Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout - Stone Brewing Co.

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BA SCORE
80
good
-
815 Ratings

rAvg: 3.5
pDev: 22%
Reviews: 432
Hads: 383

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Brewed by:
Stone Brewing Co.

California, United States

Style | ABV
Russian Imperial Stout | 10.50% ABV

Availability: Rotating. bottle (395), on-tap (36), growler (1).

Notes:
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.

No notes at this time.

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Reviews

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Reviews by portia99:

portia99

Massachusetts

3.1/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22oz bottle (2011 release) poured into a Harpoon 100 Barrel stemmed glass.

A - This is certainly going to be a multi-staged pour. Pours initially with four full fingers of thick creamy chocolate milkshake head that holds on seemingly forever. As it slowly falls, nice webs of lacing are left on the glass. Body is near black and pretty much opaque. Good looking stout.

S - Certainly no mistaking the anise here...quite intense and up front. The licorice-y black twizzler aroma is muddied up a bit the woodiness of the oak, picking up a bit of molasses, touches of roasty coffee that are rather subdued but still there. Not really grabbing any of the estery/fruity aromas I'd associate with use of Belgian yeast however. Overall, I'm saying too much anise...not enough of everything else.

T - Ok...Belgian yeast does come thru here, perhaps in a bit of a weird way though. The estery nature of the yeast doesn't really play off the other aspects of the beer all that well. The base beer with its intense roastiness, ground coffee bean flavor comes thru with much greater intensity and pleasure than in the aroma. Anise is still there from beginning to end and gives a bit of an overly intense licorice flavor and coolness. The esters play on top of both of these with a dirty/muddy oaken woodiness, an unidentifiable fruitiness, mixed with some chocolate and dark fruits, and a mild hint of tartness on the finish. As with the aroma, the flavor is a bit of a miss for me. I like the anise idea, but it is a bit over the top...although I think the addition of just the anise might work better without the use of Belgian yeast...heavier anise on the deeply roasty std edition of Stone's IRS could work fairly well.

M - Body is fairly full. Carbonation is surprisingly on the lower side, creamy and smooth despite the eruption of foam on the initial pour. Alcohol is kept in check with no real warmth detectable. Licorice coolness lingers as the does the somewhat offputting Belgian yeast esters.

O - Overall I much prefer the original version of Stone's IRS...the addition of the anise holds some promise, but the Belgian yeast didn't really work for me. Probably one of my least favorite Stone offerings.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2012 00:53:12 | More by portia99

More User Reviews:

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.95/5 rDev +12.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

As the next of Stone’s “Odd Year” releases continues to roll out, we figured we would finally tap into their 2011 stock. We crack the top and pour a brew of the darkest browns, letting only a speck of light through at the bottom, into our shiny new Founders’ snifters. It holds a two finger head of creamy, foamy hot chocolate colored bubbles, showing excellent retention. Swiss cheese lacing is left around the glass as it goes at a turtle’s pace, eventually leaving an island of only the biggest bubbles at the center of the liquid. No haze or sediment is noted, and carbonation appears to be moderate. The nose is bright and heavy, with thick milk chocolate syrups, cocoa powder, bittered licorice, spicy clove and anise, big cereal grain, thickly roasted chocolate malts, malted milk balls, light coffees, soft diacetyls, cooling vanilla twang, earthy honey, and root beer sweetness. With warmth comes that hearty booziness, tinny metallics, dried woody oak, and more of a smoky char to the malts. Our first impression is that the flavoring shows much more soured acidity than expected, offering an interesting contrast to the dark and brooding malt base. As we sip, the taste opens with soured Belgian yeast, limey citric rind, lactic acidity, and biting cherry syrups that border on cloying. Crashing in comes the malt bill, with depth of roasted chocolate and coffee malts a mile deep, light smokiness, faint leathers, and straight milk chocolate fondue. The peak comes through with surprising citric and grassy hop notes, along with continued base of char and chocolate, milk and dark chocolate shavings, toasted cereal grain, and white sugars. Washing through the finish is a revival of the depth of the beginning, with black cherry fruitiness, plum, soured yeast pucker, charred roast, dry grassy hops, cereal grain, fusel booze, and general sweetness of chocolate and milkiness. The aftertaste breathes of oakiness for really the first time in the tasting, vanilla skins, red wine grape skins, dried anise, black pepper, raw licorice, burnt caramel, roasty chocolate malts, fusel booze, and that soured Belgian yeastiness. The body is full, and the carbonation is light to medium. Each sip gives frothy slurp, cream, sip, and pop, with the lips left sticky and coated. The mouth is slickly coated, giving way to eventual chalk astringency across the hard palate. The abv is appropriate, and the beer sips well.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this beer was its beautiful look and aroma. From the pour, you are given a beer strong in color, with a robust and contributory head. The aroma follows nicely, giving a serious blend of anise spice, simultaneously sweetly and richly roasted malts, and the booziness. Each filler note, as well, burst through the seams, affording general bigness to the entire event. There was no mystery as to why each note was in its place. The taste was a bit lighter, but showed a new side to the beer as the yeasty sourness took off. The oak was lost, but that was probably due, in part, to its age. This is a great take on a fantastic base IRS, with each sip and whiff taking you deeper and deeper.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2013 02:29:44 | More by TheBrewo

acurtis

New Jersey

3.25/5 rDev -7.1%

05-19-2013 13:58:38 | More by acurtis

SHODriver

California

4/5 rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

finally got around to drinking this one, it spent a lot of time in the fridge so it aged slower

A: pours black with a quarter inch of light tan head that fades to a collar around the edge of the snifter
S: smells of black licorice. the anise really dominates the nose so all I'm getting it that with a hint of roasted malt. very long and lingering finish
T: tastes of anise, roasted barley, molasses, and more anise. swallow is more anise, roasted barley, chocolate, and coffee
M: thick in the mouth with soft carbonation and a slightly drying finish
O: not sure what to think of this beer. age seems to have done it well as while the anise is there it isn't overpowering although it does dominate the drink. Id have liked for the flavors that came out in the swallow to be present when the beer was still in the mouth though. I couldn't pick up the oak or the belgian yeast though.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 04:25:58 | More by SHODriver