Eel River Ravens Eye Imperial Stout

Bottle: Pours a deep brown with ruby in the light (good amount of light gets through for am Imperial Stout) Has a creamy tan head. The aroma is fudgey, with good chocolate character and some coffee grinds in the background. Fluffy body. Fudgey taste with dense chocolate flavors. Milky chocolate character without being sweet. Roasted flavors with chocolate cookie dough and a mocha character. No evidence of alcohol, and it’s easy to put away a bomber. Straight forward, somewhat simple Stout, but tasty.

Pours black with hints of ruby around the edges. The head is thin and bubbly and recedes quickly to a minimal swirl on top with a little lacing. Smell is very sweet for an RIS - big on sweet roasted malts with dark chocolate and dark fruits very evident as well. Maybe a hint of smoked wood in the nose as well. Taste is also very sweet and dominated by the sweetness of dark fruits, vanilla, and roasted malts up front. There is a bit of dark chocolate and coffee as well and a faint hint of hops in the finish, but not much. Mouthfeel is sticky sweet and very creamy with decent carbonation. This isn’t the most complex of RIS’s but it’s very drinkable if you’re OK with sweeter stouts. Enjoyable and recommended.

Bottle. Pours black with a one finger tan head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of roasted malt, dark chocolate, and coffee. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium full mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and smooth alcohol. Very good.

Tap @ Bailey’s Tap Room... Poured almost black with amber highlights and an off-white head. Aroma of nuts (almond and hazelnut) with roasted malt. Flavors of caramel and buttery toffee, minute hops (but definitely there) which blend with toasted malt and almonds. Finished with an amaretto sorta alcohol warmth.

[tap @ Capones 6/14/08]
Tap version MUCH better than the bottle I had a few weeks ago (and forgot to rate). Pours an oily black with tan head. Aroma has hints of licorice, dark dried fruits and roasted malt. Body is medium to light for an imperial stout, and definitely flavors the roasted malt flavors as opposed to hoppy imps (like Storm King). Mouthfeel was a little thin and soft. Would score higher if it was listed as a stout and not an imperial stout.

Dark brown with a fleeting tan head. Roasted and smoked nutty aroma with some cocoa. Smooth medium body. Mild flavors of roasted malts with some cocoa... i can’t believe this is a IRS, tastes more like a mild porter to me.

Mahogany with quickly dissipating tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, molasses, and sweet malts and some chocolate. Taste of caramel, molasses, brown sugar, chocolate and roasted malts. Thick body that hides the alcohol well but in it’s a bit too sweet and finishes with a lactic sourness.

Bottle thanks bmartin08: Very dark pour with a modest tan head. Aroma is booze, chocolate malts, some buttery caramel. Flavor is deeply roasted malts and coffee, and more booze. It was almost as if it had a light, airy body but then finished thick. Tasty but not one of the better examples of a RIS.