Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout - Cigar City Brewing

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.93/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I think it was Matt (drabmuh) that brought this yesterday. Thank you!

Jet black with a dark brown hear with great retention and thick lace, this is quite the looker. The nose is great too, plenty of roast, some pine hop aroma and bitterness along with a bit of a grainy bitterness. Bittersweet cocoa, espresso and a touch of alcohol round out the nose.
The palate opens big and bitter with a burnt grain bitterness, roast, bitter chocolate and a little cream. Some licorice character is noticeable too. Roasty and bitter on the finish, this is solid. Big and full in body with low carbonation, this beer is really good, but a little bit goes a long way.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2010 18:20:26 | More by DefenCorps

KickInTheChalice

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: This looks like motor oil coming out of the bottle, SO viscous. Almost no head unless it is a very high and aggressive pour. Then a tiny head forms, fades to a ring, and disappears. No lacing. At this point I am wondering if this is a 'flat' bottle or if it is just this lightly carbonated.

Smell: The aromas blend together in a very smooth fashion. Roasted malt, chocolate malt, dark chocolate, coffee, a little molasses, and some anise. A touch of booze to remind me that it is a big bad army officer of a stout.

Taste: Again, very smooth. The malt is blended, it tastes like several types of dark and roasted malts were used here. Dark chocolate, creamy coffee, vanilla, and some anise provide supporting flavors. Each flavor knows its role and has a properly proportioned strength. As the glass continues, the coffee flavors grow somewhat. Some spicy hops help to finish it out. There is some lingering coffee bitterness and molasses sweetness, but considering how huge this drinks, it cleans up fairly well. I think additional carbonation would help the finish even more as well.

Mouthfeel: This was not completely flat, but I think it was unintentionally under-carbonated. Other than that, it was velvety smooth, very viscous, creamy, and very full bodied. With a proper amount of carbonation, this score jumps considerably.

Drinkability: If this had the proper level of carbonation, it would be up there with the heavy hitters of the stout world. As is, it was ok, and all of us sort of lamented what could have been.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2011 18:06:28 | More by KickInTheChalice

Urbancaver

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours pitch black. No head what so ever. One bubble actually. Vry thick. Smells malty and sweet. Tastes fairly nondescript. Just a ton of malty sweetness. Some light fruitiness on the tongue. Lots of earthiness own the tongue a bit of roast. Very basic but solid. Thick mouthfeel but not very well carbonated.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2011 21:32:28 | More by Urbancaver

beachbum1975

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Many thanks to urbancaver for sharing this beer! This is one of the 4 x Zhukov's poured last night.

Pours black with clear, amber edges. No real head on my pour and no lacing. Thick and viscous pour.

Heavily roasted malts with black licorice. Heavy char.

Very little carbonation on the mouthfeel, as well. Lots of heavy char and licorice.

Big and tasty.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2011 20:16:25 | More by beachbum1975

MbpBugeye

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big thanks to neorunner for surprising me with this bottle. He says its from 2009.

Appearance
Damn, this stuff looks thick. I almost have to scoop it out of the bottle. The pour is super black and ropey. A nice, toasted head rises up, and rests at a thin layering. Not that much lacing.

Aroma
A little tiny hint of oxidation in the form of a suggestion of paper; but this is very subtle and actually a welcomed addition to the aroma's profile. Leather and sweet, dark tobacco dominate. Molasses and dark fruits are below. Alcohol gives this beer a punch.

Taste
Very leathery with earthy suggestions of maduro cigar tobacco. A burnt dark chocolate flavor forms mid-palate. A really nice french vanilla cream element takes things through to the end.

Mouthfeel
Indeed, this beer is full bodied, but its not as thick as the looks suggested. Carbonation is ample, perhaps a bit high at first. The beer has a dry, burnt cocoa powderiness to the finish. This is a very sticky beer as well. Alcohol is sturdy, but very nicely incorporated for an ABV that nears the 12% mark.

Overall
This is pretty decent. Solid brewing, but it just isn't intense all across the board as I had hoped. It does make a good base beer for Cigar City style experiments though.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2011 04:00:39 | More by MbpBugeye

Auracom

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Part of my stout tasting on October 22nd, 2011. 6-7 oz. into snifter.

A – Hello Pennzoil, meet Marshal Zukov’s. About as oily-looking as it gets. Pours a flat and true-black with no really hint of brown or any other tone on the edges. Khaki one/two finger head.

S – Lots of roast upfront, but not to the volcanic or ash-like level that some people have claimed. Dark Chocolate, brown sugar and spice, dates and raisins, and a touch of alcohol.

T – More of the same. Quite a bit of bitterness to account for the hops added into the brew. A touch smokey, but again the roasted note takes center stage here back up with a decent mixture of undertones. Reminds me of Founder RIS but with a bit more roast.

M – Quite thick body here. Relatively smooth. Lengthy finisher with a lasting bitter aftertaste.

D – Not an easy one to work through on your own. This was the first beer we ticked off the lengthy list of ~ 30 bottles and I felt that 3-4 ounces would have been ideal. Overall, I think it is judged a bit harsher than it deserves and serves at a great base beer for other CC endeavors (e.g. Hunahpu’s).

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2011 03:30:30 | More by Auracom

Spider889

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Been wanting to try this for some time now.

Poured into a Cigar City snifter, Marshal Zhukov’s is as thick as they come. With the consistency of the unchanged sludgy oil of an obsolete model WWI-era tank, this Russian Imperial Stout promises to be a slow sipper already. The head cascades upwards with the pour to produce a wonderfully dark foam cap the color of fudge. This slowly fades back into the blackness of the brew beneath. The foamy head is thicker than the ranks of the Russian infantry. Lacing is intermittent but thick – a wall of opposition rushing to meet the opposing perfection of the glass. But glass grows brittle in cold; the Germans are being staved off with the aid of Marshal Zhukov.

The aroma on this behemoth brew is deep and robust. Roast is like careening grapeshot – explosive and devastating. Hidden within that grapeshot is the seed of fruit aroma – berry and raisin. There’s an interesting mustiness lingering in this beer, one that makes one think that there are some English counterparts to the Red Army pent up inside the bottle. There is also a ton of sweetness to consider here – coffee cake and fudge and all of the sweet sticky residuals of unfermented body-enhancing malt sugars.

If the aroma is the artillery clearing a path to victory, then the flavor is the general infantry’s sound to charge. Dark fudge and bitter char render your palate a wasteland – just as any long-used battlefield becomes through history. There’s some ashiness going on, but the density of the beer helps to mediate an attribute that can be a bit drying and gritty in other beers. The biggest thing of note though, is the sweetness. It’s a great treat to sip on, but it can be a bit much to take in at times as well. The mouthfeel is thick and silky with moderately low carbonation. The alcohol – clocking in at 11% – is never as oppressive as the Axis opposition, but it does creep up on you and also adds as another limiting factor on the beer’s drinkability.

Overall a really nice Russian Imperial Stout, this Marshal Zhukov’s… I highly recommend sharing with comrades; it’s big, bold, heavy, and sweet. Definitely borders on overly rich and filling at times... I would really enjoy trying this barrel aged though!

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2011 06:22:54 | More by Spider889

sweemzander

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750mL bottle poured into a snifter. Thanks again to Matt for sharing!

(A)- Pours pitch black, with one of the darkest brown colors in a head I have ever seen.

(S)- Aroma-wise, fairly straightforward for the style with some rich bits of raisin and molasses and a good underlying roasted profile.

(T)- A touch different from the smell in that, it has the classic roastedness and rich bits, but it almost tastes like it has an underlying honey-like sweetness throughout the flavor profile of the beer; interesting.

(M)- A good carbonation level and balance. Perhaps a touch sweeter than I was expecting, but it blends well and counterbalances what might have been quite a strong roasted profile. It definitely cut out some of the residual bitterness too.

(O)- Not sure how old this particular bottle was, but I did enjoy the slightly different nuances this beer put out. Not overly complex for the style, but it fits the style well.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 17:02:53 | More by sweemzander

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.95/5  rDev -9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 750mL bottle into a brandy snifter. Brewed 31 August 2012.

A: The darkest head I've ever seen. Dark chocolate brown, creamy, with good retention. The beer is black and opaque and viscous.

S: Booze, licorice, bittersweet chocolate. Strong, but not obviously complex. A hint of metal.

T/M: Soft, smooth, and thin. Not what I was expecting. I would say the mouthfeel is flat, but that's not quite right, because it's also velvety-creamy. The flavours are muddled. It's strongly malty, with hints of fruit (date? coconut?) and roasted barley and bittersweet milk chocolate and blackstrap molasses. Still, it's incoherent and I get the distinct feeling that it's not living up to its potential.

O: A nice RIS that's so smooth it goes down perilously easy, but it could perhaps stand a touch of carbonation or hop spice to accent the different, darker flavours that are (not) bubbling under the pitch-like surface.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2013 06:00:42 | More by AgentMunky

dbc5

Ohio

3.96/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle. 6 ounces poured into a 10 ounce Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout snifter.

A. Pour appears extremely viscous. Moderate pour yields about a one finger, coffee colored head which recedes into darkness quickly. Not much evidence of carbonation once the head recedes.

S: Large amount of chocolate upfront. Also picking up a brown sugar character that I've gotten from other Cigar City stouts (Cognac Milk Stout). Some coffee and vanilla as well. Dominate aroma is dark chocolate, followed by the sweetness and coffee.

T: Tons of roasted malt sweetness up front. A good amount of dark chocolate. Definitely a sweeter stout. Picking up some vanilla, which in combination with the extremely thick mouthfeel, lends a cream-like character. After swallowing, getting some bitter coffee and just a touch of hop bitterness attempting to balance out some of the sweetness.

M: This is the most noteworthy aspect of the beer. I don't know that I can identify a more viscous non-barrel aged stout. Short of Bourbon County Stout, this may be the thickest beer I've had. It coats your palate and sticks around forever.

O: Enjoyable brew. It is pretty sweet and I can see that being an issue for some when working through the 750 ml format. Being honest, I'm a fan of sweet beers but found myself becoming a bit fatigued in the palate by the end of the bottle. Would be happy to acquire another bottle somewhere down the road to see what age does to it.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2013 01:20:10 | More by dbc5

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

On-Tap

Marshal is a black imperial stout oh yes he is. Black with a oil slickness, thick with no light able to peek through. A nice tight off white head with slimy lacing. Smells of deep roasted malt with chocolate and more malt. Tastes consist of the same with dark sweet chocolate and some coffee with some hops to go with it. Dark fruit with some alcohol but not intruding. Roasted malt with some underlining toffee. This is pretty well bodied and nicely carbed, not dead in the water. A nice slick feel with some bitterness in the end. Glad I got a chance to try this brew.

Serving type: on-tap

11-09-2009 04:27:06 | More by onix1agr

pmlondrigan

New York

3.98/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This is a serious beer, black, really no head and very little carb. Looks like motor oil. Smells like rich dark roasted malt, vanilla, coffee, crazy dried cherries, raisins and faint notes of alcohol. Tastes the same. Chocolate, coffee, lots of vanilla, oaty, leathery fruits. Really thick and heavy, slightly cloying to me. A little hot from the alcohol and a little sharp. Is it drinkable, yeah...would I want another tomorrow, no.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2010 01:31:04 | More by pmlondrigan

portia99

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle opened at jlindros Impy Stout tasting. Shared among several BA's and tasted side by side with Hunahpu's. Poured into a Sierra Nevada 30th Anny. snifter.

A - Oily, black in color, seems very thick, no head and only a thin brown collar surrounding the edge of the glass.

S - A blend of coffee, molasses, caramel and alcohol. Coffee is most prominent here.

T - Sweeter than I expected from the nose. Lots of coffee blended with molasses and a bit of chocolate in there too. Definitely on the sweeter side of things, not to the point of being syrupy though.

M - Oily and slick, thick and full bodied. There is a low carbonation that makes this silky smooth. Overall sweet and creamy.

D - I like this a lot. To be critical, I'd say maybe it is a bit too sweet for my liking, but not by much. Definitely not a Dark Lord caliber syrupy sweetness by any stretch. Not sure tasting this next to the Hunahpu's did this any favors. The spice additions to the Hunahpu's from the MZ base beer really brought out the flavors nicely and dried it out too giving it much better balance.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2010 19:01:52 | More by portia99

wspscott

Kentucky

3.98/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle in Duvel tulip
(no date)

A: Pours completely black, wife said looks like molasses, I think it looks like motor oil, thick/viscous looking, no head at all, almost looked flat.
S: Burnt sugar/very dark caramel, molasses, a hint of dark fruitiness as it warms.
T: Lots of roasted malts combined with dark caramel malts leads to a bittersweet combination. As it warms, I get a hint of licorice. No noticeable hops.
M: A huge amount of residual sugars makes for a creamy, round mouthfeel. A very low level of carbonation, just enough to provide a slight tingle.
D: Very much a sippin' beer, an excellent night cap, but very hard to imagine having a 2nd pour. Highly recommended for anyone who likes over the top RISs.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2011 01:07:38 | More by wspscott

youradhere

Arkansas

3.98/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours muddy black with dark tan/brown head. Thick lacing is left behind and forms a moving crust to the glass. Smell is cocoa, chocolate, sweet malt, berries, and what I can only describe as licorice-like. Taste is chocolate, bitter coffee, roast malt, truffle. Carbonation is medium, mouthfeel is creamy without being thick, if that is possible- almost a too thin of a body here, sort of light and airy. No alcohol presence, and drinks smooth. There is some flavor that keeps popping up here, that I can't quite put my finger on, and it is driving me nuts. Very good beer overall, and I would seek this one out to try again some day.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2011 00:59:14 | More by youradhere

yourefragile

District of Columbia

3.98/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750 mL 2011 bottle.

Pours viscous and dark black with chocolate edges. Dark mocha head, fades to a collar, with some legs. Roast malt and coffee nose, minimal sweetness or chocolate, mildly hoppy. Flavor is sweeter than nose, with caramel, coffee, chocolate, toffee, and pine. Thicker side of medium body with low carbonation; coats the palate and lingers well through finish with minimal heat. Other than the nose, this is an impressive RIS.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 21:51:52 | More by yourefragile

billab914

Virginia

3.98/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by Rhettroactive. Poured from a 750ml bottle into a snifter. It poured pitch black in color and very thick looking. It had a dark chocolate colored head clinging to the edges of the glass and scattered across the top of the beer. Great looking beer.

The aroma shows a lot of dark chocolate to it. I get some molasses and caramel sweetness out of it along with a little roasty bitterness. What I start to really notice though is a tart, somewhat fruity presence that has a bit of a raspberry like flavor to it. It gives it kind of a strange twist, but not enough to take away from all the other really good flavors.

The taste also shows a lot of dark, bitter-sweet chocolate to it throughout. The finish is where I get a stronger roasty, coffee like bitterness coming out. Again though I get a little bit of a fruity, tart, sweetness to it that just seems out of place.

The mouthfeel is thick and silky smooth with carbonation being moderate for the style. Overall it was a pretty good beer. I really liked the dark chocolate and roasty flavors but the fruity, sweet, tart, raspberry like flavors that I got just seemed out of place in it to me. Good beer but not great.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 18:59:33 | More by billab914

alcstradamus

Illinois

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a pitch black into my tulip glass. I gave this a reasonably hard pour but it was coming out very thick and viscous so the head took a second to form. Before I knew it, I had 4 fingers of the darkest beer head you will ever see rising...and rising...and rising...and then overflowing. I tried to clean it up but it was just so damn thick and sticky that a simple paper towel couldn't do the trick. After cleanup, the head camped out forever and left a wall of lacing down the glass. Literally the best looking beer I've ever poured.

Smell is a somewhat odd mix of bright hops, wood, toasted malt, and apple peel. Not bad, but different.

The taste is a bit more "normal"...and in this case normal refers to a gigantic roasted malt profile. Burnt toast, cocoa powder, citrus hops, biscuits, and just the smallest hint of sweetness make up the flavor profile. Pretty good.

Mouthfeel is full bodied with good carbonation levels. The carbonation actually makes it seem lighter than it is though. This is definitely thick and sticky right when it hits the mouth.

This stout was actually more impressive than it was likable, however I still enjoyed it quite a bit. If there was a bit more complexity in the flavor profile--perhaps the addition of a dark fruit or chocolate character--this could be a world class beer. The base is there, but I don't feel like it is complete. Still, worth acquiring and sharing with a couple buddies.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2009 04:56:38 | More by alcstradamus

clayrock81

Virginia

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a pitch black cola body with a tan head and a roasted chocolate smell as well as coffee, some toasted/burnt malt as well. A thick, slightly smooth body with loads of coffee malt taste along with hints of toffee and bitter chocolate. Dryness eminates from the coffee malts as well as ABV peeking through, in a good way, and is a great beer to sip on.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2009 14:32:10 | More by clayrock81

JohnGalt1

Idaho

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big ole 750 received a while back from Drink1121... Huge thanks for the bottles Caleb!! I'm still broke and diving a bit into the cellar... Poured into my Delirium goblet.

2 Finger head is very dark brown ... it seems to die fairly quickly though and doesn't leave much lace... cap is pretty. Brew is black.. no light escaping.

Rich and malty... very fruity with alot of prunes and dried cherries.. lite cocoa... espresso... really very complex... I've just been sniffing it for probably ten minutes now.

Waves of dark malts begin with dark roast... and then a big blast of cocoa... that sorta turns into a bit of a coffee chocolate cordial mid-palate with some caramel maltiness... dark cherries linger on the finish with a bit of drying dark grain and cocoa.. very nice body with a bit lighter than average carbonation actually helps the mouthfeel be very smooth.

As it warms quite a bit of char and ash shows and sorta limits drinkability for me... still is very very complex but a definite sipper that makes you think.

4/4/4/4/4

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2010 07:37:23 | More by JohnGalt1

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to gtreid for this one.

Poured into stone old guardian snifter.

Pours a small layer of dark mocha head. Fades to a thin layer quickly. Color is a vicious black.

Aroma: Big roasted malt beer. Cocoa caramel, and coffee. Some earthy hops. Dark dried fruit notes, mainly cherry. Some toffee in the background.

Taste: Lots of chocolate, roasted malts, and coffee. Then i get the dried cherries followed by toffee and earthy hops balancing it out. As the end there is some thick molasses.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and rich. Full bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. Ends roasted and malty, a little dry.

Overall, this is a solid RIS with lots of nice flavors that mix together. This is a sipper for me and I am glad I am sharing this with a few other BAs. I definitely recommend this one for the season.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2010 23:30:14 | More by mothman

dudecandle

New York

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Black body, small and very dark head.

S: Chocolate, vanilla, smoke, a hefty dose of coffee.

T: This is delicious, but very straightforward in its profile. Chocolate, coffee, and smoke. The smoke is actually a little stronger than I'd prefer, and is really a downer for me.

M: Big with some alcohol burn, but the smoke is a bit bothersome.

D: I actually got a bit bored through only 8 ounces of this. I know it's great, but frankly, the smoke overtook it for me. Chocolate and coffee are good, but I would have preferred a stronger third pop there.

Serving type: on-tap

02-18-2010 04:37:39 | More by dudecandle

david18

New York

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had a glass of this at George Keeley's on Manhattan's upper west side. This is one of the better Russian Imperial Stouts I had. Very dark color with a very dark head. Aroma is amazingly malty with the smell of dark roasts, alcohol and yumminess. The 11.5 aby really packs a punch so be careful. I'll have this again.

Serving type: on-tap

10-04-2010 20:44:35 | More by david18

AgentZero

Illinois

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Black beer with a brown head that was made up of fine bubbles and dissipated rather quickly to a partial cap.

S - Very sweet, with lots of chocolate. The roast in these bottles seems to vary from bottle to bottle. Some molasses, just a touch of coffee.

T - It's a very sweet stout, lots of chocolate, some brown sugar, molasses, little bit of roast. If you like sweeter RIS's, this one may be for you.

M - Full bodied, viscous, lower carbonation.

O - Not a bad beer, on the sweet side. I prefer an earlier bottle I had that was much more roasty qualities, but the last few bottles I've had tasted more like this one.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2011 14:23:03 | More by AgentZero

BeerForMuscle

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- so viscous and pitch black. A dark brown head fading to a tiny lacing.

S - roasty burnt grains. Dark bitter chocolate. Cocoa powder.

T - charcoal burnt wood. Chocolate syrup. faint black licorice ending. Sweet alcohol. hints of earthy bread and some hop floral. So sweet. Lactose?

M - possibly the thickest stout ever. So viscous d'ass heavy bodied.

O - pretty wel balanced for 11.5 abv and such a heavy body

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2011 03:51:43 | More by BeerForMuscle