Imperial Stout
The Ruddy Duck Brewery And Grill

 

 

 

 

A - A dark, cola brown color with a tight, tan head. Good retention with a decent bit of lacing. A little more massive or intimidating look on this and it would have scored higher.

S - Nice espresso comes through on the nose, with a sweet cocoa smell. It's decently roasty, with some hints of molasses as well.

T - Deep roasted malts are prominent, with a strong coffee taste. Unfortunately, I felt like it tasted like cold coffee, making it taste slightly old and bitter, detracted from the overall taste on this beer.

M - Too watery. Medium bodied with appropriate carbonation.

D - Somehow this beer just falls short, it's not quite big enough for an RIS, and the taste is not horrible, but the good points were cancelled out by a few bad things. Has potential, I'd be interested to see how the brewer develops his stous in the future.

It pains me to say this, but the best beer I had at Ruddy Duck after a sleepless night and on a blisteringly hot day was an imperial stout. As enjoyable as the other beers were, this was quite excellent.

Pouring jet black with a dense, dark brown head with excellent retention and exceptional lacing, this is quite a marvelous beer. The nose is excellent too. A no-nonsense imperial stout, this has a wonderful dark chocolate character to go with the big, roasty malt character. Mild hop character is present, but there's also some licorice, coffee and a little molasses. The palate replicates the flavors of the nose, with the dark chocolate bitterness being smooth and working well with the roasted grain character. A little coffee and licorice appear before the finish that's long, roasty and a little bitter. Medium-full in body, this beer is low in carbonation and has a great mouthfeel. Maybe just a touch flabby, but it does not detract from the excellent flavors and balance.