Pozharnik Espresso Russian Imperial Stout
Pennichuck Brewing Company, Inc.

Bottle from Toby. Dark black inky pour,small bubbly ring of head. Sweet, smoky aroma. Taste dries out a bit, more dirty, ashy notes. Mild bitterness, chocolate.

Found in cellar. No date on bottle but I'm assuming it's circa 2000-2005. Poured a dark chocolate brown with a little head and some carbonation. Got some notes of vanilla and whiskey but little to no coffee. Little notes of dark fruits. Age has definitely mellowed it out. Felt somewhat flat on the tongue. I'm betting I would have rated this higher if it wasn't so old.

This beer was locked when I reviewed it 26.Nov.2009. Glad to see it is open again. Below is my review from 2009.

Pozharnik pours a rich dark brown and is almost black. The head is beige and a minimal rocky aberration that returns to a fleeting life with each swirl.

This St Feuillien snifter glass nicely accentuates the strong aromas of rich coffee ice cream, dark coca beans and light whisky. With warmth comes some oak, tar and alcohol fumes, while the coffee aromas diminish almost completely.

Like the mysterious dark pumpernickel, the roasted malts pummel the tongue as milk sooths it. It is no surprise to find coffee, but raisins enter just before a long lightly bitter finish that culminates with a distinct nutty flavor.

Like many of this style, Pennichuck has provided a full bodied smooth stout with light carbonation. The dry tongue coating is welcome, and possibly contributes to the lower than anticipated presence of alcohol.

This one is embarrassingly easy to consume, and unless one is careful, it will consume you. An obvious partner for ice cream or chocolate cake, it is also perfect as a sipper while enjoying a lazy afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1L swingtop (2008) into a Duvel tulip.

A: Deep brown out of the bottle, black in the glass; huge light-brown head fills half the tulip - just perfect - then recedes rockily and leaves chunks of lace. Gorgeous.

S: Starts smoothly with chocolate and vanilla, then transitions seamlessly to a huge, alluring wave of coffee. Nice.

T: Same blend of flavors as the nose, but nothing especially complex or memorable. Maybe I'm just being haunted by the drainpoured Pompier that immediately preceded this, but I'm getting a faint hint of lactic sourness - nothing bad, but it keeps me from really embracing this beer.

M: Fairly thick body with plenty of rich carbonation.

D: Pretty smooth for the style, but I'm just not quite feeling it.

Notes: Worthy stout, but the barrel aging mentioned on the bottle doesn't seem to add much. I won't miss it too much

Cheers!

2008 edition.

pours an oily black into the glass, not producing much more than a thin layer khaki head, which fades to a ring.
the aroma has some strong roasty espresso, it's worth noting that it's more roasty and burnt smelling than you might usually find in an espresso stout. less prevalent are caramel, vanilla, a sort of raw molasses and some very faint dark fruits.
the taste is a little sweeter than expected actually, with the same heavy roasted component though. the caramel and vanilla are in there just as in the smell, the caramel also has a soft creamy quality. some undefined dark fruitiness is pervasive and somewhat stronger than in the aroma. the bourbon barrel influence is apparent. the coffee component is there, but it's toned down from what the aroma let on, and is actually quite mellow.
the body is pretty full, and the carbonation is soft, just present enough to move things along.
the drinkability is pretty good, on the whole it's sweet, but it's balanced nicely. there also isn't much trace of the 10% abv. overall it's a pretty straight shotting espresso stout, it doesn't throw you any curves, but what it does it does well.