Raspberry Russian Imperial Stout - Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

tdm168

North Carolina

4.35/5  rDev +22.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - black with a thin white head that has little retention

S - coffee, faint roasted malts, faint raspberries

T - big raspberry flavor up front, tart, sweet, chocolate, roasted malts, some alcohol in the finish

M - full bodied, smooth, warm, well carbonated

This is a nice twist to a big stout. The base stout would have been delicious if it had stood alone, but the raspberries came through added a great unique flavor. They were forward, tart, and the fruit blended greatly with the dark malts of the stout. This beer was complex and very flavorful. It is definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 23:54:18 | More by tdm168

levylaw

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -1.4%

05-22-2013 13:16:58 | More by levylaw

Whiskeydeez

Kansas

3/5  rDev -15.5%

05-19-2013 17:19:16 | More by Whiskeydeez

beernads

Florida

3/5  rDev -15.5%

05-18-2013 08:01:25 | More by beernads

ajtorres311

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -8.5%

05-15-2013 16:37:33 | More by ajtorres311

jklecko2

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev -1.4%

05-13-2013 22:00:03 | More by jklecko2

UCLABrewN84

California

3.36/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

On tap at Congregation Ale House in Azusa, CA.

Pours an almost opaque super dark brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a thick cap on top of the beer. A foamy curtain of lace coats the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and slight berry aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa and berry flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a low level of carbonation with an almost flat and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is an above average beer that is drinkable but the raspberry aspect is pretty subdued.

Serving type: on-tap

05-13-2013 04:59:06 | More by UCLABrewN84

Lanstrum

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -8.5%

05-11-2013 21:50:43 | More by Lanstrum

sharpski

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev +5.6%

05-11-2013 20:14:51 | More by sharpski

ystazi

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +5.6%

05-11-2013 19:29:59 | More by ystazi

DruRho

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -1.4%

05-09-2013 01:12:28 | More by DruRho

MightiestBeard

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +19.7%

05-08-2013 12:31:14 | More by MightiestBeard

TBoneJones

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours nearly black into my chalice, with a cola-tinged opacity near the rim when held to light. Head is very short-lived, trickles to nearly no foam.
I smell the raspberries, along with bitter cocoa/ roasted coffee, booze.
Starts off with coffee grinds, then comes the creamy raspberries, and with a strong bitter, boozy finish. Not complex and could use more balance.
Feels slick and creamy. Sticky, smooth but with a strong medicinal feel to the aftertaste. .
Worth a shot if you like trying different imperial stout flavor experiments. Otherwise for me, I wont be revisiting this one shortly, especially at around $12.00 a bottle.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 00:25:25 | More by TBoneJones

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.11/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for fruit-infused stouts, so this tickled me anyway. 650ml bomber purchased from Ledger's Liquors in Berkeley, CA.

Pours a deep black-brown, with good clarity at the edges, and with a certain sheen of red-pink in the hue. Head forms with frothy ebullience and settles down to a fine ring. Lacing is minor and patchy, but present, at least. Body is surprisingly light, but the carbonation is fine. Overall, it looks pretty good: at least as good as it should look.

Nose is musty and dark, with a mild roasted character than nonetheless remains rather smooth and clean. Some leafy freshness comes through as well: perhaps a slight lift from being truly a straight, dark RIS, but no real raspberry character on the nose at least.

The flavour is where this beer starts to shine: here the raspberry is pronounced, providing a bright, fruity counterpoint to the roast and dry darkness. This is certainly based on a Russian Imperial Stout, which is often darker, roastier and drier than the American style. But the raspberry provides that lightness, the sweetness and the character that stops it from being too intense. On the back, there's a lovely mingling of the charred roastiness and the fragrant berry.

Feel is quite light: the dryness on the palate translates into quite a light, dry feel as well. However, given this is 9.3%, it's quite impressive how clean and light this feels. The booze is extremely well hidden.

Overall, yeah, I'm a sucker. This is a decent (if dry) RIS, made interesting with raspberries and gaining balance and structure in the process. I think that the fruit addition to big stouts is always interesting, and in this case I think it helps a lot. I'm a fan.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 04:13:16 | More by lacqueredmouse

LittleDon

Texas

3.49/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

From a bottle aged approximately 6 months.

Visually appealing with a good amount of lacing a jet black appearance. Faint amount of raspberry and roasted malt aroma, albeit a bit light for the style. Same goes for the flavor. Hints of raspberry and a mild burnt sugar finish. A bit on the dry side. Solid but not great. Medium heavy body and average carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2013 22:16:57 | More by LittleDon

fredmugs

Indiana

4/5  rDev +12.7%

05-05-2013 12:56:22 | More by fredmugs

Obsidian

California

3/5  rDev -15.5%

04-30-2013 01:21:02 | More by Obsidian

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.25/5  rDev -8.5%

04-29-2013 07:47:35 | More by Kelp

weonfire

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -1.4%

04-29-2013 01:45:53 | More by weonfire

LuceScrew

Idaho

4.5/5  rDev +26.8%

04-27-2013 22:30:12 | More by LuceScrew

tmaestro

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +26.8%

04-23-2013 00:51:54 | More by tmaestro

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.85/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

Served on tap in a snifter

Appearance- Pours a nearly pitch black color with a one finger tan colored head. The head fades over about a one minute time frame to leave a fantastic level of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell- The aroma is heavy of a roasted malt smell with some stronger smells of chocolate and coffee as well as a nice bit of a caramel sweetness. Mixed with these smells are some lighter aromas of raspberry as the name would suggest giving a sweeter chocolate and raspberry flavored coffee smell.

Taste – The taste begins with a big roasted malt flavor with a decent chocolate and coffee flavor up front. It begins slightly sweeter with some almost milky and caramel flavors. As the flavor advances the chocolate gets stronger while the coffee remains relatively constant. During this time a vanilla and raspberry flavor come to the tongue. The raspberry gets stronger to the end of the taste, but never makes the brew too sweet as toward the end the milky, chocolate and caramel flavors dwindle a bit and the coffee flavors get even stronger. These drier and roastier coffee and raspberry flavors mix with a little bit of a boozy flavor to leave a warming dark flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel- The mouthfeel is on the average to slightly lower side for a stout of nearly 10% abv with a carbonation level that is a bit on the higher side. More creaminess and less carbonation would likely have suited the drier fruit and roasted cocoa and coffee flavors a bit better, but overall not bad.

Overall – A pretty nice imperial with a moderate and not to overpowering raspberry flavor. A nice one to give a try if you are looking for a brew to just sit back and sip slowly.

Serving type: on-tap

04-22-2013 22:33:44 | More by Darkmagus82

Thedrizzle

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -8.5%

04-17-2013 23:37:41 | More by Thedrizzle

Skunkdrool

California

3.5/5  rDev -1.4%

04-16-2013 23:17:02 | More by Skunkdrool

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.99/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22 ounce bottle - $11.98 at Sherlock's in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours out a black body topped off with a sizable (though, it settles fast), foamy, beige head.

Smell: Heavily roasted malts, giving a noticeable creosote aroma, along with acrid coffee, bitter chocolate, boozy wafts, and raspberries, natch.

Taste: Again, there's the astringent, blackened maltiness. A lightly sweet touch of dark chocolate helps, but it's in far too short of supply. Then, there's the raspberries. Sometimes, you're treating to a really great raspberry taste. Other times, it's a slightly medicinal, off-putting Smarties flavor. It certainly leans towards the latter here. Burnt, berryesque, warm finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation.

Overall: It's definitely not Olde Hickory Lindley Park, that's for damn sure.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 05:07:23 | More by ChainGangGuy