Hales Pikop Andropovs Rushin Imperial Stout

66 cl. bottle pours a pitch black fluid with a brown head. Smells of plums, raisons, and roasted grains. Full bodied with a smooth, creamy mouthfeel. Has a roasted grain taste meshing perfectly with a raison date sweetness. The strong coffee flavored finish lingers long on the throat. A very well balanced, highly drinkable stout.

Bottle; pours a syrupy looking jet black with a quickly diminishing brown head. Aroma was pretty good; heavy on the vanilla with chocolate, roasted malt and dark fruit. Flavor was sour and thin. Some vanilla and roasted malt notes. Palate was on the thin side. Surprised that this is only 7.5 percent, but I may be mistaking the offputting flavor for alcohol. I don’t want to be too harsh, but this one is severely lacking in qualities that you would expact from even an average version of the style. One positive aspect was that it got slightly better once the weird sourness went away.

Bomber. Pours a viscous-looking deep black with quick tan head. The aroma is rich with prune, molasses, and vanilla, maybe a hint of sherry. As I take my first sip I’m immediately surprised at how thin it is. It is quite misleading visually. The flavor is a little bit tart with some nutty and wheaty tones. Some berry and vanilla notes bounce around, until a kind of watered-down coffee finish. A slight hint of hops sneaks into the aftertaste. A little bit disappointing.

Name: Pikop Andropov’s Rushin’ Imperial Stout
Date: 11/04/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Bend Brewing

black, whispy tan head, sweet roasted malt aroma with an essence of vanilla and licorish, thin body, lots of bitter roasted malt flavor, touch of tartness, touch of sweetness,

Aroma: 4/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 3/10; Palate: 3/10; Overall: 6/20
Rating: 1.8/5.0
Drinkability: 5/10
Score: 4

Bottle: Black pour with a small brown head that is very short lived. No lacing. Nose is light roast with a bit of coffee and chocolate. Tastes is light cocoa, bittersweet, and mostly roasted malt. Finishes a bit dry and chalky with a little more cocoa. Fairly pedestrian.

Bottle. I’ve had this cellared for quite sometime and it was an average run of the mill stout. Aroma was mostly roasted dark malts, maybe a touch of chocolate. Poured a dark black coffeeish. Flavor just the same as the nose. Palate was okay nothing spectacular. Overall, it wasn’t bad.

Guess what, Mr. Andropov? You’re about to be my lowest rating ever! Isn’t that super? 22oz bomber from Liquid Solutions. When I think imperial stout, I generally think of a full body, roasted malts, rich and bitter hops, chocolate notes, etc. This one? Sour fruits, soy sauce, and coffee that’s been burning all day. Pure ass.

Poured black with a brown rim and small brown head. The aroma started with roasted malt and then turn to a mix of sweet and tart with nots of soy. Roasty and tart flavor. This bottle seems on the aged side. (I had it in Novemeber ’06). Coffee and tart soy notes.