Stone Imperial Russian Stout

Bottle. Pours a pitch black color,looks almost like motoroil. Aroma is sweet and roasted with some chocolat,coffee and fruity notes. Mouthfeel is creamy and thick. Taste is sweet with some nice balanced alcohol and chocolat,coffee and some hops. Great!

Growler of the 2008 vintage from Half-Time. Pours a luscious jet black with a thin to medium dark tan head. Dark roasted malt scents with hints of black coffee and bitter chocolate. Medium thick in the mouth, with very fine carbonation. Rich roasty malt flavors and a gentle bitterness show up again at the end on the finish. Very well constructed beer that hides its 10+% ABV very well.

Good black/brown pour, some light gets through around the edge. Not much visible carbonation to speak of, but is present going down. Nice dark brown head, but thin and short lived. Excellent roasted malt and mocha coffee aromas. Flavor the same, a bit lively in the mouth at first, but really mellows nicely. Chocolate, coffee and warming alcohol really come out. Dry hopping maybe? gives this a nice bite also. Alcohol is not overly present at any time. A very good RIS very straight forward and no bull. But honestly, not that remarkable considering how highly rated this is. Update, had a 2 year old sample of this and WOW did it age nice. Had that awesume layered head white, ruby and brown. Much more complex, less bitterness. Like a port and double stout combined.

Bottled (2007 vintage). An opaque black beer with a small and quick disappearing brown head. The aroma is strong and malty with a good roastiness and many chcocolate notes. Also some notes of licorice, alcohol, some American hops. The flavour is very sweet with again notes of chocolate, licorice and also dark fruits and some coffee and hops. Medium to full body, average carbonation, long finish with medium bitterness. The alcohol is felt. Surely a good beer, even though the alcohol is felt maybe a bit too much.

I’ve had this one quite a few times, just now getting around to rating it. Pours an inky black color with a rocky tan head absolutely beautiful. Aroma of chocolate and roasted coffee, with some alcohol. Flavor follows the aroma, with a nice chocolate backbone that holds flavors of roasted malts and coffee, as well as hints of dark fruits. This is one that is ALWAYS a crowd-pleaser, I’ve turned people on to this a who normally shy away from ris and they were simply blown away how insane it was!

Pours black with a tan head. The nose was a disappointment to me: Very weak smell of roasted malts and chocolate. The taste was also a let down from what I was hoping for. Hopefully I just had an off bottle.

Black with good, creamy brown head / Toasty molasses and chocolate nose / Full body, chewy, with good balance and good hops on the excellent finish / Winey flavors of molasses, vanilla, dark roast coffee, bittersweet chocolate, cream, and dry hops

This is one of the easiest imperials to drink. It never fails to have the perfect carbonation, velvety mouthfeel, and complex roasted malts. Chocolate, cafe au lait, nuts, and licorice dominate the flavor. I’m in love with Stone’s yeast and hop profiles...all around. Great imperial.