Le Cheval Blanc Stout Impérial Russe

Brewed by Le Cheval Blanc
Style: Imperial Stout
Montreal, Canada

Serve in Snifter

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On tap at the mondial de la biere 2010.... Aroma:Strong coffe aroma,rosted malt... Appearance:Dark good head... Flavor:Strong rosted malt,coffe,oak flavor....

Bottle: Poured a deep pitch-black color stout with a medium off-white creamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma consists of dry roasted malt with loads of black chocolate and light dry bitter finish. Taste is also a very concoction of black chocolate with some roasted malt and light lactose notes to offset some of the bitterness. Body is quite full with nice creamy texture and some good carbonation with no apparent alcohol. Very well brewed with nice level of complexity but also has a good drinkability factor.

On this rainy and boring day, my wife is currently finalizing the income taxes and my daughters are busy playing with friends. So, what can I do? Read The Brothers Karamazov or watch a Korean film with Arabic subtitles ? Nah.... Already done. And why not get into my car and drive until I can knock on heaven’s doors? Good idea. Here I am, 20 minutes later, at Le Cheval Blanc, first beer geek of the day, ordering a russian imperial stout, a beautiful 8,5 abv black beast with a nice dark brown head and suitable lacing. First smell of this magic potion reveals lucious aromas of chocolate and gentle dark grains. And then, after a nanosecond, a burst of fresh hops tickles the nostrils and seems to remain in the atmosphere. First sip of this chocolat indulgence liquid hit me with strenght : stimulating hops flavors along with fruity roastiness provide a hophead kind of resinous bitterness. Good enough. What about the mouthfeel : after using my pocket density analyzer, I can honestly say that the body of this cask version is medium to full with just enough carbonation and a true oily texture (thanks to my pocket texture analyzer for this one!). Finaly, 20 minutes later, looking at my watch and my empty glass, it is time to walk my way out and try not to burp all the bitterness and the roastiness stocked in my mouth. Nice pit stop. (April 16th)

Cask, pours a black body with a bubbly lacing. Roast y malt tones, fudge, toffee and roasted malt tones. Inky roast y body, feels a bit thin despite the 8 plus abv. Burnt bittering malt tones, light licorice, and a bitter coffee, oak and earth y hoppiness. Very nice.

Un verre sur place. Un mousse brune comme de la crème fouetté trône sur cette bière noire. On dirait une Guinness avec mousse plus foncée. Arôme de torréfaction, houblon. En bouche la bière est crémeuse, l’amertume bien présente, la mousse aussi. Il y a un bon équilibre entre la torréfaction et le houblon. Manque un petit quelque chose.

My Bottom Line:
This Imperial Stout gratifies the senses with its raisiny malts, dark chocolate severity and the gripping bitterness of roasted malts and resinous hops.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A compact nitroed head of foam laces atop the blackness.
-A light acidity follows the dark chocolate notes, post-taste.
-Nitro is too important for my tastes; it veils part of the aroma and the flavor profile, making the poignant finish come as a surprise.
-I’m not sure if that bloated mouthfeel is simply a result of a too high nitrogen percentage...

On tap at the brewpub; nitrogenated version.

Hook me to the Ratings Crack Pipe. Dark brown, little head, aroma of cocoa and black olive. Taste sweet dark blueberry fruit. Licorice, spice, herbal and puckering dry grassy hops and coffee liqueur, seems a bit loose but definitely has promising attributes.

Serve on Draught @ La taverne du Cheval Blanc. Pours a Black hazy beer with a brown/beige head that stays for a while. Aroma is Coffee, herbs from the hop, chocolate and a tint of vanilla. Flavor is Torrified coffee and chocolate, Aftertaste is bitter, with coffee who tend to stay until the end. Full body, low carbonation. In short is a nice RIS, maybe served too cold at the bar..

Wooded version, on tap at the brewpub. Totally black with a medium brown frothy head that lasts. Some wood on the nose, with cherry, interesting spiciness and bitter chocolate following. Really nice nose. Full body, oily, thick, creamy, loads of roastiness and bitter chocolate, very low carbonation and a superb long cocoa finish. WoW! This is an amazing RIS.

Tap at Mondial 2010. Pours a crazy deep charred charcoal black with a bubbly off tan orange head- thinning. Aroma is smokey roasted malts, tootsie roll sweet chocolate, nuts, toast, burnt malts, light fruity ester and fruity citrus hops, and big tobacco. Flavor is sharp mineral, dark chocolate malts, some roast light coffee, acrid burnt toast notes and some smoked meats, tar, tobacco and light anise- hints of mint and licorice as it warms. Ok finish.