Portsmouth Kate The Great Russian Imperial Stout

#100! Big thanks to Brent:TheRealBastard, for sharing this one with me. Pour is as black as charcoal with a thin brown head. Aromas of chocolate, alcohol, roasted malt, and coffee. Flavor is nothing like i’ve ever had before. This brew coats your whole mouth and is wonderful. Coffee stands out the most and some chocolate is in the finish. I wish this stuff was on the shelf everyday. Awesome brew, the best I’ve had to date.

Simply put, one of the best Imperial Stouts I have ever had. Oily, rich in Coffee and Chocolately overtones, with a smooth bitterness dancing softly on the backside. The Mouthfeel is viscuous, and grainy, almost chewy. has a very small nutty flavour hidden in the palate as well. A superb brew.

Shared with Andrew(imadeadguy) and my little broski(Drew). I’m giving it a 20 only because the flavor is out of this world!!! Aroma is light chocolate and alcohol, but hardly there. That still does not take anything away from this one. This beer is the best imperial stout I’ve ever had. For overall flavor this is the one I wish I could have as an everyday drinker, a real treat. Taste is chocolate, dark chocolate, coffee, expresso, roasted malt, some smoke, little vanilla on the finish, and hops throughout. I couldn’t ask for anything more in a beer. This is the closest to the Double Bastard yet(my favorite beer). Huge thanks to Matthew and Unclejedi for this beauty. This beer defines what an Imperial stout should taste like. Period!!!

Jet black body with a nice mocha head. Picturesque beer all around. The aroma is great. There is a bunch of milk chocolate and coffee and it smells delicious. The taste is crazy good. It is creamy chocolate and coffee blended together. There is a bit of hotness that is probably alcohol but could be some bitterness. I can’t wait to see how this ages. When it’s cold, the body seems pretty thick but as it warms it thins out a bit and becomes almost more of an old ale consistency. I prefer RIS’s on the thicker end and served on the warmer end, so this didn’t quite meet the terms of perfection. This is a DAMN good RIS. With a little age, I think the bitterness will reduce a bit and make this awesome. This beer is MUCH better cold rather than warm, which is usually the opposite of what I find. It still has good flavor and aroma cold and the body is much better.

On tap at the brewpub during the KtG release: Well, there were some really great beers on tap for the release but this Kate did in fact prove to be great for me. Thick, rich, concentrated, powerful...and surprisingly balanced. This pours thick in the glass and remains thick in the mouth, coating the entire palate. There was a nice mix of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, vanilla and some dark fruit. Hopefully the bottles will live up to the tap! While I may not rate this a perfect 5, the day and event made this a perfect experience!