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Imagine
Block 15 Restaurant & Brewery
- From:
- Block 15 Restaurant & Brewery
- Oregon, United States
- Style:
- Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #103 - ABV:
- 15%
- Score:
- 95
Ranked #1,785 - Avg:
- 4.29 | pDev: 8.86%
- Reviews:
- 37
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Mar 08, 2024
- Added:
- Nov 14, 2011
- Wants:
- 193
- Gots:
- 22
Matured 9 & 21 months in bourbon barrels.
40 cases produced, released at the pub every other year, most recently November 2011.
40 cases produced, released at the pub every other year, most recently November 2011.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by treznor:
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by stortore from Illinois
4.37/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.37/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
500 ml bottle into a snifter. The 2023 edition, had 2/2/24.
Pours near black and opaque, with a half inch foamy head and light, foamy lacing. Aromas of bourbon, malt, oak, vanilla, some chocolate and licorice, a little Belgian yeast. Flavors of bourbon, roasted malt, oak, vanilla, some chocolate, a little licorice. Tastes herbal. Smooth, a very good fuller body, well carbonated.
I didn’t find this to be very Belgian, seemed more like a foreign export stout or a Baltic porter. But why nitpick? There’s delicious and prominent barrels, and it’s flavorful and aromatic overall. This is well executed and very enjoyable. Best fully warmed.
Mar 08, 2024Pours near black and opaque, with a half inch foamy head and light, foamy lacing. Aromas of bourbon, malt, oak, vanilla, some chocolate and licorice, a little Belgian yeast. Flavors of bourbon, roasted malt, oak, vanilla, some chocolate, a little licorice. Tastes herbal. Smooth, a very good fuller body, well carbonated.
I didn’t find this to be very Belgian, seemed more like a foreign export stout or a Baltic porter. But why nitpick? There’s delicious and prominent barrels, and it’s flavorful and aromatic overall. This is well executed and very enjoyable. Best fully warmed.
Rated by janosbaci from California
4.87/5 rDev +13.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.87/5 rDev +13.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
beautiful finish, right out the get-go. No bitterness, slight bit of viscosity. A True Dessert beer to share with good friends.
Sep 23, 2023Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota
4.25/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
14.5% either 22 or 23
On tap. A lot of barrel and char here. Light roast. Nice bourbon and chocolate. I don’t think I’d have guessed this to be a Belgian imperial stout.
Jul 13, 2023On tap. A lot of barrel and char here. Light roast. Nice bourbon and chocolate. I don’t think I’d have guessed this to be a Belgian imperial stout.
Reviewed by bitterandstout from Oregon
4.46/5 rDev +4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.46/5 rDev +4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
L: diabolically black
S: oaky, cocoa, toasty malt, dark fruit, a wee bourbon smell.
T: toasted malt,dark chocolate,bourbon, dried plums, & cherries.
F: full bodied mouth feel, very warm
Only wish I'd got more than one bottle
Jan 12, 2022S: oaky, cocoa, toasty malt, dark fruit, a wee bourbon smell.
T: toasted malt,dark chocolate,bourbon, dried plums, & cherries.
F: full bodied mouth feel, very warm
Only wish I'd got more than one bottle
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington
4.49/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.49/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with a thin brown head that dissipates to a film with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, woody oak, light bourbon, cocoa and vague dark fruit. Flavor is dark toasted malt, licorice, dark chocolate, bourbon, dried plums. Finishes with woody oak, bourbon and a mild astringency. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess. A rich, bourbony, dark stout with distinct woody oak character. It has some mild dark fruitiness of Belgian stout yeast, but that profile is subsumed into the other, deeper flavors of chocolate and dark malt. The overall taste profile reminds me more of an American strong blended ale, with that style's melding of stout and barleywines (here represented by the Trappist yeast fruit notes). Fine balance, great depth and complexity. I'm not getting the cherry notes and mild tartness that other reviewers have noted, which is good because the latter is not something I like in stouts. Beautifully brewed, aged and blended, as expected from Block 15.
Jan 18, 2021Reviewed by Lingenbrau from Oregon
4.17/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.17/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2019 version from the bottle. 13.5%
Hard to knock much on the appearance here. It's diabolically black, mirror clean, and boasts a thin tan head which remains as just a ring around the glass.
The aroma is sweet and slightly tart. Heavily handed with milk chocolate, plum, and maraschino cherries, with a generous dose of damp oak staves. The booze is definitely present but is masked quite well.
The flavor is substantially unique. It says right there on the label "Belgian-Style Stout", but what the hell does that mean? Well, in this case it means exactly what the aroma indicates: a milk chocolate covered maraschino cherry, complete with a nutty almond caramel drizzle and a smooth woody finish.
Slick and rich textures are competing to the death against the mildy tart and wood derived drying finish. The elevated abv is barely noticeable if it weren't for the woods dead giveaway. It has a uniquely bubbly feel to it too. I'd say it fits somewhere right between a Flanders Red and a "stout".
Very impressive and curious brew we have here. Overall, despite what it dictates on the label, I'd call this a wonderful bridging of styles and think it just might benefit greatly with some time, forgotten under the staircase.
Dec 22, 2019Hard to knock much on the appearance here. It's diabolically black, mirror clean, and boasts a thin tan head which remains as just a ring around the glass.
The aroma is sweet and slightly tart. Heavily handed with milk chocolate, plum, and maraschino cherries, with a generous dose of damp oak staves. The booze is definitely present but is masked quite well.
The flavor is substantially unique. It says right there on the label "Belgian-Style Stout", but what the hell does that mean? Well, in this case it means exactly what the aroma indicates: a milk chocolate covered maraschino cherry, complete with a nutty almond caramel drizzle and a smooth woody finish.
Slick and rich textures are competing to the death against the mildy tart and wood derived drying finish. The elevated abv is barely noticeable if it weren't for the woods dead giveaway. It has a uniquely bubbly feel to it too. I'd say it fits somewhere right between a Flanders Red and a "stout".
Very impressive and curious brew we have here. Overall, despite what it dictates on the label, I'd call this a wonderful bridging of styles and think it just might benefit greatly with some time, forgotten under the staircase.
Reviewed by DefenCorps from Oregon
4.34/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.34/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On tap at ABV. 11.5%
Black with a dark brown head that falls off rapidly leaving little lacing this looks solid. The nose is a wonderfully complex with spicy Belgian stout and a strong bourbon note. Chocolate, bitter chocolate, chocolate ganache, buckwheat honey, dark caramel, toffee. A mild booze note is present as well. The palate opens bittersweet with dark chocolate, honey, butterscotch, honey, dark toffee , spice. Dark caramel. Licorice and a mild leather. Full in body and softly carbonated, mildly boozy on the finish. Excellent.
Dec 13, 2018Black with a dark brown head that falls off rapidly leaving little lacing this looks solid. The nose is a wonderfully complex with spicy Belgian stout and a strong bourbon note. Chocolate, bitter chocolate, chocolate ganache, buckwheat honey, dark caramel, toffee. A mild booze note is present as well. The palate opens bittersweet with dark chocolate, honey, butterscotch, honey, dark toffee , spice. Dark caramel. Licorice and a mild leather. Full in body and softly carbonated, mildly boozy on the finish. Excellent.
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina
3.8/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.8/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Appearance: Pours fudge brown and flat; bubbles form from the strength of the pour but fade away presently
Smell: Chocolate, dark fruit, smoke, Bourbon and oak
Taste: Bourbon forward, with chocolate, dark fruit and cherry tones prominent; hints of vanilla, smoke and oak, through the middle, with the Bourbon dominating the finish
Mouthfeel: Full bodied and flat; warmth in the gullet
Overall: Received from a forgotten BA in a trade some time ago and aged, due to the high ABV; likely 2013 (or earlier, but no way of knowing); the lack of carbonation is not all that surprising for a high ABV beer but, even if the carbonation were better, I am not sure that I would have warmed to this beer
Jun 04, 2017Smell: Chocolate, dark fruit, smoke, Bourbon and oak
Taste: Bourbon forward, with chocolate, dark fruit and cherry tones prominent; hints of vanilla, smoke and oak, through the middle, with the Bourbon dominating the finish
Mouthfeel: Full bodied and flat; warmth in the gullet
Overall: Received from a forgotten BA in a trade some time ago and aged, due to the high ABV; likely 2013 (or earlier, but no way of knowing); the lack of carbonation is not all that surprising for a high ABV beer but, even if the carbonation were better, I am not sure that I would have warmed to this beer
Imagine from Block 15 Restaurant & Brewery
Beer rating:
95 out of
100 with
113 ratings
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