toasted coconuts at first, but this gets quite a bit more pronounced in short order. Notes of Bourbon, touches of alcohol, lots of vanillin and a backdrop of toasted, brown malt, a touch of roasted malt (though not quite as much as I might have expected), lots of brown bread toasted grain character,.

Light sweet malt up front, gets sweeter as it rolls across the palate, the beer dries out in the finish with a slightly bitter, burnt, roast-grain character, and some warming, not quite hot alcohol and Bourbon. The roast character is quite prominent here with notes of dark chocolate, sweet coffee liquor, chalky roasted notes, and some bitter burnt character that isn’t really overly sharp. There is a touch too much heat and spicy alcohol in the finish; spicy oak notes also accentuate this, but also provide a touch of astringency. The body, while having a certain heft and viscosity, is a touch on the light side for a rich Imperial stout.

The body of this beer is actually a touch lighter than I would have liked; more malt richness would have supported the Bourbon Barrel notes better (despite the Bourbon character really not being over the top in this beer). Not bad, but I wish it was a touch richer and maltier.

Bottle 1915 of 3800, 2010. Dark dark brown with a mochar one finger head. Grains, vanilla, malt, oak, earth, brown sugar, toffee, chocolate. Too much carbonation, medium bodied / thin, somewhat prickly, foamy, alcohol and mild booze. Little thin on the finish, vanilla, oak, some smoke, chocolate. Very tasty but a little disappointing on the end.