Eel River Ravens Eye Imperial Stout

This was kind of dull for an impy stout. A nice black body that had a thin brown head which lacked any real retention. Aroma was of some coffee notes and some chocolate notes. Flavor was similar only it seemed sweeter than anything else. There was a slight smoke note to it. Finish was too light.

Bottle from The Beer Authority, pours a deep amber color with a medium tan head. Sweet and malty, this beer seems more like a barley wine than a stout. Alcohol is masked well by the cloying malt character.

Picked up at Five Points Bottle Shop in Athens, Georgia. Nice silky pour. Off white chocolate head. Looks pretty good. Black opaque apperance. Pretty good looking stout. Alcohol aroma is noticeable. Nice sweet chocolate aroma. Very sweet aroma. Not extremely pugent, but pungent enough to get a decent impression of the aroma. Chocolate dominates the aroma. Well nuanced beer, in terms of flavor. You start off with the alcohol and then the sweet chocolate settles in followed and finished by a little coffee/wood taste. Flavors are a lot more mild than I was hoping for. Wish this beer made more of an impression, but that is not the case. Beer is a little too thin for me.

Bottle; poured a dark reddish/brown with a light brown head. Aroma was actually really good; booze, caramel, roasted malt, fruit, cocoa and molasses. I really liked the aroma. If only the flavor was as good! Not saying it is bad, but it just didn’t live up the nose. Pretty easy to drink, as the flavors were somewhat mellow and not hugely assertive.

smells very malty, and a little fruity. totally opaque black/brown with a brownish/beige head, looks very tasty. tastes smoky and sweet, a little like a campfire. body is a little flat though. it starts strong, and peters off quickly. i desperately want more flavor past the initial tasting. aside from that this is tasty concoction, and i’m a little biased towards the badass label.

Black with an off white head. Aroma is very, very malty, raisin, prune juice, so much prune juice, eh. Taste is light caramel, prune juice, light roastiness, light cream. Why do brewers make organic beer so shitty?

Pours black with a small light creamy tan head. Aroma is heavy on the chocolate and molasses. A bit of nuttiness and burnt toast malt note. Flavor stars with a very rich chocolate malt sweetness, almost to the point of pushing away any other flavors. A bit of dark chocolate bitterness comes out towards the finish with some creamy caramel and toffee notes. Medium body which is not good for a imperial stout and cloyingly active on the carbonation. Not a bad beer but definitely not a top tier IS

Imperial stouts have their detractors, people who think they don’t deserve the constant accolades they get through more often than not gathering the best score of a brewery’s range. Here is food, a weapon for such people. A sweet and absurdly simplistic beer which is just bigger and not necessarily better. It’s still tasty, which makes it hard to give it under a 2, but do that with a pale lager and you’ve got a low scorer. Not very dark at all. Sweet and chocolatey simplicity paired with timid roastiness which fails to balance. Generic soft bubbles, medium bodied at best and even slightly vegetal in the finish. Timid in every facet. I’m sorry, but I can hardly believe that this is among the best beer this brewery produces.