St Petersburg Imperial Stout - Thornbridge Brewery

JohnQVegas

Tennessee

4.4/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Bottle into Tulip Imperial Pint.

Pours black, showing a bit of deep brown at the edges, with an impressive, dense, meringue-like tan cap on top. Very nice retention and great lacing. Settles into a thinner cap eventually, but it takes awhile.

Nose is reserved, restrained even. Light floral hop and light roast presence, bit of dark caramelized sugar, wee bit of dark fruit. Could be bigger, I suppose.

Taste is, in a word, superb. Toffee and bakers chocolate and a bit of caramel, melding with a light, earthy, nutty roast. Sugar-coated dark fruit and espresso beans wrapped in chocolate balance beautifully, and a snappy herbal hop bite towards the end adds a nice bit of balancing closure. Faint bit of alcohol in there sticks its head out there and again. The finish on this one is the star, though - just fantastic, with a beautiful chocolaty, nutty, slightly earthy exhale that carries just a bit of a floral hop character. Hint of licorice also.

Mouthfeel is excellent - creamy and full-bodied, but not at all heavy or sticky. Alcohol is felt, but not through any degree of heat really.

Beautifully drinkable - alcohol only comes through enough to add character, never gets hot, flavor is beautiful, subtle but full, balanced, unique. Beautiful surprise, was more impressed with this version than with it on cask even.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2011 19:32:08 | More by JohnQVegas

ngeunit1

California

4/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Dark black with a hint of brown and a finger of frothy chocolate colored head. Fades normal.

S - Sweet roasted chocolate and dark caramel malts, dark fruits, roasted coffee, molasses, black licorice, vanilla.

T - Sweet roasted chocolate and dark caramel malts, raisins and other dark fruits, roasted coffee, earthy hops, mild bitterness, black licorice, molasses, vanilla.

M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth and a bit chewy with a sweet and warming finish.

D - Good RIS. Nice complexity, mouthfeel, and balance.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 05:54:36 | More by ngeunit1

stevied71

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%

05-16-2013 14:14:12 | More by stevied71

pin

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%

05-16-2013 04:32:08 | More by pin

PStriedl

Maryland

4/5  rDev -0.2%

05-12-2013 21:10:11 | More by PStriedl

BigBry

Alberta (Canada)

4/5  rDev -0.2%

05-11-2013 03:33:44 | More by BigBry

heygeebee

Australia

4.49/5  rDev +12%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

BB Mar 14

Appearance - the usual black with two finger head. Lines of lace.

Aroma - roast malts, choc, espresso, some cigar box.

Taste - super smooth and rounded. Dark chocolate, hint of licorice. Pistachio. Some smoke.

Mouthfeel light carbonation, medium weight. Silky smooth, no booze.

Overall, this has the weight of a 10% beer. Well made indeed, hugely integrated and complex. Great drinking. Say no more.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 11:28:19 | More by heygeebee

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.91/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Snagged a 500ml bottle of this for 5 bucks at the house of 1,000 beers.

A - Pours an expected deep pitch black with a 1/2 inch of deep mocha head. Some ruby hues at the base.
S - Faint roast coffee, aged licorice, chocolate malt and some more roast.
T - Not sure how old this is but damn is this balanced. Cold coffee, licorice sticks, some chocolate malts not too chocolaty since its not really really sweet. Mostly a tad bit of cloying roast and bitterness of the hops. It's a pretty tasty RIS overall.
M - Medium to thick in body, slick with a nice ABV to boot.

Overall this was a pretty interesting find along the same quality as Samuel Smith's RIS. Not sure if I would get it again since it was kind of expensive.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 01:54:12 | More by DrDemento456

eric5bellies

Australia

4.69/5  rDev +17%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Drank from my Duvel pokal

A - Pours a thick black colour with a tanned head that stays the course and laces

S - Beautiful roasted malts, coffe and chocolate

T - Oh this is good. Really smooth malts, with nice expresso coffe and dark chocolate untertones. The finish is very creamy and smooth with no hint of booze.

M - Full body and low carbonation makes for a silky stout.

O - This is one of those RIS's that leaves you wanting more. Its very smooth and displays masterful balance. Proves that you don't need super high ABV's to acheive greatness.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 15:33:26 | More by eric5bellies

rhoadsrage

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

(Served in a snifter)
A- This beer pours a dense opaque black body with a tan lumpy film and some microbubbles race to the surface up the side of the glass.

S- The dark fruity esters have a rick but mellow black roasted malt aroma that grows and has a nice leathery finish.

T- The rich leather and dark dried fruit esters have some dark vinous character and a note of pipe tobacco before finishing with a black roasted malt flavor. There is some nice gentle roasted bitterness in the after taste and a dark cola note aswell.

M- The medium mouthfeel has a gentle fizz and no real alcohol heat noticed.

O- This is a classic RIS. Big and complex flavors but still very mellow and blended easy to drink and each sip has more character that the last. Delicious.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2013 14:09:54 | More by rhoadsrage

benbjb

Washington

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-11-2013 02:09:03 | More by benbjb

seand

California

4.11/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: Pours a dark near-opaque brown, with a fair amount of tan head. The head dissipates to a thin spotty film with a thicker ring around the edge of the glass, which leaves pretty good lacing.

S: Thin compared to a big American style RIS; a bit milky, with a pleasantly sweet roasted malt background.

T: Relatively light sweetness, with a background of more complex roasted malt. Nice throughout, not too big, and very drinkable.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation.

Overall, good, and very different than a big American RIS. Worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 05:09:08 | More by seand

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-03-2013 00:11:17 | More by t0rin0

Bouleboubier

Pennsylvania

3.79/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A bit of a letdown, considering how notable and how much I've enjoyed the other Thornbridge ales I've been introduced to in the past few months.

At no point in this sampling did I get the impression that this was in the style, as advertized. This strikes me as nothing more than a robust, English porter. And merely a serviceable, if not dynamically flavorful, one at that.

It presents itself as a dark brown liquid topped by a fleeting, pale-tan/ashy head. Some smears of lace. Mellow, dark-roast coffee and some cereal-like malt is about the extent of its aromas and flavors. Not much malt sweetness or rich complexity, nor supple roastiness warranting attention. Drinks real clean, light and smooth for what it's supposed to be. Perhaps some powdery wash in the finish. Weakly silky/oily, if you must.

I don't dislike this beer. Throughout the tasting, I was just trying to find memorable things to share about it - something to say, "You need to try this because ___". Just didn't happen. I still highly recommend their others I've had.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 06:57:23 | More by Bouleboubier

Jspriest

Maryland

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%

02-22-2013 01:42:59 | More by Jspriest

Chrily

Norway

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%

02-21-2013 11:45:43 | More by Chrily

MrKennedy

Australia

4/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle, into a Great Divide Cervoise glass.

Nice two finger pour of creamy looking tan foam on top of a black base that only shows the slightest hint of ruby when held up to the light. Good spotty lacing and nice foam retention.

Smell is chocolate. Mostly light milk chocolate and just a little bit of aniseed late on. Interesting mix of something enticing and something less enticing.

Taste comes through with plenty of chocolate and just a little bit of roast. Some smokiness later on and a little bit of licorice at the end. Good interesting mix. Nothing insane but everything does its job well and it works.

Really nice mix of smooth early and some bitterness late. Not the biggest body at all. But you shouldn't expect it from a 7.7% ABV Imperial Stout. Has an almost Oatmeal Stout feel to it and later some bitterness and spice from the aniseed kicks in. Does make this very drinkable, the fact that you know the first bit will be so smooth.

Overall it really works for me. You shouldn't expect some super sludgy RIS from this. It suits its specs really well and the 500ml bottle format and ABV mix really makes it a hard beer to turn down. Very enjoyable!

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 08:16:26 | More by MrKennedy

Keith_R

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +6%

02-07-2013 02:08:18 | More by Keith_R

Jlang2012

South Carolina

3/5  rDev -25.2%

02-05-2013 22:37:17 | More by Jlang2012

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.94/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

500ml bottle for £3.49 from Peckhams (Glasgow,):
Mahogany brown colour with a few red tinges in there and a huge, three fingers tall head that is a thick looking, foamy, light brown with great retention.

Roasted malts and a sweet, burnt sugar aroma along with some coffee and chocolate. It also seems to have some darker fruits lingering in the background and overall it is a pleasant aroma that could have used being a little stronger.

A strong roasted malt presence initially but what follows is a lot sweeter than I was expecting, there is a touch of coffee along with some chocolate and sugar. The dark fruits from the nose are in the taste as well and there is some licorice complimented by some caramel; a very sweet and hoppy tasting imperial stout.

Lighter than usual for the style, falling somewhere around medium bodied with mild to medium carbonation levels. There is also more sweetness to it than your usual imperial stout.

Lighter in many ways than what I was expecting, the aroma was quite subdued but not exactly weak and the body was a lot lighter too but it was an excellent beer and one that I'd probably have again. The 7.4% alcohol content was very well hidden and goes by pretty much unnoticed.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 13:43:57 | More by flyingpig

herman77

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +6%

01-26-2013 23:30:51 | More by herman77

Hopstout

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -25.2%

01-13-2013 16:35:43 | More by Hopstout

erlenmeyer

Maine

2.5/5  rDev -37.7%

01-12-2013 22:58:10 | More by erlenmeyer

pixieskid

France

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%

01-06-2013 14:02:03 | More by pixieskid

crnipeter

Slovenia

2.33/5  rDev -41.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Cascades dark reddish-brown to form two finger thick persistent tan head with good stickage atop of opaque black body with ruby highlights.

I'm struck by the hoppy character of this beer: nose is dominated by pronounced herbal-leafy hops while malt, ester and alcohol aromatics remain completely subdued. Only minor unrefined sugar and roast show up as the beer warms.

Aroma transfers to the flavor that exhibits solid roastiness allied to aggressively-high hop-bitterness to yield dry finish. Hops are leafy-herbal in nature and overpowering to my liking. Aftertaste features virtually endless bitterness. Surprising is the absence of chocolaty, coffee-like flavors of roasted malt/grain nor there are any specialty malt qualities such as caramel,bread or toast.

Malt is well attenuated and light body (for imperial stout standards) mouth-filling due to high carbonation yet not too airy.

Overall, a bitter stout with emphasis on herbal-leafy hops and roast.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 16:13:12 | More by crnipeter