Abita Select Imperial Stout
Abita Brewing Co.

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From:
Abita Brewing Co.
 
Louisiana, United States
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV:
8.5%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.81 | pDev: 10.5%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
14
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 11, 2014
Added:
Jan 09, 2010
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  0
Our Imperial stout is made with British pale, caramel, chocolate, and roasted malts. Oats are also added to give the beer a fuller and sweeter taste. The roasted malts give the beer its dark color as well as its intense flavor and aroma. The flavors of toffee and chocolate are prevalent but not overpowering. Since the beer gets so much flavor from the malts there is not a lot of hop flavor. There is just enough bitterness to compliment the sweetness of the malt. The strong malt flavors also balance out the flavor of the alcohol as this beer pours at 8.5% ABV.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by tigg924:
Photo of tigg924
Reviewed by tigg924 from Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Had on tap at Weymouth Ale House

Appearance: minimal head, black in color, opaque

Smell: chocolate and burnt malt. Not the most overpowering smell

Taste: chocolate, coffee, and burnt malt

Mouthfeel: light bodied for style, light carbonation, semi-sweet

Drinkability: More of a dry stout than a sweet stout, this one is a bit on the light side, as I find most of Abita's beers. That being said, for the abv I could have sevral as the alcohol is well hidden. A good and solid beer.
Feb 23, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.5 by MrMaestoso from Louisiana

Nov 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by ldhughes3 from Louisiana

Dec 28, 2013
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Reviewed by MrHassellYaHurd from Louisiana

3.74/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Pours dark chestnut, nearly black. Creamy tan head; thin, but with excellent lacing.

Smells mostly of chocolate syrup. There is some roasty notes in there, as well, but very heavy on the chocolate syrup smell. One-dimensional.

There is an overall yeasty/earthy quality to the flavor. Bitter roasted grain and coffee flavors.

Thick, creamy, satisfying.
Nov 08, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by t0rin0 from California

Aug 11, 2012
Photo of EgadBananas
Reviewed by EgadBananas from Louisiana

3.57/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Dark, with lots of brown tinges around the glass. Medium brown creamy finger of head. Lacing was nice.

Lots of chocolate and roasted malt sweetness. Aroma was nice, but not dynamic.

Everything in the aroma is in the taste, but theres actually some bitter coffee notes on the back end and a smidge of heat surprisingly.

Feel is creamy and smooth, medium and body. Could surely be thicker for the style.

Drinkability is good. It's a great beer, but very weak for an imperial stout. I think the better labeling for this would be a Robust Porter.
Feb 27, 2011
Photo of theboozecruise
Reviewed by theboozecruise from Louisiana

3.8/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Good looking stout, dark body with a finger worth of off white head.

Rich malty chocolate aroma and a taste to back it up. It's a little sweet then finishes off with a bitter roasted kick.

A little thin but it's still pretty solid. As usual, Abita's select series outperforms their flagship brands.
Jan 13, 2011
Photo of ktrillionaire
Reviewed by ktrillionaire from Florida

3.01/5  rDev -21%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 4
On-cask at the CCB-Whole Foods Cask-o fiasco. Actually that's not what it was called, the real title of the event was something unimaginative and corporate.

A - It is black, just the hue that an Imperial Stout should be, with no real head (which is no problem considering the cask treatment), but it is clearly not the right viscosity.

S - Is this a lager? It smells very deeply roasted, but overall it has a cereal grain aroma and is not cohesive enough to suggest any particular style. This seems a lot like beginner kit brewing.

T - Is this a lager? This is like the Blackbeerd fiasco all over again, except much worse. Macro. Louisiana Imperial Schwarzbier? Drinkable, but vaguely flavored for the style. A lot of water is discernible in this brew, as strange as that may sound. Not horrible, but for the style I am definitely not impressed.

M - Is this a lager? Being on cask probably doesn't help.

D - Is this a lager? It is perhaps fairly drinkable, but not a very good take on the style.
Apr 06, 2010
Photo of KrisPaulk77
Reviewed by KrisPaulk77 from Mississippi

3.58/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
*On tap at the Abita Brewpub*

The beer was served in a pint glass. The color was deep and dark black, ruby highlights around the edges, and a good sized dark brown head. The head retention was good, and there was a nice foam cap and good lacing after the foam receded.
The aroma was roasted malts, coffee, and bittersweet chocolate. Light, light hop notes were noticed, as well as some fruit notes, raisin or plum.
The taste was roasted malt and coffee, immediately followed by a nice chocolate rush. Caramels made a show, and then some dark fruits. The roasty flavor made an appearance in the finish. Moderate bitterness.
The body was a bit thin, probably the weakest point in this beer.
This was a very drinkable pint. I'd call this a gateway Imperial Stout. This is a very solid offering from Abita. They could easily add this to their Big Beer series.
Mar 09, 2010
Photo of DrinkinBoy
Reviewed by DrinkinBoy from Georgia

4.13/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Abita Select Imperial Stout pours a dark, deep, opaque brown. The head on this draft was very slim and even a little swirling did not revive much before it went away.

The smell mostly consisted of mocha and roasted coffee, it did have a tinge of alcohol similar to the smell off a whiskey and coke.

Its taste starts of very soft and unpronounced. A sweet taste of chocolate and malts creeps in on the mid palate. The finish is strong with notes of roasted nuts and coffee. Typical of all Abita brews this beer is much more sessionable that its hoppy craft competitors. This beer is probably more comparable to a true Russian Imperial Stout than most American versions.

The mouthfeel is heavy as expected, the carbonation is low which I personally prefer for this style of beer.

Overall I think it is definitely worth a try, and I am excited to see what else Abita brings out in this series.
Feb 26, 2010
Photo of ChainGangGuy
Reviewed by ChainGangGuy from Georgia

3.63/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours a dark brown, near black body with a medium-sized, light tan head.

Smell: Nose of roasted malts with notes of semi-sweet chocolate and finely ground coffee. Why, there's a background hint of plums for a slight vinous fruity component.

Taste: Roasted malts with a lightly sweet touch of simple chocolate and a splash of cold morningtime coffee. Plum fruitiness within. Some growing hints of light caramel as it begins to warm. Very minor bitterness. Roasty, semi-dry finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Abita's cooked up a competent Imperial Stout that settles on the lighter end of the style spectrum. It's certainly nothing to compare to a Dark Lord, a Great Divide Yeti, or even a Hoppin' Frog BORIS The Crusher, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Jan 28, 2010
Photo of Cyberkedi
Reviewed by Cyberkedi from Georgia

4.55/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a dark opaque sable with a fine-bubbled light tan head. Rich aroma is of fine roast coffee and unsweetened chocolate with a hint of toffee. Mouth-filling flavor is oily and smoky, strongly of fine coffee with hints of unsweet chocolate and toffee. Texture is thick, smooth and tingly.
Jan 25, 2010
Photo of oberon
Reviewed by oberon from North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
New on tap at the Mellow Mushroom in Greensboro.Poured a near jet black except for just a slight ruby tinge,a thinner but well retained mocha colored head atop.Heavy roast in the nose along with dark fruit and a hint of vanilla.Body seems to be a little thin and lacking,I think it takes away from the richness of the beer.Dark roast coffee flavores intertwined with some molasses and dark fruit,the alcohol is pretty subdued for the style.The thinner feel of the beer just takes away to much for this beer to be top notch for the style in my opinion.
Jan 11, 2010
Photo of Vengeance526
Reviewed by Vengeance526 from Louisiana

3.68/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a dark black color with a 1 finger tan head that hangs around for a little while before settling down.

Faint aroma of chocolate and roasted malt with some smoke
and espresso in the back.

Taste starts out a little smoky upfront followed by light notes of chocolate, caramel and toffee. A good bit of roasted coffee comes in at the end and through the finish, leaving a fairly pleasing aftertaste.

Medium bodied with medium carbonation. I'm usually not the biggest Abita fan, but this is a fairly decent stout. Not too heavy or overpowering in any way. There is nothing over the top or extreme about this so no real reason to get excited, but it does make for a pretty good offering overall. I'd say it is good for the price if nothing else. Doubtful I'll be missing it when it is gone but for now it deserves at least some credit.
Jan 09, 2010
Abita Select Imperial Stout from Abita Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 14 ratings