Russian Imperial Stout
Abbey Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

A - Pours pretty much black with one finger of brown head. Head fades quickly and leaves no lacing.

S - Decent amount of dark fruits in the aroma on top of bitter chocolate, coffee and a bit of black licorice.

T - Quite roasty, with bitter chocolate, some coffee, faint licorice, some dark fruits and a mild sour cherry taste. Pretty tasty.

M - Medium mouthfeel. On the lighter side for the style, but it works pretty well.

O - Very enjoyable RIS, even if it is a bit on the light side for the style, which is probably not a bad thing in the heat of south Florida. Quite a bit of fruit presence here to compliment the roast and chocolate flavors.

As an aside, this is a great place to visit while in Miami Beach.

A: Half finger head nice lacing on a deep black body.

S: roasted malt, sweet milk chocolate and light coffee.

T: very milky and creamy with roasted malts, a nice subtle lingering coffee bitterness with milk chocolate and cocoa in the middle.

M: oily thick body and moderate carbonation. Creamy.

Overall: very flavorful and complex Russian imperial stout. Incredibly smooth and drinkability.

 

Pours to a rocky tan head and very dark ruby black color. Aroma presents with roasted barley, mixed fruity esters, sweet ethanol. Flavor is a pleasant blend of fruity yeast esters, mocha, a subdued roasted barley note, and some warming alcohol. Mouthfeel is medium-full, with appropriate CO2. I really enjoyed this beer and it was a generous pour that I could feel right away. It reminds me of some of the better homebrewed stouts I've had over the years.

Offered on tap at the Abbey as Father Theodore's Imperial Stout, a rose by any other name continues to be...

a: pours a coffee-like off-black deeeep mahogany brown with nice tan head...

s: rich espresso and chocolate notes come through on the nose, smelling like a perfected roasted blend...

t: exremely tasty chocolate espresso sweetness, i'll have to go back to drink some more in order to find proper words to describe it beyond just being extraordinary...

m: very smooth and light while being a nice chunky bite at the same time....very fresh and very refreshing...

d: I don't shower undue praise, so really I mean this in all honesty: this is a great brew and I would drink it faithfully if it were more widely available. The Abbey folks need to start bottling this stuff up!

salud!

I had this on tap at The Abbey in Miami Beach.

Serving type: on-tap

On-tap at the brewpub. $6.50 for a pint of RIS, not a bad deal. this beer reminds me of the Lost Abbey's Serpent's Stout - that's a good thing. This is a fruity, Belgian-influenced stout, giving the usually thick roasted body (norm for the style) a nice infusiion of berry fruit punch. That gives way to subtle milk chocolate and espresso flavor within the medium-thick body. It might be a little better in a smaller glass, but this is a fine drink.

Draft at brewpub on 04/11/2008.

Poured a black color with an average creamy light brown head that mostly lasted and produced fair lacing. Medium roasted sweet coffee aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture. Good complex roasted flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration.

Another good brew.

I had this as "Father Theodore's Imperial Stout." This is a solid but not over the top Imperial Stout. This stuff hides its alcohol so well I could drink this stuff like Kool-Aid.

Appearance was an inky black with a panty-hose colored head. Aroma was a pleasant roastiness, but nothing like those imperial stouts aged in bourbon barrels. Flavor was very mild but pleasant; chocolatey, roasty, and nice. Mouthfeel was smooth and pleasant.

This was a very nice beer that was easy to drink, particularly for the style.

I had this on tap at The Abbey in Miami Beach.

I believe this is actually called "Father Theodore's Imperial Stout". Dark as hell, with thick ran foam on top. The smells were very complex, including roasted malts, a bit of black licorice, some chocolate and maybe a thin aroma of coffee. The flavors were massively packed into each sip, so many tastes competing to lead the pack. Probably roasted malt and coffee lead the pack, but the anise seed was stronger in flavor than smell. Really really nice.

Lately I'm coming across a lot of great imperial stouts, and this is up there with the best of them. Pours inky black with a minimal head, common (but not necessarily typical) for the style. Aroma of coffee and vanilla. To me, there are two types of imperial stouts, those that evoke a port wine, and those that have that great roasty flavor. This one seemingly bridges that -- all roasty up front, with a long port middle, and more roast on the back end. Chewy and delicious, with a mildly boozy undercurrent throughout. Just the right alcohol-ish finish. Highly recommended.

Draft at The Florida Brewer’s Guild 06 Fest and the following day The Florida Brewer’s Ball

Aroma was chocolate and roasted malts, but it was very low intensity. Deep black with a firm thumb thick mocha head. Fore is roasty chocolate malts and a touch of coffee, but scant else. Everyone raved about this beer at the fests and I thought it was pretty dang flavorless and watery tasting. Lacked any real flavor intensity.

The highlight of a very good quality lineup. Very possibly the best Russian imperial I have had yet. Full mouthfeel, creamy thickness but not over-the-top. Well ablanced with a variety of malts including of course chocolate malt. Roast but not overally. Raymond has promised me a bottled version, with the warranty that this can age some, and I am going to hold him to it.

Appearance: If you want stout, this is about as stout as it's going to get. Inky jet black; backlight offers only the slightest hints of mahogany. Very little head, but what's there is nearly chocolate brown and has very good retention.

Smell: It's poured a bit too cold, but once it warms, it's all black fruit, malt and burnt sugars. Sweet and thick, thick, thick.

Taste/Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is super smooth and syrupy, with low carbonation and a chewy, coating feel overall--good stuff. The taste is what you might expect; deep, dark and sweet. It has a strong raisin/date flavor, but with almost no hop bitterness to balance it, it's a bit overpowering and has that slightly sulphur flavor you usually find in molasses. Even for this over-the-top style, it's a bit much.

Drinkability: One's enough for me.

I absolutely praise The Abbey for having the courage to open in the sweltering disco hellhole that is Miami a wonderful oasis of good folks and great beer. This is a strong effort, but isn't quite up to the level of a Rogue or Rasputin. Still, it's a worthy stout and one of a very strong roster of brews. Rock on, Abbey!

Super thick black pour, yeilds a pillow soft tan head. Ruby tints near the rim. Soft thick hop bubbles slowly break the surface...oh my this is going to be good ! Smells of roasted candied fruits, plums, pears, berries all hit your nose. Deep roasted malt taste, balanced with serious noticable hop kick. Sweetly subtle roasted smooth chocolate finish. Finishes smooth and long, lets you savor the flavors. Not as bitter as other Imperial stouts, but every bit as good. A very pleasant surprise for a beer made in South Florida of all places !