Stone Imperial Russian Stout

FANTASTIC STOUT!! just opened and tasted after 5 months. One of the absolute best stouts I’ve ever had, and I love stout!! This stout is thick, rich, creamy and full of layers of flavor. I hope you continue to brew this blend. Just in case, I intend to seek and cellar as much as I can find. Love, Love love it. Great job!!!

2008 vintage. Pours a pitch black color with a small, foamy dark tan head that quickly settles to a thin film. The aroma is very rich with dark chocolate, roasted coffee, caramel, and anise. A hint of mocha comes through as well to smooth out the roast. The flavors follow suit with melted dark chocolate meeting sweet, creamy caramel and roasted coffee. The anise and mokha come through to smooth things out and add depth. The flavors are very rich and creamy. Full bodied and a silky mouthfeel that hides the alcohol really well with just a slight warmth on the finish. This is a damn fine imperial stout.

2009 Release. Went to a local bar to watch the Celtics/Magic game expecting to order a Guinness or Bass and was surprised to see this there. That bar just went up a notch in my book. Pours pitch black and thick, like motor oil, with a relatively thick head which yields some decent lacing. This beer is very roasty with lots of unsweetened chocolate and bitter black coffee, day old coffee, with a heavy dose of hops showing in the finish. It gets a bit softer and creamier as it warms a bit. Great beer. Not my favorite Imperial Stout though but I did just drink this in a bar and am now rating on memory. I’ll re-rate. I’ve got a bottle of the 2007 release and I look forward to comparing. As a side note, Stone rocks. They distribute seemingly everywhere, even to little bars with little else there, and they are affordable and tasty.

had the 2008 in may 2009. poured from a growler at the stone tasting at shalos! pours pitch black with light dying as soon as it touches the beer. no head to speak of. aroma is dripping with lush roasted coffee, toasted malts, vanilla, chocolate, and more coffee. drinks similar with coffee being the major flavor but hints of vanilla and chocolate dancing around inbetween breaths. alcohol is present but didnt get in the way. just fantastic.

WE are finally getting this in Texas very soon! Damn glad too. This beer is a little off putting when its fresh. I am not sure stone wants you to drink this fresh or not, but aged its FREAKING AMAZING! For this reason I didnt give it a 5. Great stuff. Dark, medium to heavy body that just keeps giving you flavor

A pretty standard RIS. Which I suppose means I’m overrating this. ’08 bottle, Overwhelming chocolate, not much booze (I remember more booze on the fresh bottles) and its lost a bit of roastyness. I really like roasty, so Old Rasputin or something super-roasted is a little more to my taste. Excellent example of the style though.

An absolutely tastey brew. I think that if it would have been anything more in all areas it would have been over the top. Pitch black in colour iwth a big brown head. Coffee, toffee and dark chocolate on the nose. As far as palate goes, Flavour is full of burnt toast, as if i was scraping my toast because i forgot about it in the cranked up toaster. Overall goodnes with this brew.

Pours with a thick, dirty motor oil consistency. Black with a thick brown head. Aroma is better than most. No heavy soy like a lot of imperial stouts. Chocolate and molasses dominate without being completely overpowering. Possibly the thickest mouthfeel I’ve ever come across. Flavor is nice but the bitterness from the roasted malts is overpowering and prevalent throughout. Other flavors are chocolate, coffee and alcohol. Not bad for a 100th rating