Weasel Boy Anastasia Russian Imperial Stout - Weasel Boy Brewing Company

oline73

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -6%

02-16-2013 19:50:50 | More by oline73

brewtechnik

New Hampshire

3.9/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

64oz Growler was included in a recent trade...poured quickly into a snifter.

Looks pretty damn good initially when poured into my glass. Nice 2 finger brown head above a dark brown body with ruby edging. Not the typical black hole as with more serious Imperial Stouts. Head fades quickly leaving just an outer ring of tan/brown.

I don't get a lot of aroma from this...but do get a bit of smoke, maybe a bit of espresso and chocolate, plus a slight fruity ester. Not a lot of hop or roast to speak of.

I let this warm a bit before tasting...First impression was that there's not a lot of roast in the flavor either. More of a chocolate, fig, raisin, caramel kind of beer. This reminds me more of a Porter than Imperial Stout. The hop bitterness is very well balanced with the chocolate, especially in the finish. The alcohol is well hidden, but appears right at the very end in a good way. I really enjoy this, but again thinking Porter as I drink it.

Light to medium body, carbs a bit low but it was from a growler, and the finish of this beer makes me want to keep drinking it...real nice bitter chocolate/alcohol/coffee mix that works well.

Thinking I would drink this one again if I saw it on the shelf...but can't give it a high score as an Imperial Stout, but possibly as an Imperial Porter? I would be real interested in trying the barrel aged version..think the bourbon would play nice with the chocolate in this one.

Serving type: growler

05-22-2013 23:15:24 | More by brewtechnik

tipfortap

New York

4/5  rDev +0.3%

05-20-2013 17:28:43 | More by tipfortap

Nunya

Ohio

3/5  rDev -24.8%

05-19-2013 02:10:09 | More by Nunya

vrbulldog22

Ohio

4/5  rDev +0.3%

05-13-2013 18:30:57 | More by vrbulldog22

duceswild

Maryland

4/5  rDev +0.3%

02-19-2013 01:00:17 | More by duceswild

marlinsfan4

Maryland

4/5  rDev +0.3%

02-17-2013 17:14:20 | More by marlinsfan4

brees6221

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -6%

02-16-2013 21:31:11 | More by brees6221

siege06nd

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +12.8%

02-16-2013 20:19:38 | More by siege06nd

IrishColonial

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -6%

02-16-2013 20:03:57 | More by IrishColonial

nrbw23

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -6%

02-09-2013 20:47:03 | More by nrbw23

kbrown

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +12.8%

01-12-2013 02:29:58 | More by kbrown

Envelopes

Ohio

4/5  rDev +0.3%

01-06-2013 06:14:18 | More by Envelopes

thebouch01

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.3%

01-02-2013 21:34:41 | More by thebouch01

dtx00

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

12-30-2012 22:36:02 | More by dtx00

BlackHoleBrew42

Colorado

1/5  rDev -74.9%

12-24-2012 07:10:16 | More by BlackHoleBrew42

Bonis

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +12.8%

12-02-2012 19:40:49 | More by Bonis

Gatordaddy

Maryland

4.75/5  rDev +19%

11-20-2012 21:36:11 | More by Gatordaddy

Gww1864

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +0.3%

11-14-2012 02:18:35 | More by Gww1864

mgbickel

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +25.3%

12-05-2011 15:35:55 | More by mgbickel

InebriatedJoker

Ohio

5/5  rDev +25.3%

11-27-2011 15:21:21 | More by InebriatedJoker

Spider889

Ohio

3.83/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Growler shared by Keffa during breakfast while we waited for Jackie O's to open for the recent bottle release.

This thing was filled from the award-winning batch that took (bronze?) at the GABF last year. The damn thing was a few months old. I definitely made a crack or two about how flat it would be after such a long wait, but lo and behold I was dead wrong - the growler opened with a tight hiss akin to twisting the cap off a fresh Pepsi 2 liter. Damn. Well done Kef/Weasel Boy on the tight cap and proper storage of this thing!

On to the review:

Poured into a glass taster, a heavy looking black beer that turned out to be thinner than it appeared. Got a decent khaki head off of an average pour.

I didn't get too much aroma, but between the age of the growler and the size of my glass I suppose this is to be expected. What was there was primarily made up of some light charred wood and sweet chocolate and alcohol esters.

Man, this beer is bitter! Not what I was expecting from a RIS, they used a ton of hops in this brew - I really wish I could taste some really fresh now to see how the hops are at full force.

After the hop onslaught I noticed that the beer was very dry, almost woody. Lots of roasted malt begins to come through the heavy hopping. More charcoal weaves in and out of the flavor profile, and the beer finishes with a toffee sweetness that leads into more dry bitterness.

Mouthfeel was medium bodied, but almost too dry. I doubt the age is too much to blame for this, though there's no way it helped the situation.

Despite the dryness, Anastasia is a very drinkable beer. I wound up having two tastings plus I finished half of my wife's as well. The abv was very well masked. I would definitely drink this again fresh.

Serving type: growler

02-21-2011 08:34:45 | More by Spider889

MbpBugeye

Ohio

3.43/5  rDev -14%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Growler shared by Keffa for breakfast at Fluff bakery right before Jackie O's latest release, it was about 7am. There was enough to allow me to have 3 sampler glasses, so thats 12oz. What a way to kick off the day.

A- Kef admitted this growler was filled before Thanksgiving, but remained sealed in his fridge since. If Im honest, I had my doubts about how this would have weathered, actually we all did. Surprisingly the beer still hissed when the cap was removed. The pours all yielded a loose mocha head that stuck around, even leaving lacing. Very un-three-month-old-growler-ish.

S- After recently having a good few pints of the BA version with plum puree on tap at Bodega I was looking forward to trying the base version. The BA version had me thinking this was going to be a pretty sweet beer. One whiff and I'm wrong. This is much, much more roast prominent than I expected. There is some sweeter chocolate and dark fruits, but hops and charcoal and ash dominate. Hops seem to smell pretty strange. Perhaps they are starting to loose most of their character, but currently they smell like wet weasels.

T- After smelling this beer, the taste was a little less of a surprise. It is indeed very roasty. Its still pretty hoppy as well with both characteristics combining to create quite the bitter affinity.

M- Its pretty dry with a lingering bitterness and charred malts hanging around. I wanted this beer to be smooth and sweeter, but as an old school style RIS its pretty spot on.

Serving type: growler

02-09-2011 22:27:00 | More by MbpBugeye

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A-Deep, dark black/brown with a medium, frothy head that slowly reduces to a thin cap and leaves thick lacing.

S-Dark chocolate, roasted malt, freshly ground espresso beans and a touch of brown sugar.

T-Rather strong bitter roasted malt with mellowing notes of dark chocolate and espresso. Earthy hop bite in the finish.

M-Medium body with nice lingering flavour and lingering bitterness.

D-A very approachable, easy to drink and solid RIS. I can see why this won a GABF medal....it does just about everything right and very little wrong. A quality, true to style brew for sure.

Serving type: on-tap

11-29-2010 23:10:18 | More by Deuane

Keffa

Ohio

4.47/5  rDev +12%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2008 aged. Same batch that won Bronze at GABF.

A: Pitch black, brown 2 finger head, leaves some decent lacing for the style.

S: Dark roast malt, chocolate, coffee, caramel, a little toasted nuts, and a little tiny bit of hop.

T: Heavy chocolate, toasted malt, a little bit of a bitter hop, and a little alcohol but very little.

M: Creamy and smooth.

D: Oh yeah. Very. Can't wait for the 2010.

I know why they won a bronze now. I thought the regular was good, this 2 year aged is phenomenal.

Serving type: on-tap

10-31-2010 01:25:38 | More by Keffa