Review 161
5/20/13
Stone
Imperial Russian Stout: 10.6% abv
Background: We have
done a number of Stone beers in our time. Stone is a big California brewery
which produces hugely bitter and dry beers. It is an embodiment of the West
Coast style of brewing. Stone is pretty highly revered, but it doesn’t mean all
of their beers are good. This is a Russian Imperial Stout that is not a
mainstay in their lineup, and we were quite interested by this offering. Russian stouts, initially designed to impress
the Czar, were high in alcohol and had very malty character to them. They can
tend to be dry and low to moderate in carbonation. What we are more interested
in is this particular Russian. With the bitter nature of Stone beers, we’re
wondering how much like a stout is
Nose: Well
you might expect to smell some chocolate, coffee, and vanilla in the beer. And
you won’t be surprised to find you smell that. There is a crisp apple-like
smell coming through, making the aroma pleasant and not overly rich. You can
sense a sort of molasses and raison-esque sweetness coming to the forefront as
the beer opens up as well. You will eventually settle upon some dry maltiness,
coupled with the fruitiness. Besides apples and raisons, one can start to get a
slightly tart smell coming through, which is slightly reminiscent to a
tangerine. There is a strong note of black licorice that comes through, and
starts to over-dominate the smell. At the end of the nose, you will get a
short, acidic tartness which we felt was close to dark cherries. Overall, this
is a light, but surprisingly interesting nose.
Arrival: The
arrival, if you know Stone beers, might be deceiving. This ends up being a
fairly sweet and modestly tart arrival. The beginning is sharp and sour. The
sour note is interesting and very much not what we expected. This sourness
actually lasts through the arrival and into the body. This can be related to
apples and lime citrus, followed by some dry fruits like cherry and raisons. You
will find in the spiciness some black pepper and just a ting of rye grain as
well.
Body: The
body brings out a huge amount of maltiness, with coupled notes of molasses and
raisons, crisp fruits, and the residual tartness lingering from the arrival. As
it gets to the end of the body, there is some slight spiciness. Here, you start
to get some creaminess and milk chocolate flavors cropping up.
Finish: The
finish, holding some espresso and grapefruit bitterness in the flavor, ends in
complete contrast to the rest of the beer. There is some crisp apple tartness,
coupled with some moderate spice and followed by gingerbread and creaminess.
This beer has a medium long finish with a prominent coffee aftertaste. It still
contains the tartness from before, only it takes on a different light now. There
is also a subtle taste of anise in the finish to go along with what we smelled
in the beginning.
Final Comments: This is an interesting beer. This lacks the
power of a traditional imperial stout, as well as the richness. It seems like
there should have been a little more backbone to this beer. This is a very
crisp, refreshing stout. There was a defined transition between the arrival,
body and finish which makes for an interesting and engaging experience. At KCM,
we seem savor the moments where we find a beer that changes in flavor over
time. This is a lot different than what we expected from a Stone beer. It is
not nearly as overbearing as we thought it would be in the bitter character,
which is a welcoming contrast to the full range of beers they offer.
Why you’d buy it: You
want to try a less fruity, rich stout with plenty of flavor.
Why you wouldn’t: You are
afraid of a little bitterness, or you like the bourbon-seasoned richness of a
bourbon barrel aged stout.
Score: 8.75/10
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