Kremlin Crude
Beer Here

Don't let the smell run you off

Awesome, is this my favorite Russian Imperial Stout ?

 

 

L:
-pours the darkest of brown with no light coming through and a small,frothy,beige head
S:
-licorice,cinnamon,milky,faint smoke,cold brewed coffee
T:
-Espresso,plums,salted caramel,nougat,cherry liqueur,herbs
F:
-medium carbonation
-medium body
O:
The Nose is a bit shy, but the flavour is fantastic.
Great Imperial stout.

 

 

 

 

16.9 ounce bottle, no dating that I could find on the bottle or label. Served in a Great Lakes brewing snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with a couple inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both pretty good. I like the aroma, the brew smells like peaty smoke, burnt/charred malt, coffee and some bittersweet chocolate. The taste is mostly like the aroma, but there's also some molasses, licorice and dark fruitiness noticeable. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's creamy and coating with a good amount of carbonation. I liked this a lot, and I'd buy this again the next time I come across a bottle. It's full of smoky, peaty and burnt/charred flavors, and that's always a plus for me! $11.99 a bottle.

P: Opaque brown, two finger riot beer head. Wonderful lacing.
A: Roasted malts, burnt sugars, alcohol.
T: Roasted chocolate, roasted malts, burnt sugar, smoke,
M: Medium body, medium carbonation, alcohol, sweet, syrupy,
O: This is not a bad IRS, actually, very good. A bit much alcohol.

 

 

 

 

 

a great stout. Very enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

Strong, smoky aroma has notes of molasses, yeast, caramel, coffee and licorice. Pours a rich sable just a whisker above night black with a thick, very persistent tan head that "pillows" as time goes by. Flavor is - superb. Smoky, molasses, roast malt, quality coffee, nutty, woody and caramel flavors battle for the attention of your taste buds. It has a surprisingly strong component of hop bitterness, rather sharp and green-woody, the only weakness in the otherwise outstanding taste. Smooth, firm texture has good fizz and leaves an oily, smoky, lip-smacking finish. OK, how does one say "cheers" in Russian?

Reddish black pour into my SAPP with huge dark tan head. Cherry and prune aromas. Stone fruit, chocolate/caramel flavors and a little alcohol on the exhale. Medium plus mouthfeel with velvety tongue coating. Rich, complex fruit and chocolate malt flavors-very satisfying.

 

Poured from a bottle into a modified tulip glass.
A - Dark, chalkboard dark with a light dusting of red chalk. A quickly dissipating froth leaves an archipelago of mocha carbonation across the cap. Slight slickness coats the glass throughout,
S - Peaty smoked malts, coffee, cocoa, dark aged fruits kick things off. That lead to the warm rise of alcohol, sometimes masked in a rich bouquet of dark malts, sometimes
straight up. The slow smolder of dark wood, and cigar outer wrap tobacco smoke threads through all the experience.
T - Dark sugars and aged dark fruit, move into smoky, rich fig in 80% Madagascar cocoa.
Lush and complex, As the beer warms, that broad leaf tobacco, starts to be a bit much.
F - Starts slick, full palate coating to begin, then the rolling back of flavors and layers, leave a dry cocoa edge. The body is wonderful.
O - A fine take on a big stout, the smoked parts may be a challenge to some. The ABV is
pretty well blended. Brewed in Belgium, it does have that touch to it.
Quite enjoyable and worth the effort.
Cheers

Aroma of roasted malt, floral & herbal notes, faint ash & cocoa. Taste dark chocolate, charcoal/ash, tobacco, anise, malt, dark fruit.

 

 

 

Poured into a Reuben's Brew small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with a fine two finger light brown head with good retention and lots of lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, charred coffee, earthy peat, hints of chocolate. Flavor follows, with quite toasted malt, coffee and chocolate all with char and and light smokiness, finishes smoky and rich with lingering coffee apertif flavors; a bit of booziness. Excellent creamy body with great mouth feel. A really nicely made and full flavored stout with quite a bit of smoke and char, but with the body to support it. Very enjoyable. I've had a lot of great stouts this year and this one is one of them.

 

 

I've had this a few times now. This particular bottle has some age on it, probably somewhere between 1-2 years if I had to take an educated guess.

Appearance - Pour is black with a tall beige head. Retains nicely as a full cap leaving strands of lace here and there.

Smell - Pretty big burnt smoky peat malts; licorice, burnt sugar, molasses, dark caramel, glazed bread. Pretty intense mix of smokiness and sweetness.

Taste - Smoked peat still prevalent but less intense, and melds better here with a nice Euro-type imperial stout flavor profile of char, ash, dark fruit, licorice, molasses.

Mouthfeel - Well-carbonated, medium body, light alcohol warmth but pretty well-hidden. Sipper by nature, probably one to split.

Overall - A seriously sippin' smoky stout. Peat smoke doesn't overpower and works well with a cool Euro stout underneath. I think some age has helped balance this out a bit.

 

500ml bottle. A nicely branded version of the style, right up until the point on the label where they proclaim "a smokiness from peaked malt". Well, perhaps that malt should sit down, and take five, or something.

This beer pours a solid black abyss, with prominent basal cola highlights, and four fingers of puffy, densely foamy, and chunky tan head, which leaves a decent array of sudsy, randomly webbed lace around the glass as it slowly recedes.

It smells of bittersweet chocolate, dry caramel malt, smokey rye whiskey, stale black licorice, acrid tanned leather, vegetal peat bog, cheap root beer, and a weird bit of papery ash. The taste is more sharp, well bled out of sugar chocolate powder, gritty caramel malt, a touch of rock toffee, dime-store black licorice, sedated smoky peat, of the muddled sort, given the mixed whisk(e)y heritage so far presented, more singed meaty notes, zingy Italian coffee, and weak earthy, floral, and leafy hops, well perfumed from the lurking booze.

The bubbles are quite light, frothy, and fully distributed, the body just on the light side of medium weight, for the highly expectant style, and generally smooth, the only vector of decrepitude here the lurking alcohol astringency. It finishes still pretty dry, the gritty chocolate, caramel, coffee, and yes, alcohol colluding and colliding as such for my so-called pleasure.

An adequate, balls to the wall, lay everything on the table version of an RIS, but overall, it comes off as a somewhat underwhelming instance, the weight not justifying the heady marketing tropes, really. Drinkable, if that's your thing (10% and all that baggage), but not all that worthy of multiple indulgences, be they wallet or liver-borne. Cool concept, with a bit less than an engaging delivery.

 

1pt .9 fl oz bottle poured into two snifters. BJCP 13F Russian Imperial Stout

A Deep Mahogany Red, transparent when viewing through the top up (good clarity), solid head that dissipates which is fit to style

S Not much smell other than some caramel notes

T Some alchohol presence. Caramel malt. Slight fruitiness. Finishes sweet and roasty.

M Nice velvet up front that dries out. Medium body.

O Really nice beer. Would drink again if the time and price was right. Not seking it out.