Eel River Ravens Eye Imperial Stout

Brewed by Eel River Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Fortuna, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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The best imperial stout on the market right now, hands down. I have had floyds, and while they make a great stout you can never find it and they treat it like Russian River Piny the elder. A hell of a lot more special than it truely is. But back to the stout, it is amazing you won’t regret picking up one of these beers. So do yourself a favor and try it out next time you see it.

Pours dark ruby red with a light beige head. Smells chocolaty. Taste is solid chocolate with hints of espresso. Full-bodied with a smooth texture and very soft mouth-carbonation, Eel River Raven’s Eye Imperial Stout finishes chocolaty with a touch of alcohol heat.

UPDATED: MAR 14, 2007 22 oz bottle via LS. Pours almost black with mahogany highlights. Average size dense tan head. Nose is roasty/smokey with mocha notes. Taste starts with some vanilla, some roasted malts, some chocolate, some coffee, and finishes with a nice complex mocha that lingers into the aftertaste. A tiny bit of smokiness in there as well..There are some citrus hops as well but they are fairly subdued. Moderate carbonation. medium body. Alcohol very well-hidden for 9.5% abv...This is a very nice drinkable complex Imp Stout. Not over the top like most are..this is easy to drink but extremely tasty. Medium body, silky mouthfeel like a nice oatmeal stout...Think Alesmith Speedway Stout with less coffee and more roastiness....Pretty close to perfect. P.S. The bottle says ’Nitrogen conditioned’..not sure what that means since there is no widget....but it does seem to have a vry nice mouthfeel, so maybe they are onto something?

7/10/2011 on tap @ Blind Tiger, NYC (2011-543)
Very dark brown beer, very small off-white head, dissipates pretty quick. Aroma: mocha, cherries, bit of smoke, wood, tobacco, sour forrest fruits. MF: soft carbon, full body. Taste: pretty sour start, vinous, rasperries, sour ripe cherries, alcohol warming the throat. Aftertaste: sweet alcohol, cherry liquor, red wine, little bitter, green apple skin. Really smooth non agressive stout.

UPDATED: FEB 23, 2007 22 oz bottle - This beer has got it going on! Dense motor oil black with a thick lasting tan creamy head. Initial rich nose of espresso and heavy creamy, chocolate, toasted brown sugar, and creme brulee. As this warmed even further, it became apparent that someone threw s’mores into my snifter. The freakin marshmallow, graham cracker, chocolate and all. Very complex and ever changing nose throughout. Flavor was just as nice with soft burnt espresso tones, toasted caramel, and dark chocolate that fade into citric hop tone that plays out the balance. You think it’s going to be sweet, but it just never gets that far. This is almost perfect in my book. Medium to full bodied and a touch oily, light prickly carbonation, bittersweet finish. Stout lovers have to find this one ASAP. Excellent brew! Special thanks to my brother-in-law for busing it around Portland to get to Belmont Station for me. You’re the best....

(Nitro Draft: Eel River Brewing Company in Fortuna, CA) Oh wow, this is an amazing beer! Roasty, sweet, smoky, massive chocolate, seemingly some oatmeal, moderate alcohol, and through it all, just mildly bitter, so this is like dessert for me. In fact, it tastes like a huge foreign stout because the bitterness is in the background. The nose is sweet, roasty, chocolaty, and alcoholic. Medium to full bodied, not thick or syrupy, but quite substantial and coating on the palate. Very dark brown, almost black in color with subsurface carbonation bubbles clinging to the glass. Topped by a thin but creamy tan head that fully coats the glass with a curtain of lace. Just an incredibly delicious beer, and worth the drive to Fortuna even if you aren’t heading to view the wondrous redwoods in the area.

Bottle. Deep black colored. Nice sized and persistant light brown head with nice lacing left behind. Aroma is very chocolatey, moderate bits of coffee. Full bodied and coating. Very malty in taste, rich chocolate lightly bitter coffee notes and just a hint of acidity. Bitterness from hops balances nicely without a huge hop presence in flavor. Damn well done, will be seeking out more of this beer.

The Dan Journal #466. The winner of the Blind Imperial Stout Tasting. Tasted 4/2/11. All of the stouts were poured into a taster glass, so I have no idea of bottle size nor vintage. Tasting notes were taken as bullet points, so I apologize for the brevity...Pours opaque with a dark brown, pitch hue with a thick tan head. Aromas of tea leaves, fudge and milk chocolate. Full bodied and rounded with a smooth, albeit slick and oily palate. Flavors of fudge with a modest burn. Sticky and piney and totally rounded and smooth. This was really good!

Dark brown color, creamy head. A full-bodied nitrogen-conditioned Russian Imperial Stout. Deeply roasted malts. Nice hop balance. Chocolate and coffee flavor. Very smooth taste, Nice flavor. Big and expansive. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and very smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. No alcohol bite despite a 9.5%. Excellent stout.

UPDATED: JUL 31, 2006 22 Oz Bomber, red eyed raven on the label "product of Northern California" Fantastic looking beer as it sits in my Imperial pint glass. Mostly black with hints of mahogany..great huge light brown frothy head. Aroma is somewhat subdued for style but its all there and fresh too Great complex whirl of flavours here: coffee,blackberries,esspresso, dark cocoa laden chocolate, dark brown sugar, some hop in the after taste, good stuff. Very nice on the palate , great mouthfee, A very very good Strong stout from Eel River. I really did not think they had it in em tp produce this beauty