Troubadour Imperial Stout
The Musketeers Brouwerijcafé

Troubadour Imperial StoutTroubadour Imperial Stout
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From:
The Musketeers Brouwerijcafé
 
Belgium
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #417
ABV:
9%
Score:
88
Ranked #14,546
Avg:
3.92 | pDev: 11.48%
Reviews:
52
Ratings:
187
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 30, 2023
Added:
Sep 30, 2011
Wants:
  7
Gots:
  33
This beautiful beer has an almost black body and a large tan and lasting head. It’s a pretty bitter, strongly roasted coffee & malty beer. The aroma is dry, roasted, “nutty” and smokey. The strong bitter chocolate impression let it end in a nice bitter finish. This beer contains 4 different types of malt, roasted barley and 2 types of hop. The overall result is how an Imperial Stout should taste, with a Belgian touch.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.92/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
January 2018: 330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken, ABV is 9%. Nearly black colour, large beige head. Vinous aroma, notes of raisins and other dark dried fruits, hints of oak, chocolate and tobacco. Light bodied and very drinkable for its strength and style. Roasty and vinous flavour, notes of roast malts, red wine, coffee, dark dried fruits, hints of chocolate.
Oct 11, 2023
 
Rated: 3.95 by MrJones07 from Spain

Apr 17, 2023
Photo of InspectorHound
Reviewed by InspectorHound from Canada (ON)

3.62/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Look: Black with a dense tawny 2 finger head. Head has great retention, after 5 minutes it is still a solid 1/2 finger.

Smell: Sharp and somewhat boozy. Leather and roasted malts, with a touch of candied dark fruits.

Taste: Leathery, hints of smoke, burnt coffee, and dark earth. The sweetness is candied figs at the front end, but reminiscent of cheap bakers chocolate on the back end.

Feel: Medium to full bodied. Plays heavy across the tongue without much stimulation of the palate. The carbonation is muted but discernible.

A decent but unremarkable imperial stout. It earns a B in my book. Not a beer I would feel the need to seek out again.
May 26, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by Dentist666 from Russian Federation

May 04, 2021
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.61/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Poured black with 2Cm quite dark tan head, holds up well, forms lacing on the way down.
S- Deep malts
T- Woah-k, deeply roasted/toasted, charred, molasses, cinder toffee, coffee going into a broadly dry hoppy zing into the finish. A couple of times I wonder if the taste is so intense it might be OTT.
F- Big and pungent, a deep dark brooder. It's somewhat rich but that's balanced by the knock-out intensity of flavour.
O- Wow, 'not for girls' as they used to say. It's that intense it's a winter slow-sipping kind of beer. I don't know the ABV yet but must be punchy, about 8%? It's very nice though it's that pungent I don't think I'd wish to drink it often. If it were a wine it would be a dessert wine, one to enjoy after dinner nice 'n slow...
Review/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed! == 9%. bottle-refermented.
330ml bottle BB: 18/02/2023 £3.55. Bought from BeautifulBeers/BurySt.Edmunds as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.
Feb 27, 2021
 
Rated: 4.02 by irishkyle21 from Canada (ON)

Jan 29, 2021
Photo of polloenfuego
Reviewed by polloenfuego from Canada (NB)

3.98/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
I've seen a lot of people dragging this beer, saying it doesn't tast right for the style, and that it smells off. I think they are forgetting that this beer is from a Belgian brewer, and it obviously has Belgian overtones. If that is kept in mind, it's a pretty nice beer.
Jan 26, 2021
Photo of thehyperduck
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)

3.78/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
750 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before Jul 22 2023 and served barely chilled.

Pours a deep cola brown colour with ruby red highlights; situated atop is an inch of puffy, foamy, buff-toned head that dissipates within several minutes' time. It leaves behind an attractive band of webby, fractally detailed lace, in addition to a frothy collar surrounding a filmy, bubbly cap. Treacle, cocoa and coffee come through on the nose, as do hints of smoke, raisin, licorice and currant.

The flavour profile is along the same lines - roasted malts first and foremost, offering up notes of cocoa powder and coffee grounds. There's also caramelized malts/toffee and treacle sweetness, as well as dark fruity notes reminiscent of fig, raisin and prune cropping up by mid-sip; this leads into a rather bitter back end of earthy, herbal, leafy hops, baker's chocolate and licorice spiciness, with hints of alcohol, coffee beans and raisin lingering beyond. Not quite full-bodied, with middling carbonation that provides a little bit of a bite to its otherwise smooth mouthfeel. I found this to be fairly drinkable for 9%, but I would've been better off splitting this bottle with someone.

Final Grade: 3.78, a B+. Belgian brewing is responsible for some of the best beer in the world, but I have never really associated that particular scene with stouts, and the few 'Belgian stouts' that I have sampled previously were not exactly noteworthy. Troubadour Imperial Stout is a continuation of that theme - the beginnings of a solid imperial stout are here, but it's just so... timid? Unremarkable (relatively speaking)? It's certainly not flawed or disappointing or anything like that, but I'm not in a hurry to rush out for another bottle - though I might get one anyway, because a) the price is alright, and b) I'm curious to see if it'll improve any after a year or two in the cellar.
Jan 15, 2021
Photo of taxandbeerguy
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

3.71/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
750 ml bottle served fairly cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for around $9.50 CDN. Best before July 2023.

Appearance - Chestnut brown, impressive two and a half fingers of light tan head. Excellent staying power by the big rocky head. Not much in the way of lacing although there is a super dense cap of head.

Smell - Lots of roasted malts, hints of coffee and dark chocolate. Nose is quite muted when cold. Slightest bit of banana from the bottle.

Taste - Some dark chocolate fairly bitter. A signature Belgian style yeast flavor in there. Quite boozy (almost solvent-like) and a bit harsh. Banana fits in there as well. The aftertaste is chocolate and is pretty decadent.

Mouthfeel - Medium-full bodied, moderate carbonation and a bit boozy, but a subtle slickness that makes it easy to drink.

Overall - A pretty good Imperial stout with a Belgian twist for sure. The harshness of the alcohol in the flavor initially makes this a slight miss for me, it's just a bit less enjoyable because of that.
Jan 06, 2021
 
Rated: 4.02 by Gkruszewski from New York

Nov 07, 2020
Photo of Snowcrash000
Reviewed by Snowcrash000 from Germany

4.14/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Pours a deep, dark mahogany coloration with an amber hue when held up to light, with a large, creamy, lasting head. Smells of roasted malt and strong coffee and estery spice aromas, as well as hints of chocolate and dark/estery fruit. Taste follows the nose, with a great balance of roasted malt, strong coffee and estery spice, with notes of clove and vanilla, and lighter chocolate and dark/estery fruit, with notes of fig, raisins and just a hint of banana and red berries, as well as accents of licorice, peat smoke and herbal, earthy hops. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some roasted malt, coffee and estery spice lingering in the aftertaste. Full, almost creamy, mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

A great "Belgian" Stout that is heavy on the estery yeast notes and coffee, with quite a roasted, dry and bitter character as well as some chocolate, licorice and dark fruits also coming through. There's a great balance and depth of flavor to this, as well as a rather nice, almost creamy mouthfeel. Perhaps not a great Russian Imperial Stout, but certainly an excellent Belgian Imperial Stout, which is what this should be rated as.
Jun 04, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Jul 21, 2019
Photo of arzt
Rated by arzt from Germany

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
It's not RIS, it's Atypical Belgian Dark Strong Ale or probably "Belgian Imperial Stout".
Anyway interesting and good beer.
Mar 25, 2019
Photo of josanguapo
Reviewed by josanguapo from Spain

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
De Decervecitas. En copa Teku. Viendo Umbrella Academy 1x10. 6 meses pasada de fecha. Muy belga. Dulce, con un rico tostado muy adecuadamente combinado con un perfil azucarado tipicamente belga.
Mar 19, 2019
Photo of TheBierdimpfe
Reviewed by TheBierdimpfe from Canada (QC)

3.85/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Medium: Capped, snifter glass.
Opacity: Almost opaque.
Color: Almost black.
Head: Creamy and frothy light brown 2-3 finger.
Legs: Very good with potent swirl reaction.
Smell: Dark berries/Toffee/Soft metal.
Taste: Figs/Coffee/Chocolate/Vanilla/Herbal.
Feel: Roasted/Earthy/Leafy/Soft wood effect.
Body: Medium creamy and light smooth.
Carbonation: Moderate crisp.
Overall: Alcohol is well hidden. Not a powerful and more of a subtle Imperial stout, fresher than usual. Still the quality and drinkability is high.

Visual 8/10 - Flavors 7/10 - Sensations 8/10 - Balance 8/10 -
Freshness 6/10 - Intensity 6.5/10 - Complexity 8/10 - Appreciation 7/10
Mar 09, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by archero from Texas

Jan 29, 2019
 
Rated: 3.98 by hockeypuck from Maine

Jan 22, 2019
Photo of TheDoctor
Reviewed by TheDoctor from Canada (QC)

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Serving: Bottle
Before: Jan-9-2021


A:
Pours a dark, dark ruby-brown-black
with three fingers of perfect, rocky tan head. Great retention; Belgian lacing. (4.5)

S:
Dried dark fruits, musty wood, suggestion of berry tartness/light phenol spice. (3.75)

T:
Chocolate and blueberries, figs, coffee grounds, mineral hardness. (4)

M:
Creamy, fluffy, full body with active carbonation and a lightly bitter finish. (4.25)

O:
A good Belgian stout.
Lovely looking to begin with. The aroma is fruitier than I expected with red and dark fruits and a background of some traditional stout character. The flavor is similar with some more bitter malt flavor coming through (though the yeast still has more going on). The malt character is definitely a bit muted which isn't great in an RIS, but it doesn't take away from it that bad. Lovely feeling, too. A truly interesting, nice beer even if it isn't my stout ideal. (4)
Jan 12, 2019
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.9/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
330ml bottle - don't think I've ever had an RIS made in Belgium before.

This beer pours a mostly clear, dark amber-highlighted brown colour, with a teeming tower of puffy, rocky, and chunky tan head, which leaves some ripple pattern lace around the glass as it slowly seeps away.

It smells of lightly roasted, bready and doughy caramel malt, an earthy nuttiness, bittersweet cocoa powder, a muddled dark orchard fruitiness, and maybe a touch of anise spice. The taste is gritty and grainy caramel malt, some free-range ashiness, oily bar-top nuts, medium chocolate pudding, bruised black stone fruit, and some plain earthy, musty, and dead floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is average in its palate-coating frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and generally smooth, with perhaps a soupcon of wet char taking things down a notch or two here. It finishes trending dry, the smoky essence ramping up its lingering game.

Overall - this is certainly a pleasant enough version of the style, full of flavour, and with a perfectly integrated 18-proof booze factor, pretty easy to sip on over the course of a dreary early January afternoon. Worth checking out, IMHO.
Jan 05, 2019
Troubadour Imperial Stout from The Musketeers Brouwerijcafé
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 187 ratings