Stone Imperial Russian Stout

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Escondido, California USA

Spring 2008 release. Thick brownish black coffee like color with very thin carbonated head. Aromas present in this are roasted coffee, black currants and a bit of alcohol. Beautiful looking stout. seems a bit more carbonated than I remembered from other years and you can taste a bit of the alcohol at the end. Very great beer though with roasted malty flavor. Can’t go wrong with Stone.

2003 bottle consumed nov. 2009. pours black with pretty much no head. notes of chocolate, molasses, dark fruit, roasted malts. Pretty tasty. sticky mouthfeel. Nice beer. Diggin the roasted chocolate dark fruit combo goin on .

A - Pours black as night, one of, if not the darkest beer I’ve ever seen. Half-inch tan coffee-like head that slowly fades leaving a thin brown lace all over the glass. S - All roasted malts up front, with bittersweet chocolate coming through after. There’s a hop bitterness that pulls through towards the end. It’s Stone, there’s always hops somewhere. T - Hint of espresso, followed by bittersweet chocolate flavors. As the beer lingers on the the tongue the espresso flavor returns, only much stronger this time. A bitter roasted flavor all around as well. It’s not unwelcome, but I feel this would fade with some time, making the beer more well-rounded. M - Smooth creamy mouthfeel, not too viscous. I remember the mouthfeel being quite viscous the last time I had this beer years ago, not as much this time. A pronounced hop twang on the tongue as well. D - I can feel the alcohol slightly, but at 10.8% I should be feeling much more than this. That’s really the only negative thing I can say about this beer in terms of drinkability. Truly one of the most drinkable stouts I’ve tasted,

2008 Spring release, 12oz bottle. Pours a deep black body with a thin, light brown head that leaves a lot of nice, swirly lacing. Aroma is not what I expected. I expected the big, pungent roast, rich chocolate and dominating bitter hops smell...but what I got instead was a very delicate and pleasant aroma. Lots of raisin/prune and creamy dark chocolate. Very light coffee roast and fruity hops along with a bit of warming booze in the nose. Quite compelling aroma. The flavor is very similar in its delicacy, yet something is throwing me off about this. There are a lot of dried fruits/raisin/prune and it seems to balance well with a light amount of dark chocolate, but theres something off with the roastiness and booze flavor. Its as if the roasts are present, but the light pruney booze flavor won’t let it fully come through. Its as if this beer were a nightclub in that the raisins and mellow dark chocolates were in the club while the booze stood as the doorman and didn’t let the roast inside. The roast is present, just not fully coming through. Definitely not enough coffee or roast in the aftertaste. I only get a little bit when I breathe out and attempt to taste it. The finish is more of the raisin mixed with booze and dark chocolate. As I mention the booze in the flavor, it never becomes overpowering at all, rather is just seems to stay slightly subdued and fruity while never letting a roast flavor come through. Ugh, hard to explain this one. Palate is rather thin and silky while slowly drying in the finish. Overall, this is a tough one to explain, but I tried. Something is a little off and I guess it would be the inadequate amount of roast/coffee in the backend of the flavor. Hmm...good stuff and definitely worth a $2.99 12oz bottle, but a little over-rated IMO.

I have been waiting for this one. Black with a light brown head. Very smooth stout with classic coffee and chocolate, some bitter dark fruit and just a bit of smoke. Lighter than I expected. The alcohol content seemed to match well. Very tasty and a nice contrast to other heavier, deeper brews, and a hint of bitter finish was also welcome.

Pours a dark brown/almost black with a thin dark tan head. Aroma is coffee with alcohol. Taste is coffee, chocolate, and a lingering alcohol bite. This is really smooth drinking for an impy stout.

Pours thick and dark black. Brown head that, while small, hangs around for a while. Nose is huge. Roasted coffee and dark chocolate with a hint of dark fruits in the back. Taste is big alcohol and then licorice, coffee, roasted malt and chocolate. Big bitter finish takes it home.

Reviewing the ’08: Pours thick and black. Like good coffee. Pours with a thick, brown head that has great retension. Smells of rich coffee and chocolate. Tastes as good as it looks & smells. Great tasty coffee flavor with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Feels very smooth and thick from the first sip to the last. Immenently drinkable. Bombers are big enough for two, but I never want to share. There’s no hesitation when I take a sip about whether or not I want to take another. This is one of my favorite Stone brews. While this one’s not initially as good as the ’05 or ’06, it’s still a great beer (as reflected in my scores). I think this one will get better with age.