White Label Imperial Russian Stout - Laphroaig Barrel Aged
Brouwerij Emelisse

 

 

12oz bottle into a cervoise. The brew pours black in color and if it wasn't for an aggressive pour down the middle of the glass, I think a head would not have formed at all. However, the rough pour yielded a rich finger of khaki head that slowly crept out of solution and formed atop similar to the other Ba treatments of the white label. Some patchy lace sticks to the glass.

The aroma of this brew is an interesting mix of tangy alcohol notes, roasty grain that is a bit smokey and some earthen char. The fruity tang aspect brings out almost some citrus and fruity aspects that would have otherwise been missed. The aroma is quite burnt and ashy with a hint of leather and tobacco but in a good way. Pleasantly complex.

The flavor of this brew is no surprised when compared to the aroma. Some tangy alcohol notes drive home flavors of dark fruits and a hint of solvent alcohol. The roast is deeply kilned, charred, ashy, earthen and tobacco-like with some leather and smoke thrown in for good measure. Quite a complex and perplexing brew to say the least. The aftertaste is mildly musty with a flavor of stale grain and coffee that is several days old.

This is a medium to fuller bodied brew with a moderate to low, yet ample amount of carbonation. I have to take a side bar moment here to proclaim how crazy the carbonation/feel of these white label brews are. The carbonation is low yet it feels at times like it is almost like nitrogen with a silky feel and bubbles that only come out of solution when forced. Anyway, of the 3 BA white label RIS offerings I got to have from this brewery, this was my favorite. I might add that it has a little room for improvement but overall was worth the effort.

 

 

A pitch black brew with a tan head leaving little lacing but big curtains,

Smoke, burnt bread, turpentine, sausages and soy sauce.

Smoke and peat, brown toast, brown sugar and dark dried fruits, vanilla and oak.

Little carbonation, soft, oily and a huge body.

A nice whisky infused beer - even better with a splash of Laphroaig in it.

A: Dark beer with only minimal foam.

S: Drop, fishermansfriend and browny. The whiskey is present in minimal quantity.

T: Bitter but a slightly sweet aftertaste.

M: Light tingling, delicious in the mouth and tongue.

D: Good beer, but a little too bitter.

Enjoyed at Rattle and Hum in NYC on 3/3/2012.

A: opaque black, 2mm head

S: Slightly smokey, traces of oak. The lack of a powerful aroma may be the only weakness of this beer.

T: Perfectly balanced. A little roastiness up front, but a blend of mild smoke, oak, and whiskey comes on quickly. You wouldn't beleive that this is 11%. Don't compare this to something more syrupy like a GI BCBS, it is much smoother and not sweet at all.

M: not as heavy as your typical RIS, but still thick. Not chewy.

O: not overdone like some other barrel aged stouts (even though I like those too). dangerously easy to drink. If you have the chance, dont pass this up.

Doopie pulled out three bottles from the White Label Series and this was the last one we drank. Thanks for the mini-tasting man!

From a bottle into a mini snifter
White Label Series
IBUs: 75

APPEARANCE: A black, transparent pour yields a small, medium looking, off-white head with decent retention. Head quickly fades to a light wisp and ring. Black body and zero carbonation evident. A ring and light wisp remain until the end and leave some nice dots of lacing on the glass. Nice looking, but the body’s a little thin and head a little light for the style.

SMELL: Roasted malts and some dark chocolate on the nose. Scotch, vanilla and some smoky peat from the barrels. Bold and interesting stuff.

TASTE: Roasted flavors up front, but a little empty initially really. More flavor comes out after the swallow with some scotch, smoke and some peat notes lingering on the palate. Some dark chocolate and light roasted notes blend well with the barrel. Bold and lingering aftertaste is a nice blend of the base beer and the scotch barrels. Great after the swallow, but I’d love to see a little more flavor initially.

PALATE: Medium-light body and medium levels of carbonation. Semi-creamy on the palate, goes down fine and finishes slightly mouth-coating. Fine, but simply too light for the style. Needs more body.

OVERALL: Despite the lighter body, this was definitely the best of the three bottle series we sampled. A nice nose with a very interesting, albeit delayed, flavor burst that was well worth contemplating. Bolder flavors up front would certainly help this one; nevertheless, I wouldn’t say no to sampling this brew again. Cheers for the brews Doopie!

Shared with Al and Kevin at Kahn's

Served in wine flutes.

This beer poured a lovely deep deep brown almost black, with some ruby highlights. No head presents itself even with a more agressive pour, carbonation is present when swishing in my mouth. The smell and taste on this is incredibly wonderful, peat, booze, smokey char, slight coffee, slight cacao. Al and Kevin poured a sample of Laphroaig to smell and taste side by side.

I'm glad I was able to try this thanks to Mark and his generosity!!! This is a really good solid brew.

This beer was graciously shared by sixthglass. Thanks Tim! He had just received it in a package from the Netherlands.

It pours a medium bodied dark chocolate brown in color with a beige lacing around the glass. It doesn't seem to have much carbonation. The aromas are smooth milky chocolate, coffee roast, peat, light whiskey, and earthiness. It has a very nice nose and is very well integrated. The flavors are dark and roasty with a moderate amount of peaty smoke. You can definitely tell it's Laphroaig because of all the peat. We actually brought out a bottle of the 10yr to do a side by side for aromas and flavor sake. You get authentic roast with slight bitterness. It does drink a little thin though, which only increases the drinkability. It could be thicker though but overall this is a very nice beer and I'm glad I could try it. This is the first Laphroaig barrel aged beer I've seen.

Tried at Borefts fest 2011.
This was one of the beers I knew before hand that I wanted to try. I am a fan of Scotch and Laphroaig is one of my absolute favorites, nice peaty mediciney taste, so i had big hopes for the stout.

A typical dark black for an IS with a very nice tan, cascading head that stays around for a bit and provides some lacing

S some coffee, very malty and of course some scotch with a hint of peat

T the scotch really comes through here, and this is why i love this stout. its as if someone poured a small shot of laphroaig into my is. chocolate, roasty stout with some great peaty scotch flavors.

after trying this I bought a few bottles at the shop, very happy with this IS

I have this beer in my garage for quite some time now but for some reason or another I would like to drink it on a special occasion. I attended at Borefst beer festival yesterday and I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to try it.

A - Pitch black beer with a light brown head, and there was some residue in my glass of which I am not really certain that it was yeast or not..

S - Good decent smell of wood and whisky

T - A very nice beer with a lot of drop and laurel flavor.

M - good, nice medium carbonation

O - Kees Blummermans knew what he was doing when he brewed this one. This beer is standout in the Dutch beer landscape thats for sure. Very good and solid beer.