Lion à Plume Postiche Russian Imperial Stout

Brasserie du Lion à Plume
Brewed at Brasserie de Bastogne
Style: Imperial Stout
Messancy, Belgium

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle. Black with medium beige head. Aroma is roasted malts, chocolate and hops. Flavour is roasted malts, chocolate, hops, medium sweet, little citrus, little coffee, and a little bitter.

Bottle. Beautiful black pour, creamy espresso like foam. Aroma is very very hoppy, almost like a black ipa, some roastiness, black coffee. Taste is light and roasty, good hoppy aftertaste. Palate is relatively light for the style, dry finish. Very good.

A large beige head thrones above the incomplete blackness. Surprisingly green, a touch citrusy, tea-like hoppiness takes a lot of room in the aroma that shows straightforward burnt grains reminiscent of espresso more than chocolate. Dry and almost fizzy in mouth, vey effervescent for a beer classified as an impy, but then again, its Belgian lineage ought to be respected somehow and while it feels unusual and thins the body out fairly, it also adds an acidic kick that surprisingly does not handicap the hop and roast profile and remains under control despite the usual tendency of these flavours to end in a mess. it adds a slightly vinous touch. At the same time, a chalky, mineral feel adds firmness to the relatively lean body, in a tannic, vinous way that is attractive enough, albeit slightly disturbed by the softly medicinal phenols that linger in the aftertaste. Still, it makes for a rather different beer, combining unusual flavours together, but perhaps not justifying ceiling-high prices in my case as I don’t find it particularly drinkable despite its lowish ABV nor captivatingly complex enough to align sips after sips until the bottle is gone. Nevertheless, interesting enough that beer is: a dry imperial stout, a rare beast indeed.

Green bottle, 75 cl, best before December 2013, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (merci Hughes!), savoured on May 13 2012; eye: black, opaque, lots of dark brown head, light lacing; nose: citrusy hops, roasted barley, light burnt barley, liquorice; mouth: roasted barley, burnt barley, light citrusy hops, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, light alcohol, liquorice, dry finale in critrusy hops with presence of roasted barley, medium-full body, good carbonation, rather bitter, lightly lactic, lightly harsh texture; overall: quite fine FRANÇAIS Bouteille verte, meilleure avant décembre 2013, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (merci Hughes!), savourée le 13 mai 2012; œil : noire, opaque, mousse brun foncé abondante, légère dentelle; nez : houblon citrique, orge torréfiée, léger orge brûlée, réglisse; bouche : orge torréfiée, orge brûlée, léger houblon citrique, chocolat noir, chocolat au lait, léger alcool, réglisse, finale sèche en houblon citrique avec présence d’orge torréfiée, corps moyen-corsé, bonne carbonatation, plutôt amère, légèrement lactique, texture légèrement rugueuse; en résumé : bien bon

Draft at ZBF. Chocolate taste with some flowery hops. Bitter chocolate and coffee aftertaste.

Jet black colour with dark creamy head. Aroma is really hoppy but also has some roasted, bitter malts. Flavour has a big contrast of bitter, roasted, slightly smokey malt versus a sharp dry hop.

Bottle at ZBF’12, Leuven, Belgium: Black coloured brew with an fine American bitter-like appearance, taste of dark chocolate and citrus.

Imperial stouts are so highly rated on this site. To me, this should be around 80 percentile, not around 50, even if there are so many that I don’t know... Very dry and intensely hopped (quite citrusy), with notes of espresso, bitter chocolate and pleasant black licorice. A lot of deepness and pretty complex, and very easy to drink. Very good.

Bottle 750 ml. Pours pitch black with medium brown head. Aroma: Grapefruit and slight notes of roasted malt. Taste: Grapefruit and roasted malt. Amarillo is easily recognizable. Creamy but dry the palate. Bitter finish, long duration of aftertaste. Overall: Looks like an imperial stout, but with the aroma and taste of an average IPA. Not a big fan of the mix.

Aroma:cofee and fruity... Appearance:dark good lacing brown head... Flavor:coffe,rosted malt,fruity....

10th February 2012
Bottle shared with the Kernel crew. Opaque black - brown beer. Good tan head. Somewhat airy light palate. Very light touch of dark malt. Odd papery, bretty things going on. Soil. A little roast malt and dark chocolate towards the dry bretty finish. Gets quite bitter at the finish and through to the aftertaste. Weird! But not offensive!