Kuhnhenn Jessies Road Rash Imperial Stout

Brewed by Kuhnhenn Brewing
Style: Imperial Stout
Warren, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Couple draught tulips at the brewery on 9/22/07
Two-fingers of tan head top the inky black body, slowly receding to cover and then ring, leaving blotchy lacing. Clarity is medium-low.
Very hoppy in the nose, with plentiful juicy fruits and moderate pine aromatics wrapping themselves up in lightly sweet chocolate fudge. You’d think it wouldn’t work too well, but as it’s a bit easier on the grapefruit side of things, I think the hop notes actually add an interesting array of aromatics that complement the sweet malts. Clean, fresh yeast, and low alcohol apparency for its size. The roast emerges with warming, but generally stays behind the fudgey-sweet maltiness. Certainly some light charred notes and coffee elements arise on the finish, somewhat drying out the beer and adding a pleasant balance. Very "full" aroma, though perhaps not overly intense in its strength, if that makes any sense.
Bitter hop notes dance with gobs of fat chocolate fudge notes, laid out over a deliciously chewy, rich body. Cookies, buttertoffee and vanilla notes all add moderate depth, as charred black malt notes and some minimal vinousness emerge at the end. It adds a lovely balance, though the strong hop flavors of juicy pine, tropical fruits and candied citrus seem to detract from the focus here. Not that the hops are unpleasant, but it’s just very different to witness such a large amount of flavoring hops in this style, without the usual onslaught of bitterness. The body loosens some, with warming, as more vanilla and caramel come out. Alcohol warmth is moderate, for its size, and the charred notes keep their place, more or less, without fatiguing the palate. Still, the complexity is a bit lacking, as there’s quite a lot of fruity/piney hop flavor and chocolate fudge interplay, without as much deep roast and vinousness as I’d like. Drinkable, though, that’s for sure.

Pours rich black tight head. Aromas of chocolate and roasted malt. Flavor is roasted malt, chocolate, and dark fruit. Subtle coffee and a hint of tartness on the finish.

Poured from 12 oz bottle. Pours black as night with a ton of tan creamy head that clings to the glass. Aroma is sour cherries and some booze. Taste follows with some tartness and a bit of bitterness and some burnt malts. Decent but not what I was hoping for...I was thinking this would be sweeter and be a coffee tapioca pudding.

On tap at the brewery. Pitch black pour with a beige head that lingers. Aroma is roasted malt mixed with sweetness. Aromas of cream, red fruit, butterscotch, and roasted malt. Taste is pretty sweet. Lots of creaminess and roasted malt along with a slight fruitiness. Too much alcohol burn on the finish though. Medium mouthfeel. There are parts I love about this beer but parts I don’t. Still worth a try though.

First imp stout that i have wanted to rate in a while. Nose is subtle fruits. Taste is tart, raspberry/cherry. The tapioca, smooths out the finish. Unbelievable that this is 12.5%. I would love to see what three to five years of age will do to this, but i only have one bottle. Very impressed.

Draft at the brewery. Pours dark caramel with a decent amount of head. Smell is rich of malts, fruit, and some alcohol. Taste is big upfront with what I think is burnt apricots. Good finish with some alcohol left at the end. Pretty good, but not an adequate replacement for Solar Eclipse.

Darker than dark with no head. Aroma of dark fruit, alcohol and chocolate. Great taste follows nose. Nice impy stout. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle thanks to FlandersNed. Pours black. Off white head. Nose/taste of fudge brownie, coffee, vanilla, light lactose sweetness, milk chocolate and oak. Medium body.

Draft @ Kuhnhenn. Pours pitch black with a medium plus sized tan head that lasts. The aroma is dark roasted malt, dark chocolate, coffee, raisins stand out among the dark fruits and a hint of licorice. The flavor is roasted malt, dark fruits, black coffee, bittersweet chocolate and a touch of alcohol. As this warmed, the alcohol came out a bit too much. Overall, this was a pretty nice imperial stout.

Bottle shared by Sean, thanks! Poured black with a wooden brown head that dissipated quickly to the edges. Aroma had dark grain with a strong dark fruit note and a hint of dark chocolate and alcohol. Flavor had dark roasted grains with dark fruit, especially raisin and fig, and a bit of booze coming out in the finish.

Bottle:   The pour on this is pitch black, cannot even see through the stream of liquid.   Moderate to large frothy beige head, sticky lacing.   Did I mention pitch black?   Very rich roasted malt flavor, heavy soy, some lactose sweetness.   Whoa, quite sweet on the tongue.   Heavy lactose sweetness with an alcoholic soy background.   Has a bright twang to it.   Heavy roasted malts on the backside, after the finish.   Seems fairly clean, albeit this one is all up front with its alcoholic soy punch.   Even seems a bit chalky at the end.   Glad this is in a 12oz format, because anything bigger would be impossible to drink.   While the alcohol isn’t too overbearing, this one is just so big and sweet and roasty that it wears you down.   Okay, this is starting to be a bit too much.   Body and mouthfeel are fairly heavy.   This is a big sweet Imperial Stout.