Stone Imperial Russian Stout 10th Anniversary Blend

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Escondido, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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On draft at Hamilton’s Tavern for Second Saturday (San Diego, CA): I feel like I’m going against the grain on this one just because I’m the first to rate this below a 4. Pours black, no head- very intimidating. A thick, sultry nose of roasted malts and leafy bitters. Flavors include oaked bourbon, milk chocolate bitterness in the back palate, espresso, and sweet malts on the verge of cloying. Packs a lot of heat in the finish. Drinkability: Daunting. Pairing: Rare steak, so rare it’s still breathing. Rebuy: Yeah. #447 on 12052010, DG.

growler thanks to thirdeye11, black pour with no head , aromas of coffee, creamer, chocolates, flavors are really balanced, black coffee, cocoa, butterscotch, oaky , finish is smooth and lasting

Growler, big thanks to thirdeye11. Pours with a large tan head and a black body that coats the glass. Aroma of alcohol, toffee, coffee, light barrel, and some oxidized notes. Taste is dark fruits, toffee, very bitter, coffee and some oak in the back ground. Light bubbles. Nice Stout!

Pours very dark- near pitch black- with a small, medium brown head. Nose is mostly chocolatety with faint hints of licorice and mint. Flavor is powerful and full bodied; well-hopped chocolate is the best way I can put it. Finish is long with distinct sweetness and moderately bitter hops. The alcohol is very well hidden. A very, very good beer, IMO.

Growler fill today at Stone enjoyed poolside at my brothers "club". Black with a dense dark brown head. Lace swirls like a gauze until the glass is empty. Cold it’s a bitter chocolate and coffee. Warm it’s also got wood (huh, huh, it’s got wood!), a deep dark vinegar funkiness, and the slightest hint of the ’06 BA. Definitely more on the bitter side of the contiuium(sp) than the sweet. Clean finish. Never felt overpowering and I never got tired of it. The two of us split the growler and wanted more.

On tap after work, at the Stone IRS celebration. Pours a deep dark murky brown/black, with thick tan head. A lot of vintages went into this blend, including the BA version. Roasted malt, bitter dark chocolate, raisin, toffee, plum, touch of caramel, and notes of bourbon and oak. The barrel aged aspect of this stout was well restrained, which I liked, and the fruit/toffee notes where quite nice. There was some bitter floral hops in the finish as well, probably due to the 2010 IRS in the blend. Smooth and silky mouthfeel. A really nice stout, well blended.

On tap at Stone on Wednesday night on the way home from work. What a nice mid week treat. Opaque jet black in the glass with some mocha colored head. The aromas are of oak , roasty malt. Typical IRS on your palate. Dark chocolate predominates with coffee and lovely almond cherry accent. The bourbon flavors make themselves known in a subtle way. The beer is somewhat restrained with still a great complexity of flavor. Loved it !!

On tap at the Stone Bistro on April 14, 2010 for "IRS Day" (a celebration of this wonderful beer on the day before Tax Day). This is a blend of various 2003-2010 vintages along with a 2008 bourbon barrel-aged version. Pours into Stone IRS snifter black with a nice thick mocha brown head leaving decent lacing. Includes the normal IRS aroma of mellow roasted malts and lighter coffee and dark chocolate notes, but also notable wood/bourbon tones along with soy. Pretty much the same is found in the taste (including the bourbon tones) with some subtle fruit flavors present as well. There is a very pleasant lingering dark chocolate "bitterness" in the finish. Overall, this is well executed but I found this anniversary blend to be more "muted" than some other versions of IRS -- it feels lighter and less smooth, and though it retains a high degree of complexity, the flavors are altogether less forward and rich. This observation became more pronounced when my friend brought me a 2007 vintage IRS (Stone had older vintages on tap for IRS Day), and I reveled once again in the richness and creamy smoothness of that single vintage. That might not be a fair comparison since 2007 is probably my favorite year for IRS. Regardless, I was very happy to try this well-done blend of a Stone classic.

Served on tap at the Bistro. The appearance is a rich glossy black chocolate brown (picture) with a good size brown head. The flavors start out with a mild bourbon flavor being the most forward. The bourbon is fruity with some good oak accents, it is completely smooth with no heavy booze that can drown out other flavors. As the beer warms the malt profiles come through more with a rich roasted malt, and dark bakers chocolate. The usually dark fruit flavors weren’t as noticeable as many of the aged IRS I’ve sampled from Stone. A real treat to try this wonderful anniversary blend. I hope this isn’t the closest I ever get to the bourbon barrel IRS.