Imperial Brown Stout London 1856
The Kernel Brewery

Imperial Brown Stout London 1856Imperial Brown Stout London 1856
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From:
The Kernel Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #176
ABV:
9.9%
Score:
93
Ranked #3,205
Avg:
4.21 | pDev: 9.03%
Reviews:
45
Ratings:
122
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 08, 2023
Added:
May 07, 2011
Wants:
  25
Gots:
  15
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Jugs_McGhee:
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

3.39/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
[Reviewed from notes taken in late Summer 2014.]

9.80% ABV.

330ml brown glass bottle with a classy understated label design purchased at Craft Beer Co. Clerkenwell, London, England, and served into a stem-tulip. Bottled: 07.10.13. BB: 07.10.18. Consumed at cellar temperature.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: None. Just a brief pale khaki ring of foam immediately after the pour that disappears almost immediately. No lacing.

BODY: Opaque solid jet black (not brown, contrary to its name). No yeast/sediment is visible within. Looks like any other traditional porter, lacking any unique or special characteristics as well as the titular brown colour.

AROMA: Actually, I detect bourbon (even though I know it's not there). Vanilla mainly but no oak. That's odd.

Dark malts, chocolate malts, cream, a kiss of hazelnut. Malty as it is, it's not too sweet.

Quite appealing, but not up to par with the aromas of the best expressions of the style.

A pleasant aroma of mild intensity.

No overt yeasty notes or off-notes are detectable. No overt hoppy notes either.

TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, full-bodied, of apt thickness, well-carbonated, and slightly sticky.

Not oily, gushed, hot, boozy, astringent, harsh, rough, or scratchy.

Suits the taste decently. Doesn't accentuate specific flavours, but it does have a fairly heavy, hefty presence on the palate that plays well to the maltiness of the brew.

TASTE: Dark, schwarz, and specialty chocolate malts comprise the malt backbone. Herbal hints of fennel, anise, and mint play across the palate. Herbal hops complement the herbs. A kiss of vanilla. Raisin. Mellow sticky plum; indistinct vague dark fruits.

Average depth, duration, and intensity of flavour.

It's balanced, albeit simple for the style. There ain't nothing brown about it from colour to malt flavour; it's a pretty conventional dark porter.

Far from the most complex, subtle, nuanced, or well-layered imperial porter I've had, but well-built and cohesive. Not a gestalt harmonious whole of a beer; the build isn't seamlessly put together or carefully considered. It's more of a loose combination of flavours, most of which are effective. This doesn't have the concise deliberate flavour profile of better imperial porters, but I do like it.

OVERALL: It's a nicely executed imperial porter, and one I wouldn't mind having again (or aging), but it's not world-class fare. I've had far better, and I'm not sure what the "brown" bit is meant to refer to. A nice little English stab at an imperial porter, but it can't compete with the big dogs. Worth trying when in England, though.

Hides its ABV well and is more drinkable than many brews of this strength. A wee bit of age would likely mellow it out.

B- (3.39) / WORTHY
May 21, 2017
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.25 by Dethark from England

Aug 08, 2023
Photo of Ushouldbeworkinh
Rated by Ushouldbeworkinh from England

3.5/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On draft, maybe to come for me, very coffee, and bit too much lingering bitterness, almost burned flavour.
Jun 28, 2023
Photo of Altrurian
Reviewed by Altrurian from Portugal

4.38/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Coal-black body; about as deep of a brown as a beautiful, smooth, goblet-coating head can get. Forthright aroma of dark-roasted coffee beans, fresh out of the roaster. The flavor is equally forthright—admirably so—but so piercingly so that it requires some processing, some thought, some careful appreciation of its profundity Mouthfeel is immediately classifiable as close to perfect, but a little short of that mark by virtue of a relatively high level of carbonation. An excellent imperial stout.
Apr 21, 2023
 
Rated: 4.34 by Tmappin from Canada (NS)

Aug 23, 2022
 
Rated: 2.51 by stephenlee93 from England

Jan 01, 2022
Photo of Spike
Reviewed by Spike from England

4.29/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
330ml bottle.
L: Very dark brown (almost black) with a rich, long-lasting, mocha head.
S: Like you just walked into Porto Rico Importing Co on Bleecker St, New York, NY.
T: Massive, sweet espresso flavour plus black cherries and damsons.
F: Very smooth for 9.6% ABV. Rich, semi-sweet and bone dry. Hot alcohol in the finish.
O: A fantastic coffee stout. A big, big beer. So rich and smooth (despite the astringency). Amazing how much coffee flavour is delivered from just water, hops, sugar, yeast and barley.
Apr 09, 2021
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.89/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Listed as 9.9% here, my bottle states that it is 9.5%.
L- Pitch black, not a photon gets through it even from a halogen torch held behing. Pours with 12MM creamy super-fine bubble looking deep-tan head. [20mins later = holds well].
S- Coffee, then dark cocoa, toasted and roasted. Oh + some mild ABV% notes.
T- WOOOaaah, coffee, ESPRESSOOOO!!! Super-dark deeep roast, log-fires, cinders, smokey edges, hazy memories, possible regrets, furry hearth rugs, dreams, then that yeti the next morning. All of that plus a well numbed tongue.
F- Seemingly thick to sip, striking and very different. Or maybe it's an impression due the flavour being sooo intense.
O- This is a beast. You likely have to enjoy straight black espresso, there are deep parallels IMHO. This is whacking my palate, no point expecting to taste anything more delicate for a while later.
Would I drink again? I don't know, it's impressive, has vast-giant character but do I need to experience such over and over? Not really, I prefer subtlety and something I might enjoy year-around, incl certainly up around this %level. It's a massive statement beer though. Trust me, waaaay more than it's 9.5% suggests. It's certainly one of the top-10 (of c1500) beers I've ever had for naked outright pungency.
330ml bottle. Bought from TremblingMadness/York (home delv > London) for £4.99 BB: .?... perhaps 1,000 years in the future, this thing might be indestructible.... nope 'July 2025'.
Dec 04, 2020
 
Rated: 3.93 by Curt3 from Ohio

Jan 23, 2020
Photo of kitch
Reviewed by kitch from Hong Kong

4.21/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
A 330ml bottle, bottled on 5th February 2016 and with a best before date of 5th February 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.

Appearance: A dark dark brown colour with a reddish hue and a thin tanned head that disappeared quickly but left lots of nice spotty lacing.

Aroma: Roasted malts, milk chocolate, caramel, coffee, chocolate milk, with hints of nuts and dark fruit.

Taste: Roasty, chocolate, coffee, chocolate milk, slight bitterness, hint of dark fruit and char.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall: Body was perhaps lighter than I prefer, but despite this, it was still very enjoyable and great to sip.
Oct 11, 2019
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

4.15/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottled and presumably bottle conditioned and purchased from Beermoth
Pours a jet black body with decent enough tan head
Aroma is treacle and chicory coffee
You’ve got that in the flavour
Full bodied
Jul 08, 2019
Photo of zeff80
Reviewed by zeff80 from Missouri

4.2/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
12oz bottle. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, light brown head of foam. It smelled of roasted malt, chocolate, molasses and toffee. Roasted coffee taste with chocolate, vanilla and molasses.
Apr 07, 2019
Photo of mishi_d
Reviewed by mishi_d from Romania

4.5/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Black color, beige head, aroma of coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malts and alcohol, taste is medium sweet / lightly bitter with hints of dry red wine, full body, excellent.
Mar 26, 2019
 
Rated: 4.22 by davidsonte2 from Washington

Dec 30, 2018
 
Rated: 5 by HeWhoHasBeer from Germany

Dec 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4.84 by Dudler from Germany

Dec 18, 2018
Photo of Zythophile
Reviewed by Zythophile from Washington

4.3/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Bottle Date: 7/25/18
Palate Contaminants: none

Lots of fine, light brown head. Decent amount of lacing. Discernably brown liquid, letting in very little light at the edges.

Straight up? It smells like Kahlua. Coffee, dairy creamer, and non-sweet (and non-bitter) dark chocolate. There's even some alcohol volatilizing.

The main taste is very heavily roasted coffee. Sweetness and bitterness might not have been on the nose, but they are up to detectable levels on the tongue, with bitterness winning the arm wrestling match. A little bit of desiccated dark fruit, somewhere between figs and prunes. Slight bit of honey. Alcohol shows up in the taste.

Weight is heavy, and the carbonation is fine. Aftertaste is unfortunately bitter charred wood, but the nose and taste were nice. It's also a bit disapponting that the alcohol isn't better hidden for a niner.
Nov 17, 2018
 
Rated: 3.99 by desint from Belgium

Sep 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4.03 by HopBelT from Belgium

Aug 08, 2018
Photo of josanguapo
Reviewed by josanguapo from Spain

3.75/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From lalonjadelacerveza. In Teku glass. Playing Avadon 3. Very toasted and nutty, with some herbal hoppy notes, maybe a bit more vegetal than desiderable. Alcohol fairly well hidden
Jul 26, 2018
Imperial Brown Stout London 1856 from The Kernel Brewery
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 122 ratings