Tsar
Buxton Brewery

TsarTsar
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From:
Buxton Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.92 | pDev: 11.99%
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
75
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 17, 2017
Added:
Dec 14, 2011
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  14
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Ciocanelu:
Photo of Ciocanelu
Rated by Ciocanelu from Romania

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Feb 02, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.9 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

Oct 17, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by petermethot from New Jersey

Oct 12, 2017
 
Rated: 3.52 by oriolesfan4 from Maryland

Jun 30, 2017
Photo of DIM
Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania

4.39/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Wow, lots of assertive flavors to pick apart here. Huge roasty almost to the point of being ashy notes blanket everything. Maybe a little smoke in there as well. I found some coffee and cocoa bitterness as well. The finish added some stone fruit to the mix. Hugely flavorful, never had an RIS like this one. Definitely recommended!
Jun 26, 2017
Photo of cbutova
Reviewed by cbutova from Massachusetts

3.79/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
A- 330ml to a pint glass with a dark body that has some ruby hues at the edges where light pierces it. The hiss was supremely loud and the milk chocolate head forms to about three inches high with infinite retention. A few sheets of lacing wrap around the glass.

S- Aromas are mostly derived from the roasted and kilned barley with chocolate milk, baking cocoa, licorice, aged espresso beans, toast and quite a bit of dark fruits from the ferment. Earthy and citrus zest hops are strong kind of like a Storm King.

T- Very much similar to the aroma with the show being driven by the intense charred grains joined by a definite acrid bitterness and some hop bitterness as well here. Rough order of strength are notes of roasted barley, backing cocoa, char, licorice, heavily toasted nuts, espresso beans, milk chocolate, smoke, tobacco, vinous dark fruits, earthy/citrus hops and caramel sweets.

MF- Overly carbonated for this style and the rich flavors; it ends up accentuating the burnt bitterness a bit too much. The texture to the medium-heavy body is foamy and silky cream. Both hop and roast bitters linger for a long time in the end.

Has a few minor flaws which mostly stem from the overly high level of carbonation, it almost gushed but gladly shows no signs of infection in the aroma/flavor. Very much a dark roasted/burnt barley driven brew with some strong hops to balance.
Jun 15, 2017
 
Rated: 4.06 by killcore from Russian Federation

Aug 07, 2016
 
Rated: 4.03 by Walbert_Neto from Brazil

Aug 04, 2016
Photo of ThisWangsChung
Reviewed by ThisWangsChung from Maryland

2.9/5  rDev -26%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Pours a very dark ruby color. The head is a bazillion fingers high and tan in shade. It has the structure, texture, and retention of a Belgian-style beer (a good one at least), and huge foamy patches of lacing stick to the glass. An extremely good-looking stout...but with characteristics that are mostly style inappropriate.

I am immediately intrigued. There's a surprisingly assertive presence of Cascade hops coming through (at times invoking a character similar to Victory's Storm King), which is surprising given it's about 20 months old. There are gentle hints of chocolate, espresso, and roasted malt. And the Belgian influence, can't forget the Belgian influence - dark fruit shows itself, alongside black pepper and bread. A bit strange with this aspect, but it reminds me a lot of a well-aged Storm King, which is a very good thing.

It opens up with a nice hoppiness, and a firm bitterness as well. The middle is loaded with dark chocolate and espresso, before finishing with some Belgian yeast, licorice, and dark fruits. I'm not sure if it's the age (bottled 9/1/2014), but it also features an unfortunately metallic back end. The more I sip it, the more this aspect goes away thankfully. Still, I can't help but feel this bottle isn't what it should be at all.

The mouthfeel is wrong for a "standard" imperial stout - it's airy, light, and very well carbonated. I can't be too hard on the texture, as it does showcase a little creaminess. And it goes down quite easily for 9.5%, without a single hint of the alcohol appearing anywhere.

This deserves a second chance. It has aspects of a bad bottle, tasting like it didn't age properly. Both the licorice and the metallic aspects are utterly overbearing and ruinous. There are good elements that display themselves, but it isn't enough to salvage it. Despite my low score, I'll look for this on tap in the future - I can really taste a good stout underneath.

2.9/5: The tsar was once great, now he's a drunken mess
Jun 11, 2016
Photo of AlarmClock314
Reviewed by AlarmClock314 from Wisconsin

3.96/5  rDev +1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
11.2oz bottle, dated 9/1/14. Pours with a gigantic, overflowing khaki head which lasts a bit before forming into black liquid. Smells of Belgian yeast, roasted malt, bright hops, cocoa, and some dark fruit. The taste follows exactly with roasted malt, bright hops, cocoa, and dark fruit. Moderately bitter and pleasant sweetness. Thinner body and high, prickly carbonation. Overall, its has a pretty desirable smell/taste and has more hops than a typical RIS, but the carbonation and body is way off. Pour this in a glass very gently and near a sink.
Apr 01, 2016
 
Rated: 3.68 by agreenman19 from Connecticut

Mar 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.52 by Fabianno from Brazil

Feb 27, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by steverx8 from England

Feb 05, 2016
 
Rated: 3.58 by orangesol from Pennsylvania

Jan 25, 2016
 
Rated: 4.1 by BrazilianAussie from Brazil

Jan 16, 2016
 
Rated: 4.13 by jkhara12 from England

Dec 23, 2015
Photo of drpimento
Reviewed by drpimento from Wisconsin

4.33/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
I think I drank this bottle at too cold a temperature. There was a huge foamy frothy tan head. Aroma is nice, complex with black malt, pumpernickel bread, blood, anise, leather, lumber. Flavor's like nose plus fairly dry, mint, some carbonic tang. strong bitter. Body is decent. Good beer. Be interested in trying it again at proper temp, but that's all --- so far.
Dec 08, 2015
 
Rated: 3.32 by T-34-85 from New York

Oct 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.99 by thatsmyspot from Italy

Oct 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4.16 by hdtrice from England

Oct 12, 2015
Tsar from Buxton Brewery
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 75 ratings