Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout - Cigar City Brewing

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.33/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Had this one on tap at Capone's. Poured into a Weyerbacher tulip.

A: A barely layered reddish brown head that dissipated quickly. Brew itself was opaque black with web-like lacing.

S: Vanilla, chocolate, coffee, whole milk.

T: Opens sweet raisins, grass. Sweet malts, milk chocolate, prunes, figs, bitter roasted coffee, with a lingering coffee and hop finish.

M: Medium to full bodied and highly carbonated and coarse. Finish lingers with oily mouthfeel and really coated the mouth. The mouthfeel really didn't do it for me here. Too light and too carbonated which was not conducive to the flavors the beer was trying to express.

D: Not the best interpretation of an RIS. The flavors are there, but the way its executed is not. Glad I tried it, but wouldn't seek it out again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-08-2009 03:01:53 | More by SpeedwayJim

scottfrie

California

3.35/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle into brandy snifter. Thanks to the generous BA who traded me this one.

A: Pours pitch black with an extremely unimpressive collection of bubbles that I guess is supposed to be considered a head. A couple of tiny soapy specs of lace were left down the glass.
S: Notes of chocolate, molasses, and a hint of toffee. Not a very smelly beer.
T: Rich notes of bitter dark chocolate, sweet fudge brownies, dark roasted malts, and a hint of caramel. I get a touch of coffee in the finish, and the aftertaste contains notes of molasses and faint earthy hops.
M: Thick body, slick and chewy mouthfeel, but almost no carbonation. This beer seriously needs some bubbles. Alcohol is hidden very well.
O: I was a bit let down by this one. The flavor is good but not very complex, and while the body is thick the carbonation is borderline watery. Hopefully this is just bottle variation, as fuller carbonation would be a drastic increase.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 02:01:25 | More by scottfrie

vandemonian

Maryland

3.4/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5

Cigar City Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout is an extremely thick and dark imperial stout. The flavour is huge but not in a pleasant way. They left the yeast in too long for my liking. Autolysis.

A: So so dark. Motor oil with a big creamy-looking brown head. 5

S: Malty with soy sauce and motor oil. Too much umami. 3

T: Malty with a lot going on. Vegemite. Autolysed yeast. Some chocolate and tobacco flavour. It's interesting but I didn't like it that much. 3

M: Like chocolate mousse. 5

O: 3.5

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2012 18:07:15 | More by vandemonian

Chico1985

Massachusetts

3.45/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

**Updated notes - 11-2-12
Was fortunate enough to have cbutova provide another bottle of this, which was amply carbonated, improving the appearance and mouthfeel a good amount. A super thick dark brown head with red tints retained well and left good lace, crazy head on this one. Like stated in the original review, it's tasty but extremely sweet, thick and rich- fudge, dark cherries and molasses take over the palate. I imagine it drinking best as a ~5 oz. dessert beer, it can get overbearing quickly.

(original scores/review - 2/3.5/3.5/2.5/2)
Thanks to cbutova for sharing this 750ml. I wasn't positive at the time of tasting this, but I just confirmed that this is the base beer for Hunaphu's, which I enjoyed last year.

Opens with a small hiss, but the pour is not too promising carbonation-wise. Pours black as black with no head, just slight bubbles that quickly form a thin tan ring. Ugly sediment at the bottom. Stains the glass something evil.

First impression in the smell is a big spiciness, soy sauce and licorice. Very sweet, tons of molasses. Oddly, really no expected stoutness (roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, etc)

Big, thick, sweet chocolate fudge, molasses, licorice. Smoky a bit on the finish. Dark cherries also very noticeable which adds to the extreme sweetness. Not getting much coffee.

Barely carbonated. Super thick, oily. Sweetness is cloying from the get-go. Alcohol is very-well hidden but this beer still feels so huge. Smoky ashiness lingers on the palate.

The uber-low carbonation didn't help, but damn this was one huge, sweet, tolling beer. The flavors are decent but found this to be too sweet. I enjoyed Hunahpu's alot more, but now I really gotta try it again knowing this is the base beer...

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2011 14:50:34 | More by Chico1985

vince4953529

California

3.45/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

750 cc. purchased from an online store; slightly chilled bottle, poured into my Stone IRS glass.

Color is black, extremely black actually, I could imagine this was going to be a very dignified and authoritative imperial stout.

This a thick, syrupy, and creamy stout. The initial wave of taste felt very sweet, actually too sweet. I struggled a bit with the intense molasses sweetness.

I love myself a big raging imperial stout, but this is way too sweet, but I love the thick mouthfeel though.

A bit of a chore for me to finish the whole bottle, took me about two hours actually.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2011 08:00:29 | More by vince4953529

Bendurgin

Maine

3.45/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Got this one from Sean. Thanks. Poured into a tulip. This one sits black in the glass with about a finger of dark brown head.

Earthy aroma here. Tobacco and leather with hints of chocolate sweetness in the background. Burnt coffee with a little bit of a lingering fruiting character. Pretty sweet in the aroma with some nice earthy aromas taking the forefront here. The flavors here tend to be sweet; like a chocolate syrup mixed into some burnt coffee. A bit of a fruity flavor in the finish with rustic flavors like leather and char. Kind of falls apart on the pallet for me.

The body is thick and full. Somewhat syrupy with low carbonation. Kind of sticky.

This is a no nonsense RIS here. Lots of big flavors. A little sweet for my liking but a pretty well done beer in the end.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2011 04:15:42 | More by Bendurgin

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.45/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750 mL courtesy of SurlyTwinsFan pours Ten-Fidy black and viscous as hell with a frothy brown head. Surprisingly little retention and lacing though.

Nose is very fruity with a ton of tobacco, toffee and molasses.

Taste is big on the tobacco and burnt caramel. Some heavy fruit creeps in along with a distinctive roast character. Its big and thick, but I am surprised that I dont find this more enjoyable. I think the burnt sugar and molasses are a bit much for me. CCB is such an odd brewery for my palate...some of their beers that others dislike, I have loved and some of the consensus favorites I dont find appealing. Always an exciting ride though, so I wont be passing on any Cigar City offerings anytime soon.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2012 20:42:31 | More by twiggamortis420

nickfl

Florida

3.48/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - No head and an oily, utterly black body.

S - Mocha, coffee aroma. Some subtle smoke and caramel with a hint of boozy alcohol.

T - Spicy, medicinal and alcoholic. Very strong roasted grain flavor with a little bit of chocolate as well as some licorice and rosemary.

M - Thick, heavy, oily body, low carbonation, and a sweet, coffee like finish.

D - Drinkability is practically nonexistent; this is a huge, thick mess of a beer. It is obviously complex, but the alcohol is so rough that it obscures the character of the beer. I would guess that this has the potential to turn into something great, but it seems like it will take at least a year or two of aging for this beer to come together.

Serving type: on-tap

09-18-2009 17:32:46 | More by nickfl

davod23

California

3.48/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 ml bottle into my Bruery tulip glass.

The pour is near black, oily, even chunky-looking as it leaves the bottle. Beautiful mocha-colored head that billows up, but then reduces to a thin layer on top of the brew. Good staying power. A bit of spotty lace. This is about as nice-looking as stouts get.

Smell... huh. Not bad, but nothing great. I detect some chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, and smoke. However, everything is fairly subdued. I expected this to be more powerful - as imperial stouts go, this is not particularly memorable.

Taste is a bit better. Sweet chocolate and coffee gives way to smoke mid-palate, with a long, lasting, but slightly astringent finish. The astringency isn't overwhelming or anything, but I do wish it wasn't there. Not terribly boozy, either, which is a nice feature on an 11% abv brew.

Mouthfeel leaves something to be desired. Again, not bad - but I expect my imperial stouts to be thick and creamy. This one has maybe slightly too much carbonation for my tastes. It seems just a bit thin, something more akin to a big porter rather than an impy stout. **edit** When this beer gets up to near room temperature, it smoothes out a bit and gets a little creamier. So I'll bump it another half-point.

Drinkability is actually totally solid. If I really liked the beer's other aspects, I could definitely see myself putting down a fair bit of this stuff. Easy to drink for the style. But really, I doubt that I would spend the money on a bottle of this again - the market is inundated with better imperial stouts.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2009 23:26:29 | More by davod23

pixieskid

France

3.5/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5

This beer exhibits things that I love in an imperial stout but at the same time was surprised that I didn't enjoy it more...

Pours black as night with a solid 2 finger head; has a bit of that redish color like Huna does but not quite as good looking.
Nose; milk chocolate, a bit of roastiness.
Taste; way different than the last bottle I had, which was the under-carbonated batch from 2010. It's like a boozy milkshake, extremely one dimensional and somewhat cloyingly sweet.
Mouthfeel is super thick, chewy, and rich.

Overall; I don't know if it was just too much at the time, or if my palate has changed, but as Harrymel stated, it was somewhat of a chore to drink and I only had a third of the bottle. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, it was just too much and surprised me as I've drank nearly an entire bottle of Huna to myself and loved every sip...

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2012 19:56:36 | More by pixieskid

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

3.51/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass

A- pours black with no head to speak of. Incredibly disappointing there

S- tons of licorice and ark malts, along with some slight chocolate. Pretty nice

T- licorice dominates the flavor profile. Getting some soy sauce too. Tad bit of chocolate. No coffee to speak of. Very, very disappointing

M- super thick and syrupy body. Dear god. Incredibly viscous

O- I expected much more, given the reputation. Very disappointing beer

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2013 00:34:12 | More by bigfnjoe

BigMcLargeHuge

Arizona

3.53/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

These notes are based on an immature sample batch before it was aged on roasted cedar and bottle conditioned to near perfection. But at this stage it wasn't perfect. I'll append these notes when a sample of the properly conditioned release is available. It pours murky dark brown and is on the lower end of the carbonation scale (if such a thing exists). The aroma has roasty notes and just a hint of chocolate. It really lacks some depth. The taste is much the same with semi sweet medium to highly roasted malts, faint caramel and just a touch of chocolate. There appears to be little depth or complexity in the flavor as was the case in the aroma and shows the need for proper aging and conditioning. It was tasty like this but just barely more than one dimensional.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2008 16:50:56 | More by BigMcLargeHuge

jrallen34

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks Agent Zero.

Super excited to try this after many other CCB successes, but this really let me down....Pours dark brown with a medium tan head that is gone in a microsecond if its shows its head at all, which on two of the three pours it didn't...Aroma is light chocolate, mildly sweet but plain and boring...The taste is also light malt to start then a very ashy bitter coffee finish. Just very blah for a stout.

Nothing worth securing, an above average beer, but a clearly below average RIS.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2010 21:24:31 | More by jrallen34

cpmichael

Indiana

3.53/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Stone RIS snifter. Bottle was about 1.5 years old.

A: Pours a super dark black. With about 1 inch of mocha foam.

S: Dark chocolate, roasted coffee beans, and a sweet vanilla character.

T: Bitter/Baker's chocolate, on the malty side, and a hint of coffee, less than the nose suggested. Something seems a little off balance with this one.

M/D: Rich and carbonated. This is a pretty thick beer, it was very drinkable, but it seemed like something was missing in the taste.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2011 14:46:22 | More by cpmichael

zhanson88

Montana

3.55/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle, 2010 version.

Appearance: Pours out completely pitch black and very viscous-looking. About a finger of a dark brown/orangish tinted head forms. A bit in the way of lacing, and okay retention. This is definitely one of the more impressive imperial stouts as far as viscosity that I've seen, which really picks this beer up from an appearance standpoint.

Smell: Both bitter and sweet chocolate as well as cacao nibs come out immediately to me. Underneath that, I get vanilla, light dark fruits and toffee, and a big roasted/bitter/ burned malt presence with a touch of hops on the back end.

Taste: Bitter roasted malts right up front. Bitter chocolate, vanilla and coffee as well. Lightly hoppy on the back end, and I can feel the alcohol in the back of the throat more than I can taste it. I did like it, but I would call it a touch messy overall; too much malt bitterness and it still seemed pretty hot at this point.

Mouthfeel/Overall: Despite the head that formed on the pour, this beer has a surprisingly low amount of carbonation. It is heavy bodied and very viscous, but comes close to being flat. I don't think I care for it too much. Overall, I enjoyed the beer but wouldn't go out of my way for it again. A bit more time in the cellar would have done this one some good.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2011 03:04:14 | More by zhanson88

rhinos00

Colorado

3.6/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Thanks to Jettanbass9 for hooking me up with this CCB brew. Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a tulip glass.

A- Pretty freaking nice. Absolute clear separation between the body and head. Poured a dark black color...almost like the color of an infinite abyss. Zero visibility. Produced three fingers with of cocoa, tan colored head. Stellar head retention and some lacing as consumed.

S- A very nice aroma indeed. Toasted malts with a bit of a charred character. While this dominated, I could pick up a nice subtle layer of sweetness underneath...almost like molasses.

T- Bittering, chocolate malts and slight fruit character upfront that quickly transitions into a roasted, charred flavor. Finishes with a tad bit of creamy, sweetness and a decent amount of heat.

M- Medium bodied, pretty smooth. Wished this was a little more viscous.

D- With the level of bitterness upfront, and then the heavy charred flavors and big alcohol heat on the back end, my one glass became a pretty big chore to put down.

Overall, this is only my second beer from CCB, but I have not been impressed whatsoever. It was dressed for the part and had a pretty decent aroma, but just really fell apart in the other three areas. Hopefully they can prove me wrong down the road.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2010 03:00:43 | More by rhinos00

Overlord

California

3.63/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Big thanks to Jw347 who I owe after he really stunned me with a couple incredible extras.

Pours black with some brown edging. Big gigantic brown foam head. A fantastic looking beer.

Smells faintly of hops and dark fruit, and strongly of roasted earth, malt, and coffee. Whoa. Pretty roasty.

Taste is massively roasted. I mean, charred, scorched wood/earth/malt/coffee roasted. I won't lie: it is palate wearying after a while. The light surprising hint of dark fruit and citrus, and some bitter chocolate, liven things up, but this beer is bone dry and kilned like a scorched desert. Man. It's like acrid ashy malt with some livening notes to keep it drinkable.

Wish I could have split the bottle with someone. Good, but a bit much.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2009 08:49:53 | More by Overlord

Crittervision

North Carolina

3.63/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

deep-ass black, the darkest head ive seen yet, this just after drinking black tuesday and the abyss. pillowy too. superb.

smell is prominently fruit. is it melon? watermelon? hard to tell. next up, wondering why i havent noticed them yet, are roasts that vary from familiar roasted malts to those id smell emanating from a coffee grinder.

taste is bitter, big molasses, fruitiness that includes that mystery melon from before along with prunes that were picked as not-quite-ripe plums, a bitterness that i perceive to be coming from hops that havent done us the favor of fading yet. the coffee comes through and might share some of that bitterness as well, but also provides a nice roastiness.

for an imperial stout, a medium mouthfeel that could stand to be a bit thicker. regardless, it is quite nice and is certainly as thick as many in this style that ive tried. i think it was not done justice by following black tuesday and the abyss. but, that is how it happened.

this is the least balanced of the three. the bitterness is a couple notches too high, as i prefer my stouts sweet and decadent. however, if youre into those more hop-forward stouts, you may find this one quite to your liking.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2010 01:22:04 | More by Crittervision

PDXHops

South Carolina

3.63/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to bobby8405 for this 750ml bottle. 2 pours into an oversized snifter.

A slow initial pour directly into the center of the glass yields a dense and very dark tan (more like light brown) head. This slowly reduces to a skim. Creamy sheets of lace slide back into the glass, leaving a few sticky spots. Retention and lacing both increase substantially with the second pour.

Very assertive roasty nose. Lots of espresso, cocoa and burnt malt. Sweetness plays a smaller part- bittersweet chocolate, a few chocolate chips. No sign of booziness, an impressive feat at this ABV. Strong and inviting.

The espresso is rather dominant in the mouth initially. Tangy chocolate chips and raisins vie for attention with the roasted and burnt malts. The booze that was seemingly absent in the nose is definitely in play now, but it's not out of place at all. It joins with a cherry character to create a bit of a liquer aftertaste. Some earthy and herbal hops linger as well. A hint of something slightly odd I can't quite put my finger on, maybe diacetyl, drops it down a notch, but still very tasty.

The carbonation is perhaps a touch too vigorous, but the body is otherwise quite satisfying, thick and coating.

Overall impression: Nice beer. Seems to be a good candidate for aging (although I do wonder what that strange flavor was).

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2010 01:04:51 | More by PDXHops

claspada

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Draft @ GingerMan NYC. Pours a dark dark dark brown (pretty much black) with a crazy thick inch of dark brown foam/head which leaves a boat ton of sticky brown lacing.

Aromas of extreme dark chocolate, roasted malts and dark bitter chocolate. As it warms I get some sweet dark molasses and a little smoke in the background. Some hefty espresso emerges and begins to dominate it continues to warm.

The taste is initially astringent dark roasty malts and dark bitter chocolate. Roasted charred malts are also rather prominent. Strong coffee/espresso notes come through as well. Some sweeter milk chocolate emerges as it warms but the roasted, bitter, astringent malts are a bit too dominant and a taste I am slowly beginning to dislike in my beers.

Mouthfeel is sticky and full bodied for sure. Chewy in an understatement here. Extremely thick, syrupy, viscous and mouth-coating. Much more carbonation than I experienced in last year's bottled version which had some carbonation issues I recall reading somewhere.

Overall this is a good tasting beer but the heavy chewiness in the body and roasted bitter, charred malt flavors are just too dominant for my tastes. I would prefer some more balanced milk chocolate flavors but I guess that is more the American Stout category as opposed to the RIS category here. Better than I remember, but my small sample at the bar was enough as I would struggle to finish the 750ml that this is typically bottled in. Maybe I am just over the Russian Imperial Stout category or my tastes have just shifted away from enjoying these huge chewy beast beers.

Serving type: on-tap

08-17-2011 14:07:33 | More by claspada

Kadonny

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 750 bottle into a snifter glass. This bottle was aged at least a year, maybe a little longer.

A: Wow, this is a deep black color with some red tints to it. Two finger reddish brown head leaves massive glass lacing the never goes away.

S: Tons of dark roasted smells with dark chocolate, smoke, licorice and some sweetness.

T: Wow, so roasty. Roasted malts just dominate with deep flavors of smoke, licorice, dark chocolate, hints of tar and coffee and some caramel and toffee sweetness. The dark roasted flavors mix with the sweet but never go away. Burnt woody tones make it chalky on the finish with a decent alcohol kick to it.

M: Full, coating, lasting roast flavors, higher carbonation and some alcohol.

O: A good stout, but not a great stout. I think maybe I hurt this with the age because the coffee is pretty non existent and the dark roasted flavors pound the mouth. I thought some more hops could have helped balance, but as I said it's possible the hops were muted from age.

Overall I enjoyed it, but it is not a top tier RIS or Imp stout IMO. I had this then the Voodoo BBVD on consecutive nights and the BBVD is a much more complex and enjoyable beer. Summation? Good, but not great.

Updated 10/1/12. Tried this beer again over the weekend. 750 bottle poured into a snifter glass.

S: Getting just a ton of roasted smells with much more charred and burnt wood. Still no hop notes.

T: The dark roasted flavors of this beer seem one dimensional to me. Very charred, burnt, roasted and tar really take over. No hints of fruit, hops, coffee or even chocolate. It all seems dark and dank.

This is my second bottle and it pretty much is the same. I guess this beer is just not for me.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2012 13:47:25 | More by Kadonny

papat444

Quebec (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Picked this up on a trip to Orlando in Sept. 2010.

Poured from a 750ml. bottle and shared with my wife.

Appearance: Blacker than black body but no head at all. Kind of plops into the glass. Very viscous as it leaves a film on the glass as it's tilted.

Smell: Dark chocolate, bit sweet, robust coffee. Not as strong as i would have expected but still pleasant.

Taste: Hazelnut, layer of roasted coffee, long finish. Flavor is gradual, builds up in the middle. Molasses cookies, lingering coffee flavor. Not as complex as ABV would indicate.

Mouthfeel: Real thick yet retains a slick smooth feel. A bit syrupy.

Overall: Real good but still haven't found one that tops DL.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2012 16:07:57 | More by papat444

madbrewer9

Florida

3.65/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Dark brown/black opaque, color of old engine oil.
Thin med brown head, very fine, small bubbles.
Nice persistant lace on the inside of a snifter.

Aroma is alchohol with some hop. Slight notes of dark fruit.

Taste is upfront hop bitterness with chocolate coming through also.
Bittnerness lingers a little too long into the finish.

Body is med full to full. Some creaminess, but overshadowed by bitterness/astringency.

Good beer for end of night. Well constructed, but a little much on hop bitterness. Would not drink whole 22oz bottle in one sitting.
This will improve with aging as the flavors meld.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2009 04:20:06 | More by madbrewer9

Florida9

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Thick, viscous, and flat. No head. No lacing. The liquid itself is a glossy black.

S: Sweet raisin and roasted malts.

T: A sweet and rich blend of chocolate, raisins, molasses, and dark malts. A bit acidic.

M: Thick, flat, and syrupy, yet still manages to finish with an odd thinness.

D: The lack of carbonation greatly distracted from this beer and I simply could not enjoy it. I would hesitate to even call it a sipper as it offered little to invite you back for another sip.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2011 02:45:05 | More by Florida9

kiddynamite920

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

August 2009 750 ml bottle. Heeded the bottles advice to not open until January or February. Gave a bit more time even.

A: Well if that isn't the darkest head I've ever seen. The beer itself is black as night of course. Head is actually retaining a bit here. Sort of angled up against the edge of the glass with the middle dissipating. Can't get over how dark the head is itself.

S: When the bottle cracked open I immediately was hit with a tobacco, earthy herb type aroma. Almost smelled like a cigar laced with a bouquet garni. The beer in the glass smells very, very roasty. Has a burnt toast aroma with a good heap of charred wood as well. Some vanilla and bourbon are there as well. Alcohol seems to hide behind the burnt aroma. Just seems as if the malts have hit the limit on their toasting. There is a slight floral hop smell as well, but in the forefront are the malts for sure.

T: Burnt wood on the palate as well, makes me wonder what is lending this flavor to the beer. Tastes oak aged, although it's not. Has a bitter chocolate flavor that accentuates the burnt flavor. Hops begin to lend a helping hand with the bitterness of this beer. Very earthy, herbaceous hop flavor. I almost expect more sweetness, but this is a nice flavor profile. There are notes of whiskey, vanilla, wood, herbs, tobacco and some nearly burnt molasses. Black strap I believe it's called.

M: Feels very heavy sitting on the tongue, nice and syrupy. Carbonation is also more present than most RIS's. Just a very different experience and take on a RIS.

D: Tough to take larger sips of this beer. Some of the flavor can be overwhelming if taken in high doses. Just a bit too burnt and bitter for a RIS in my eyes.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2010 03:40:47 | More by kiddynamite920