Stone Imperial Russian Stout

Release 2004:

The beer after defection from the 22-ounce brown bottle sets in the glass as black as a starless night with the head modest and frothy in size, the color that of rich chocolate, the lace a thin and clinging sheet to the glass. Nose has a deep roasted coffee and bittersweet chocolate aroma, toasted grains and a sugary sweetness, the start is rich in malt, sweet with the top as full as they get. Finish has a benign acidity, the hops majestic in their spiciness, quite dry and long lingering aftertaste and a noticeable belly warming, another great release of this magnificent beer, and to think at one time I thought it to strong; your palate does change over the years

Release 2003: The beer as it sets in my 30 plus year old “Chimay Chalice”, is as black as they come, the head is prodigious in size, a beauteous chocolate brown color and spumous in texture as it evaporates in the blink of an eye, the resultant lace forms a “Victoria Secrets” like sheet of lace “See-through” got to love that? Nose is dominated by the toasted grain aroma, backed up by the coffee, chocolate, and a fresh and pleasing crispness I find so appealing. Start is ambrosial, thickly malted with the top as thick as the “Ice” in Maine Today! Briskly acidic, hops spanking in their spiciness and the aftertaste desert bleached bone dry, and my most highly ranked Imperial, and one of my most favorite Stone Brewing Creations, which is a tie with the rest of their beers, except for that Levitation stuff, just kidding “Arrogant Nipple”, I mean Greg!

22 oz. bottle. Poured thick and black with a medium tan head. The nose was of chocolate, caramel and alcohol and so was the taste. This has become one of my favorites and I plan on buying all I can. This was the easiest beer to rate, because there was so much going on with it. This is the PERFECT winter warmer.

Update 2005 version: Just as frigging good as the 2001. Same tasting notes as below, alcohol shows a tad more but who cares. Let this bad boy warm up and your in imperial heaven, this is it for me, my all time favorite, 4 years ago I should have given it a perfect 5, well now its got it. Intense, boozy, full of aroma and flavor, rich and easy to drink for its size. The Imperial that sets the standard IMHO. Fantastic and as I said before, this is better then porno. Bravo Stone. (Spring 2001 tasting notes) Oh man. 100% black and opaque. Has some deep but slight ruby edges.Tan head dies quick. The nose..let me stress..as soon as I popped the cap the aroma hit me like a tyson overhand right. Burnt dark fruits(plums,raisons,currants)Burnt caramel, with notes of anise,cocoa and coffee. Best damn Imperial aroma ever. Thick and silky smooth in mouth. Intense flavors hit you hard. Raisons ,plums, sweet malt, roasted coffee ,cocoa ,anise and alcohol. All these flavors and it maintains a mellowness that I never had in an Imperial of this size. Masterful brewing. Flavor sticks forever but thats a good thing, I dont want it going anywhere. This is better then porno ladies and gentleman. Just enough hops to add another page to this magnificient story of a beer. Might be the best Imperial I ever had. Impressed to no end and I will be back.

(2001 bottle) Ahhh ! Truly a beer worthy of a perfect 5 rating on my list. Simply outstanding !

Grabbed a bottle of this after much anticipation at Gentile’s in Grandview. The rich aroma is caramel, dried fruit, spruce, coffee, chocolate, earth, and so much more. Pours a jet black with a nice fully lasting light brown head. The flavor is totally encompassing. PERIOD!! nothing else needs to be said. Rich full body is nothing short of full viscosity. Very astringent and dry finish. It just doesn’t get any better than this. I’d take this over a slice of New York cheesecake. I love you Greg Koch.

I have reached the pinnacle of the beer world and it is good. Do I dare continue to search for a superior brew?

This is by far my favorite beer of all time. Perhaps I’ll have another at some point that I will enjoy more, but at this point --- I’ll fight to get the last remaining case at a store (and no, I’m not being unreasonable because the little old lady was only reaching for a bottle of wine). It is wonderfully dark, absolutely delicious, and has a great taste to it. At this point, I try other beers just to see if they come close. Many praises to the guys at Stone. I hope they add this permanently to their year round line up in the future.

This is what an imperial stout should be! Big, thick, with bold flavors, pours dark black. Good head retention, tons of differnt flavors, roasty, fruity, bitter,rich aromas and plenty of kick, just damn excellent!