Russian Imperial Stout
Dragonmead Microbrewery

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From:
Dragonmead Microbrewery
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.92 | pDev: 13.27%
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
46
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 19, 2016
Added:
Oct 18, 2002
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.69 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

May 19, 2016
 
Rated: 4.28 by MIBeerGeek from Michigan

Dec 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by cryptichead from Illinois

May 09, 2015
Photo of Tripel_Threat
Reviewed by Tripel_Threat from Michigan

3.59/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Poured from growler into tulip because the pint glass pissed me off. Two fingers dark brown, fizzy head that's gone, gone, gone with no lacing. Brew is a black hole: no light escapes. Except for the disappearing head, so far, so good. Smell is bitter cocoa, roast coffee and cream, sometimes a sharp tang of booze. Overall, okay, not really strong. The smell is more suggested than anything. Taste follows through. Not surprised to find this is kinda weak ABV for an Imperial, booze is well masked on tasting. Thin mouthfeel, surprisingly thin.
Mar 15, 2015
Photo of SerialTicker
Reviewed by SerialTicker from Michigan

3.53/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from growler into Sam Adams Perfect Pint

Appearance: Pour down the middle gave a creamy dark brown head two fingers in height that went to one. (4/5)

Smell: Decent. A lot of roast and some dark chocolate and coffee, but not super pungent. A bit of a char, too. Smells more bitter than sweet, and seems to be lacking any kind of dark fruits. (3.5/5)

Taste/feel: Even being from the tap, this is a pretty thin Imperial Stout. It has a bit of creaminess to it, but it's still thin -- like skim milk or something. The taste is kind of ordinary. It doesn't have "oomph." There's a decent black coffee roast and a little dark chocolate with a trace of alcohol and maybe a tiny bit of warmth, but there's not really any depth here. (3.5/5, 3.5/5)

Pretty good beer, nothing special. The ABV is low-ish for the style, and so everything else seems low-ish: weak nose, one-note flavor, skim milk body. I'm not sure what this beer costs, but I wouldn't pay much for it. The BBA version of this beer when I had it (as far as I can remember) tasted completely different and seemed to have quite a bit more depth. Worth a try if you don't have to pay more than $7ish for a pint or $5ish for a tulip.

3.5/5
Dec 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by goast8127 from Michigan

Dec 10, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Dgiand from Michigan

Aug 22, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by BlueAndBrew from Michigan

Aug 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by strohme2 from Michigan

Jul 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by jlmathis from Michigan

Apr 04, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Kerrie from Michigan

Feb 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Morakaton from Michigan

Nov 16, 2013
 
Rated: 4.75 by Beerdanza from Michigan

Nov 13, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by detroitpat from Michigan

Aug 23, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by beergorrilla from Michigan

Jul 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by zonker17 from Texas

Feb 20, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by adamant1912 from Michigan

Feb 03, 2013
Photo of tectactoe
Reviewed by tectactoe from Michigan

3.84/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Enjoyed on tap at Dragonmead's brewery. Black-hole black with literally no head, most likely (or at least partially) due to the pour. Just a slightly tan-ish ring that outlines the circumference of the glass.

Aroma is pretty "safe" and generic for a Russian Imperial Stout, although even benchmark RIS's smell pretty darn good. Roasted malts, burnt coffee beans, some slightly residual sweetness, maybe mild licorice, some bittersweet chocolates. As I said, pretty "standard" but still pretty good. No detectable heat (yet), but at 7.5% ABV, it's at the low end of the spectrum for alcohol content given the style.

The taste matches the nose almost perfectly, which is always good to see. Malt bomb; roast, coffee grounds, light anise and black licorice, dense dark chocolate. Certainly a bit more roasty than sweet which is typically the style I enjoy. Hop character is surprisingly low, maybe a slight touch of ash and leaf on the very back end, giving a mild bitter feel, however I believe most of the bitterness in this brew comes from the heavy roast.

Body is fairly robust, medium-thick, but I typically like my RIS's a bit thicker than this. It's erring on the side of slick and oily rather than thick and chewy, but it doesn't distract too much from the beer itself. Mild carbonation. Overall, this one might be "just okay" compared to those big-boy RIS's out there, but it's still pretty damn enjoyable. Definitely one of the best Dragonmead brews I've enjoyed, though that's not saying much.
Sep 16, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by chrisbokmuller from Michigan

May 10, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Rostie from Michigan

Jan 19, 2012
Russian Imperial Stout from Dragonmead Microbrewery
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 46 ratings