Russian Imperial Stout
Saucony Creek Brewing Company + Gastropub

 

Poured from a 16oz can into pint glass in January 2022. There was a canned on date of 12/29/2021. I bought the beer at Tanczos and drank it within two weeks of purchase.

Appearance: Very dark black with a thin dark brown head. Head was about 1 finger high, and lasted a minute. It left only a little lacing on the glass, and ended with a thin tan head still on the beer.

Smell: Aroma of coffee, roasted grain, with some chocolate. There is also some caramel, but overall the coffee and roasted malt dominate the others.

Taste: There is a strong coffee and some smoky roasted flavors. I also taste some chocolate and licorice flavors. Also, There is a small amount of bitter hop flavors to enhance the taste. There is a strong alcohol presence, which matches the 9.6% on the label.

Mouth-feel: Medium-Full body, but also smooth. It has a little edge, as am Imperial Stout should. A little less full-bodied than I expected from a 9.6% RIS.

This is a good Stout, and I enjoyed the variety of bold flavors. Even though it is a full-bodied beer, it is still smooth and enjoyable to drink. I would buy this again.

A - Dark burgundy brown color with a healthy layer of toffee colored creamy lacing that hangs out on top. When poured into the glass it looked more like Coca-Cola than an Imperial Stout.

S - Nice roasted chocolate malt aroma with some char and light smokiness.

T - Light chocolate roast and toasted cocoa and finishes with a light lingering chocolate roast that's well balanced.

M - Medium body that's semi-dry (more on the wet side than dry).

O - On the fence with this one ... it's just about there. Color and flavor could be tweaked so it's darker and more bold on flavor and aroma. It's good but comes across as a watered down version of the style.

 

on draft at the brewpub - 10 oz tulip glass

black in color, khaki colored head. fairly roasty aroma - mild espresso, chocolate. similar flavors in the taste - just a touch of sweetness, drier finish. medium to full bodied.

Sampling a cellar temp can as part of a trade with @brendenw17. Thanks man!
Poured into my trusty snifter, the beer pours a dark cola brown to black coffee color. Almost no light passes through the glass. A creamy beige head of 1.5 cm foams up and then fades t a sturdy edge layer and one large wispy island in the center of my glass. These bubbles remain throughout my sampling.
the aroma is very roasty and some light coffee notes as well and a bit of an anice character. I dont get any booze from the 9.8% and the hops are fairly absent too.
First sip reveals an average to slightly thicker body with smooth texture and very fine rolling carbonation. Actually pretty easy drinking for a bigger and fairly robust aroma brew.
Flavor is spot on with the nose. I get a hit of roasted malt up front then some black coffee and finally a little bit of hot cocoa, but not really too sweet, mostly just cocoa note. The finish is back to roasty and I dont get hops and there also isnt any heat or warmth from the ABV.
This is a pretty solid Imperial Stout that is also fairly easy to drink and hides its booziness well.
Im glad I got to try this one and would get it again if it was available near me.