Bolshoi - Sixpoint Brewery

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to ClockworkOrange for sharing this one at our recent gathering. Gold waxed bomber into a snifter. The brew appears dark brown in color. A brown cap holds fairly well across the top and displays some clarity around the edges. Overall a nice looking brew.

The aroma includes quite a bit of sweet grain. Suggestions of something like oatmeal and mild dark fruity tinges of raisins or prunes meets soft alcohol. A little bit of neutral yeasty character comes forward as the brew warms up.

The flavor includes the previous mention of oats and mild dark fruit quality. Some bitter chocolate and a hint of earthen aspect. As it warms up, some solvent alcohol is also noted blended with a hint of yeast.

This is a medium bodied brew with a smooth level of carbonation. For 10% it was integrated pretty well but you never feel like you are drinking a bigger beer. Thanks Jason for the chance to try this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 14:00:20 | More by stakem

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -4.3%

01-27-2013 14:49:08 | More by t0rin0

eagles22

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -10.3%

12-05-2012 23:20:00 | More by eagles22

THECPJ

Delaware

4/5  rDev -4.3%

11-26-2012 17:43:37 | More by THECPJ

orangesol

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -10.3%

11-26-2012 17:22:43 | More by orangesol

koopa

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2006 Vintage
Batch # 74
Bottle # 183
Hand signed by Shane Welch
750ml Waxed Bottle

Appearance: Pours black with a 1 finger grey to khaki crown that displays moderate retention and some lace.

Smell: Roast, a bit of cocoa, a mild menthol to barely spearmint like quality (possibly from the aged malt - I've experienced this with aged Unibroue Anniversary beers before), a toffee to lite caramel note, a bit of stale hops, and a dash of tomato juice (DMS?).

Taste: Mild roast, mild chocolate, lite caramel, borderline malt ball flavor, a touch of alcohol, and the tiniest bit of oxidation (so slight it might just be my imagination).

Mouthfeel: Thick side of medium bodied with good carbonation. Bigger bubbles but fairly active and effervescent.

Drinkability: Goes down easy, has a good amount of complexity in the nose, and I like the mouthfeel. A decent beer for 6 years old and I'd be interested in obtaining a newer vintage for sure.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2012 01:47:17 | More by koopa

bespin15

Washington

4/5  rDev -4.3%

08-01-2012 04:24:11 | More by bespin15

tprokop7

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%

01-29-2012 19:03:12 | More by tprokop7

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%

01-25-2012 01:13:47 | More by Huhzubendah

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -16.3%

01-12-2012 06:20:55 | More by ygtbsm94

GRG1313

California

3.5/5  rDev -16.3%

12-19-2011 23:13:23 | More by GRG1313

sideshowe

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%

12-08-2011 15:13:16 | More by sideshowe

rab53

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -4.3%

12-07-2011 02:35:57 | More by rab53

imperialking

Illinois

5/5  rDev +19.6%

11-24-2011 20:26:19 | More by imperialking

nmann08

Maryland

5/5  rDev +19.6%

11-24-2011 19:14:29 | More by nmann08

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 oz gold waxed bottle into a tulip glass. Bottle number 74/786.

Pours a pitch black, with several fingers of thick, dark mocha colored head. Once things have settled down, swirling the glass fires this up to a near finger, leaving back a big foamy cascade that settles into heavy swathes of foamy lacing. The aroma smells of STRONG dark fruit, which mingles with sweet notes of chocolate and toffee and an acrid espresso character to impart a powerful smoky tanginess in the nose. The high alcohol here really helps bring a lot of that extra sweetness out.

The taste is sweet and sticky the whole way through, with notes of alcohol, chocolate, caramel, and dominant dark fruit flavors, with cherries are really sticking out to me. Some roasted coffee character is present and seems to bring most of whatever bitterness is left in this (as any leftover hops seem to be long gone by now), leaving behind a bit of a meaty and burnt smokiness on the breath and dry lingering sugars and pithy fruit on the tongue. The mouthfeel is full bodied with a thick creaminess to it that is surprisingly still pretty lively feeling in spots. The longer this sits in the mouth and the carbonation starts to lessen, more of an underlying slick chewiness starts to show itself. I will say that the alcohol is beautifully hid here and thankfully so, as I don’t think that a stinging warmth here would have matched up well at all with all of that sweetness, and the lack of it helps keep the drinkability of this up for the most part.

Well, I’d say that is you still have bottles of this left in the cellar; it’s time to drink them. Not only has this peaked but seems to be on the decline, as nearly all of the bitterness has been aged out, leaving behind a sweet mélange of malt, alcohol, and fruit flavors. At this point, it’s not by any means terrible but the complexity just isn’t there anymore and it definitely isn’t going to be getting any better. I wish that I had gotten to this one a bit sooner.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2011 19:28:44 | More by Kegatron

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3/5  rDev -28.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

East coast wales represent.

Pours 1 finger of tan head. Good retention and lace. Color is pretty much black.

Aroma: Roasted and sharp. Coffee, dark fruits, and chocolate. Kind of bland for an Imp Stout.

Taste: Molasses, raisins, plums, dark fruits, chocolate, caramel, and coffee. A lot like the nose. Nothing special.

Mouthfeel: Roasted and creamy. Full bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. Ends dry.

Overall, I didn't think this Imperial Stout was very good. Kind of boring. Not really for me. I didn't want to drink a lot of this.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2011 23:49:39 | More by mothman

LilBeerDoctor

New York

4.38/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed on 12/31/2009. Bottle enjoyed at DBGB. Pours black with a thick tan head. Aroma of booze, vanilla, molasses, and roasted malt. Sweet and decadent. Flavor of sweet roasted malt, bitter chocolate, and molasses. Very smooth palate and very delicious. Age has done this beer well. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2010 16:44:16 | More by LilBeerDoctor

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.6/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Alex for pulling this bottle out at Mike's bachelor-party tasting. Served in a Savor snifter.

Pours dark brown with a fairly-massive mocha-colored head and a nice bit of light lacing as it goes down. The nose brings some chocolate and roast, bordering on Whoppers candy. Behind that, I got a bit of light cherry-skin character and red and black licorice. Also, a bit of light brown-paper character toward the end.

The flavor brings a lot of malted chocolate as well as a faint roast character. The mouthfeel helps this one along--medium body that brings forward a creamy and smooth brew. The finish is somewhat dry and is definitely lacking in booziness. I seemed to be in the minority not really digging this one, but it had a lot of interesting components and was something I had wanted to try for quite awhile now.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2010 11:53:41 | More by Thorpe429

jrallen34

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Alex for sharing one of his rare whale bif beers. Unlabled poured into a snifter...Light black pour with, a nice tan head pops up but it fades to fast to a half finger cap, light lacing...A light aroma that displays a slight sourness, is this a little infected? Lots of malt chocolate, cocoa, a little brine character...The taste is really roasty, surprised, where'd that come from? Bitter chocolate, caramel, a slight metallic finish...This is by no means bad, a couple faults to me, but I'd drink it again. I probably liked it the least of the group, but what do I know.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2010 03:42:32 | More by jrallen34

MasterSki

Illinois

4.22/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to zestar for this one - got it as part of the White Whale III BIF. Served in a Chouffe tulip. Unlabelled bottle with gold wax - I believe these were from the brewmaster's private stash.

A - Pours with a few fingers of tan foam that settle to a persistent thin cap, leaving behind sticky glass-coating lace. Black body that reveals a touch of chocolate brown when held to the light.

S - The aroma has huge malted milk character, with sweet cocoa, and some nut and berry character as well. I said Whoppers, but since everyone else at the tasting posted before me I now appear derivative - thanks guys.

T - The taste has more roast bitterness, although there's a good amount of dark fruit, caramel and chocolate. Definitely more typical stout, but still quite good.

M - Carbonation is surprisingly zesty, and the body seems a hint thin for 10.2%. Finishes lightly sticky, and the alcohol is amazingly well hidden.

D - Very easy drinking stout. This has aged quite well, although I'm curious to see if there is any difference is between this bottle and the labelled version. If you're sitting on bottles of this one I think it's time to open them.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2010 18:40:27 | More by MasterSki

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.53/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to Alex (Masterski) for bringing this to an after-Jackie O's tasting. No label, thick gold wax, dangerous operation with a steak knife before good sense prevailed.

Dark and opaque with a tan foam, basically it looks like a stout should look. The aroma is nearly perfect, in fact I'm giving it a 5. It smells like a chocolate malt, maybe whoppers, like a sweet milk stout. With lots of cocoa. Maybe a RIS shouldn't smell so sweet, I don't know, but this is so good I don't care.

It tastes nearly as good, very sweet and tasty. Roasted malts and chocolate, an almost fading hop in the aftertaste, wow. I can't help but wonder what it was like fresh, at 5 years of age it's just about as good as a stout can be. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 23:23:27 | More by TurdFurgison

AgentZero

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cheers to Alex for busting out this rarity at my Bachelor Weekend tasting.

A - A really great looking stout, big tan head that receded to some chunks and lacing. Jet black and full with some browning on the sides.

S - Roasted malts, but there is some brine or olives on this that makes me feel like it has turned a little bit. There's some good and bad, taking this to average.

T - I really like the taste of this one. Smooth roasted malts are the backbone, and really just the essense of this beer. There is some powdered cocoa taste in there as well, that adds a touch of sweetness, but this is a much more roasty stout than sweet.

M - Smooth, some tongue tickling carbonation, full bodied.

D - Don't get any heat on this at all, good beer that I feel fortunate to try. A great one for all those who like roasty stouts.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 23:19:50 | More by AgentZero

Sean9689

Illinois

4.4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Alex for breaking this one open at our tasting.

A - Pours black, nice mocha-colored head, a good cap and some nice lacing rounds this one out. Very nice-looking, no doubt!

S - Huge malty chocolate nose, overly sweet to me, some oak, caramel.

T - Chocolate, roasted oak, caramel, toffee. Not as sweet as the nose suggests, which I'm happy about. Very rich and the 10.2% is hidden very well. Slightly bitter/dark chocolate finish.

M - Full, smooth & rich, creamy on the end.

D - I'm a fan of this one. A very well done RIS and one of the best I've had in recent memory. If you can find this one, grab it!

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 23:18:00 | More by Sean9689

brentk56

North Carolina

4.45/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Batch 74; Bottle 96

Appearance: Pours a viscous brown color with a thick and creamy tan head; plenty of leggy lacing sticks to the side of the chalice

Smell: Mocha fudge with hints of citrusy hops and mint

Taste: Chocolate fudge with mocha and citrusy elements, up front; after the swallow, the citrus leads to a puckering sensation, though the chocolatey flavors continue to dominate the flavor profile

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate to high carbonation

Drinkability: Kept this one in the cellar since its release and am amazed by the way the hops still come through four years on; not as full bodied as others of the style, but the hops add a unique dimension

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2010 01:08:32 | More by brentk56