Sisters' Sabro
Lowercase Brewing

Dark cola brown that is topped with a buzzcut of flan coloured head. Decent retention and nice curtains of lacing left behind on the glass.

Nose is mainly hops. Some slurry of tropical fruits, including the kind of coconut-note that I always associate with sabro. I could be convinced of some toasted malts underneath. As it warms I get more spice and... I can't quite put my finger on it. It's intriguing, and quite unique.

Definitely sabro. I know that can be divisive for some folks, but I can see why lowercase went for this connection. The hops are once again the primary drivers as it leans into the sabro profile that always makes me think of coconut and banana (but not in the way that a belgian reminds me of banana... more from the tropical fruit side of it, I guess?). There's some guava and papaya in there as well, and it all blends with chocolatey toasty malts underneath. It comes together really well, honestly. Flows back then to build to a big bitter finish with pine and bitter chocolate and maybe a touch of coffee.

Body is creamy if a bit thin for an 'RIS.' Sharp carbonation, and a finish that lingers with the hop bitterness and an undercurrent of chocolate almost like gooey brownies.
I know they call it a dry-hopped russian imperial stout on the can, but it really doesn't drink like an RIS. As others have noted, it could easily be classified as a chocolatey CDA, and if I approach it as such, it's fantastic. I think cascadian darks are an underrepresented style in general, and this one really works for me, taking the more controversial aspects of the hop variety profiled and figuring out what it naturally works with rather than trying to shoe-horn it into a different hop's role. Hopefully more breweries follow suit and we see a resurgence of the CDA style, but I'm not holding my breath!

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque in the glass with a one finger dark khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, citrus hops, orange, mint, light cocoa and mixed fruit. Flavor is mildly toasted dark malt, citrus hops, mint, cocoa, coffee, grapefruit and mild orange and mixed fruit. Lingering minty and citrus hop bitterness. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. I was skeptical about how I would like a hoppy RIS, but liked this from the first sip. The malt body is a little light for a Russian imperial stout, and the profile was much more like a robust Cascadian black ale somewhat more stout in character. The Sabro hops are very nice with some of the best mint flavors I've tasted outside an actual mint stout. The hops bitterness interacts with the mint in a very satisfying way. It's been a while since it's been available, but this struck me as being what I'd expect one of my favorite Cascadian black ales, Sublimely Self-Righteous, with an enhanced minty hop character. Despite the near miss on the Russian imperial stout body, I liked this a lot. Sublimely is apparently coming back and I'll have to get another one of these to compare. Recommended for Cascadian/American black ale fans, it's tasty.