-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Belgo Anise
Stone Brewing
- From:
- Stone Brewing
- California, United States
- Style:
- Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 10.5%
- Score:
- 80
- Avg:
- 3.5 | pDev: 21.71%
- Reviews:
- 451
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jan 10, 2023
- Added:
- May 23, 2011
- Wants:
- 18
- Gots:
- 157
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by HopHead84:
Reviewed by HopHead84 from California
2.14/5 rDev -38.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
2.14/5 rDev -38.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
12/11/2011
On tap at URGE.
A: Black, very black, with a thick frothy light brown head.
S: Dark chocolate meets black licorice and anise. It isn't terrible but they have taken the base beer and made it much worse.
T: Ash and wretched black licorice with even more wretched and powerful anise presence. A little chocolate, but it can't possibly redeem this flavor. Harsh alcoholic anise finish.
M: Full body with upper medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is astringent and dry.
Overall: A bastardization of a good beer. Avoid.
Dec 12, 2011On tap at URGE.
A: Black, very black, with a thick frothy light brown head.
S: Dark chocolate meets black licorice and anise. It isn't terrible but they have taken the base beer and made it much worse.
T: Ash and wretched black licorice with even more wretched and powerful anise presence. A little chocolate, but it can't possibly redeem this flavor. Harsh alcoholic anise finish.
M: Full body with upper medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is astringent and dry.
Overall: A bastardization of a good beer. Avoid.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada
3.09/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.09/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
I don't even remember how I came to acquire this bottle, damn sure I didn't buy it, but drank it June 11, 2016. Judging from my tasting photo, there is a 12 pack of Leinie's Shandy and pizza. Looks like we were partying with others, which explains how this shit showed up.
Anyways, still looks like the awesome banger the base version is. Pitch black, thick, and a brown head near a full inch. The aroma, still had the roasted malt, but instead of the usual mild dark fruit yeast, this one pushes somehow worse black licorice in addition to the dark fruit part that was largely covered up in base versions. But you know, its just the smell, so its not like its revolting or anything.
Taste ah its here more than the smell. Licorice, gtfo. But hey, they executed a beer commensurate with its name, so you can't blame 'em too much for hitting the mark, even if they put the mark in a bad spot for playing darts. Thankfully you can kind of adjust to the licorice as it isn't as strong as you push forward. Still though, a massive downward departure from their OGRIS.
Jun 08, 2020Anyways, still looks like the awesome banger the base version is. Pitch black, thick, and a brown head near a full inch. The aroma, still had the roasted malt, but instead of the usual mild dark fruit yeast, this one pushes somehow worse black licorice in addition to the dark fruit part that was largely covered up in base versions. But you know, its just the smell, so its not like its revolting or anything.
Taste ah its here more than the smell. Licorice, gtfo. But hey, they executed a beer commensurate with its name, so you can't blame 'em too much for hitting the mark, even if they put the mark in a bad spot for playing darts. Thankfully you can kind of adjust to the licorice as it isn't as strong as you push forward. Still though, a massive downward departure from their OGRIS.
Reviewed by iguanodon from Utah
3.51/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.51/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
[Original rating 2011-06-11] Pours opaque black with a thick tan head, good lacing. Aroma is coffee, chocolate, maybe some licorice. Taste is licorice, coffee, chocolate, in that order. Nice full body. Another interesting beer from Stone, but a bit too sweet for my taste.
Oct 03, 2018Reviewed by Davepoolesque from Massachusetts
3.84/5 rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.84/5 rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottles in 2011. This was one of the first bottles to start my "cellar" back in the day. I was always leery to drink it because of the anise. Lucky for me, basically all of that particular flavor has vanished. Getting mostly tart fruit, think cherry with skins and dark chocolate. In all honesty, I thought this 7 year old banger would be absolutely awful, but it's surprisingly drinkable. Dare I say, enjoyable?
Mar 23, 2018Reviewed by cbenson from California
4.11/5 rDev +17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
4.11/5 rDev +17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Look: Pepper black with a thinner body than some stouts. Noticeable carbonation. No head whatsoever with just a dark beige rim.
Smell: Definitely malt forward with an intense odor. Sour raisin hop character with a nutty pecan aroma overall. Also a hint of lactose, like Greek yogurt.
Taste: Full, bitter, nutty, and lactose. Mirrors the smell with notes brown sugar, yogurt, pecans, oak, plums, and raisins.
Mouthfeel: Covers its relative thinness with carbonation which makes it closer to a porter than a stout. The aftertaste is sweet.
Overall: Strong aroma and complex taste with a lackluster mouthfeel.
Jan 27, 2018Smell: Definitely malt forward with an intense odor. Sour raisin hop character with a nutty pecan aroma overall. Also a hint of lactose, like Greek yogurt.
Taste: Full, bitter, nutty, and lactose. Mirrors the smell with notes brown sugar, yogurt, pecans, oak, plums, and raisins.
Mouthfeel: Covers its relative thinness with carbonation which makes it closer to a porter than a stout. The aftertaste is sweet.
Overall: Strong aroma and complex taste with a lackluster mouthfeel.
Reviewed by Phil-Fresh from California
4.25/5 rDev +21.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +21.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2011 Bottle.
A: Upfront anise, light fruity esters, coupled with coffee-like deep grain roast and light oak.
A: Deep black color, opaque with a frothy head that still has solid retention.
T: Flavor is complex blend of coffee-like deep grain roast, anise, dark fruit, light bitterness, and oak.
M: Medium-full bodied with moderately light carbonation with a light gentle smooth alcoholic warmth.
O: Excellent; the beer has aged very well and the anise aroma and flavor that was overpowering when fresh is now super well balanced and provide a nice contrast to the beer’s deep roasted grains and oak character.
Aug 23, 2016A: Upfront anise, light fruity esters, coupled with coffee-like deep grain roast and light oak.
A: Deep black color, opaque with a frothy head that still has solid retention.
T: Flavor is complex blend of coffee-like deep grain roast, anise, dark fruit, light bitterness, and oak.
M: Medium-full bodied with moderately light carbonation with a light gentle smooth alcoholic warmth.
O: Excellent; the beer has aged very well and the anise aroma and flavor that was overpowering when fresh is now super well balanced and provide a nice contrast to the beer’s deep roasted grains and oak character.
Reviewed by ONovoMexicano from New Mexico
1.24/5 rDev -64.6%
look: 5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
1.24/5 rDev -64.6%
look: 5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Bomber poured into an oversized tulip.
Looks beautiful. Such a frothy, rich and creamy cocoa-colored head. This is as good as this beer gets unfortunately.
Right from the aroma I detect a sharp tartness and acidity. It combines with a citrusy aroma to develop a funky fruitcake aroma. It's weird.
Flavors just as tart, just as weird and just as messy. It reminds me of an orange creme cordial gone bad.
I can't even finish an 8 ounce pour. Bummer.
I have had really poor results trying to age Stone's beers.
Apr 27, 2016Looks beautiful. Such a frothy, rich and creamy cocoa-colored head. This is as good as this beer gets unfortunately.
Right from the aroma I detect a sharp tartness and acidity. It combines with a citrusy aroma to develop a funky fruitcake aroma. It's weird.
Flavors just as tart, just as weird and just as messy. It reminds me of an orange creme cordial gone bad.
I can't even finish an 8 ounce pour. Bummer.
I have had really poor results trying to age Stone's beers.
Reviewed by Pierre_Pressure from Pennsylvania
2.51/5 rDev -28.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
2.51/5 rDev -28.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
A: Pitch black color with a small head. Some lacing. All in all this is what I expect to see out of my stouts.
S: This is...different. As expected, anise is the most readily discernable scent. There is a definite sweetness here as well. I wish the anise was a bit stronger here; I love stouts and I love black licorice and this doesn't quite smell like either.
T: Licorice is at the forefront of the flavor to start off with hints of typical stout notes. Fresh from the fridge there is a good bit of sweetness, which combined with the odd flavor combination makes this a slow sipper. The problem is, the warmer this gets more the other flavors fade and you're left with what amounts to a glass of liquid licorice.
F: Some thickness, but not quite on par with other RIS I've had.
O: It pains me to say this as I am a huge fan of licorice and I love my absinthe served strong, but, well, lets just say this beer misses the mark. It's very difficult to get through an entire bottle alone.
Apr 24, 2016S: This is...different. As expected, anise is the most readily discernable scent. There is a definite sweetness here as well. I wish the anise was a bit stronger here; I love stouts and I love black licorice and this doesn't quite smell like either.
T: Licorice is at the forefront of the flavor to start off with hints of typical stout notes. Fresh from the fridge there is a good bit of sweetness, which combined with the odd flavor combination makes this a slow sipper. The problem is, the warmer this gets more the other flavors fade and you're left with what amounts to a glass of liquid licorice.
F: Some thickness, but not quite on par with other RIS I've had.
O: It pains me to say this as I am a huge fan of licorice and I love my absinthe served strong, but, well, lets just say this beer misses the mark. It's very difficult to get through an entire bottle alone.
Reviewed by mig100 from Texas
4.05/5 rDev +15.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.05/5 rDev +15.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2011 vintage cellared by Whip-In in Austin, TX and served on draft. The anise has pretty much fully integrated itself into the beer at this point and although it's a bit flat, the standard IRS flavors, oak and belgian yeast character have melded seamlessly. Very surprised by how good this is.
Jan 04, 2016
Belgo Anise from Stone Brewing
Beer rating:
80 out of
100 with
948 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!