Imperial Russian Stout
Black Sheep Brewery PLC

 

L- Superficially black, in fact (held to a halogen bulb) ultra-deep ruby. Poured clear, sediment is left stuck-fast @ bottle. 2-3mm mid-tan head.
S- Quite pungent, seems to be mostly dark cocoa notes.
T- Oh wow! Well yes, it's cocoa-led, but now I see glints of coffee, and then... is this barrel-aged in... er, rum barrels perhaps? There is a serious liquor-like note here, way beyond what I'd expect regular beer-barrel aging might achieve.
F- It's big, deep, pungent, a real winter-time slow-sipping beer
O- Yep beast-alert required! It's 8.5% and man wow it seems to punch well above that. It's full-on, don't expect to rate any lighter beers after enjoying one of these.
I'm not going to 'cheat' and pre-check before posting this but my big question mark is if this is liquor-barrel aged, if so which liquor, and if not then... well, just wow!
Bought from TremblingMadness/York as part of a mixed box for delivery to London.
330ml bottle Bottled: 3/12/19 + lable suggests it keeps on improving for 'at least 4 years or more'.

Pours a deep, dark brown coloration with a medium, creamy head. Smells of caramel malt, dark bread, brown sugar and milk chocolate, with just a hint of licorice and fig. Taste actually has very little roastiness. More mellow, caramel, bready and slightly smoky malts coming through, with notes of milk chocolate, brown sugar, licorice and fig. Very little bitterness in the aftertaste, more brown sugar and licorice coming through. Moderate body, with slightly too much carbonisation, but ok mouthfeel. This seems very poorly balanced, with not enough roastiness and too much sweetness. Still drinkable enough though.

 

 

 

Poured into pint.
Deep dark brown with bubbly tan head, mediocre retention.
Smell - roasted
Taste - roasted, dark chocolate, smooth, rather boozy and full-bodied.

 

 

Near perfection on the tongue, with a nice bitter/sweet finish.

 

330ml bottle served into a tulip glass

Look: Dark brown, almost black with a big, diffuse tan/khaki head. Big head retention and a decent amount of lacing. Ruby-red highlights if you hold it to the light.

Smell: Roasted malts, coffee and chocolate predominate with a slight tang of alcohol.

Taste: Chocolate and coffee predominate - coffee to begin with, before the roasted malts kick in and you're left with a long, dark chocolate finish. Not a massively complex flavour profile, but not bad nonetheless. Slight alcohol heat in the finish.

Feel: There's a decent enough body and it's fairly smooth but compared to something like Sam Smith's Imperial Stout or Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout this feels a bit on the light side.

Overall: I thought I was familiar with most of Black Sheep's output so this one was a new one on me, which given that it was apparently a limited run isn't that surprising. I'd hesistate to call this a 'proper' Imperial stout as it lacks complexity and body - it's more like an over-clocked milk or oatmeal stout. Even so, it's not at all bad - if you like stouts and see this it's worth a shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: dark, dark brown with deep garnet hues when held to light, big tan head, too opaque to judge clarity

Aroma: milk chocolate, roasted coffee, dark chocolate,

Taste: Very chocolatey. Dark chocolate on the uptake, a little roastiness in the middle, and lingering milk chocolate flavor on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, smooth. Too light bodied to be a real Russian imperial.

Overall Impression: More like a milk stout than a Russian Imperial. The dominant flavors were all roasty and chocolatey, with a milk stout mouthfeel. There just simply isnt enough complexity to call this a Russian imperial in all fairness to the style. That said, this is a very drinkable and tasty beer that would go well with any chocolate cake and ice cream.