Review – Stone Imperial Russian Stout 2009
Stone Brewing Co. – Stone Imperial Russian Stout – Vintage 2009 22 oz. bottle poured into a goblet. 10.5% abv. Purchased at Whole Foods Market – Arroyo Pasadena, CA.
Appearance: Pours a midnight brown, with a small khaki colored frothy head.
Aroma: Most noticeable was that I could smell it from a few feet away. Aromas of dark chocolate, burnt malts, chocolate liquor and a small bit of licorice.
Taste: Burnt and roasted malts, some dark chocolate and black coffee notes, some spicy hops, and a small sour twang at the end, that reminds me of red wine or red wine barrel.
Mouthfeel: Silky, and spicy on the tongue.
Overall: I taste something different every year with this beer, and as it ages. This fresh bottle seems to exhibit a large burnt malt flavor, and with other really fresh Stone Special Releases, seems a bit boozy, and in this case spicy.
April 14, 2009 @ 3:29 am
This sounds really nice!
Why don’t my local stores have it? I’m in California, same state as the Stone Brewery…
Oh well, I will just have to keep checking the nearby W.F. and BevMo stores. They are pretty good about stocking excellent craft brews.
April 8, 2009 @ 10:52 am
What a great IRS. BUT, I agree that it’s too brash when fresh. I have an ’06, ’07, ’08 and ’09 that I’d like to do a vertical with, though.
Can’t wait to see what happened to the ’06 vintage. My main issue with fresh bottles is the burnt malt twang which you mentioned.
Great stuff though.
April 8, 2009 @ 10:17 am
Mmmmmmm, can’t wait to check it out! Sounds like my kinda brew!