Russian Doll
Bomber Brewing

 

Can: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with some retention and light lacing. Aroma of roasted malt with some chocolate notes with faint residual sugar notes is enjoyable. Taste is mostly dominated by huge chocolate malt notes with some residual sugar notes that cuts through the bitter notes of the roasted malt. Body is full with nice creamy notes and no apparent alcohol. Enjoyable and focuses mostly on big black chocolate notes.

 

12oz chalice at Beer Revolution YEG Oliver Square - guess it's not retired after all.

This beer appears a solid black abyss, with the scantest of amber basal edges, and one thick finger of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat creamy light brown head, which leaves a decent wall of painted lace around the glass as things slowly progress.

It smells of rich dark chocolate, gently roasted, bready and doughy caramel malt, a muddled generic fruitiness, faint cafe-au-lait notes, a hint of anise spice, and some tame earthy, musty, and soused-up floral noble hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy caramel malt, a lesser biscuity toffee sweetness, free-agent char, medium-dark cocoa powder, kind of edgy citrus rind, some indistinct spiciness, cold coffee grounds, and more understated earthy, leafy, and floral green hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly laid-back in its quotidian frothiness, the body a dense, medium-heavy weight, and mostly smooth, with just a touch of ashiness getting a tad uppity here. It finishes off-dry, the malt, chocolate, and spicy-seeming hops presiding.

Overall - this comes across as a pleasantly rendered version of the style, if one named with the least amount of imagination. Full and powerful, while hiding its 19-proof booziness well, I'd like to see cans of this offering make it over the Continental Divide in the near future.

 

 

Tallboy can received last month from a generous CANBIF trader - thanks Farees! Served slightly chilled.

Pours an inky black colour, totally opaque when held to the light; seated atop is a thin head of creamy, beige-coloured foam roughly half a centimetre high. It weakens and wilts within the next minute or two, leaving behind a foamy collar and a smooth, uninterrupted curtain of lace. Looks the part of an RIS, and the same is true of the aroma - roasted malts and dark fruits mostly, including notes of black coffee, molasses, cocoa, licorice, plum and date. A touch earthy and herbal; no objections thus far.

Rich-tasting and intensely flavourful. Roasted dark malts are the focus of this fine stout specimen - some molasses and brown sugar sweetness is present to help temper the onslaught of coffee grounds, dark chocolate and cocoa flavours that rile up the taste buds mid-sip. Potently bitter on the back end; coffee and a burnt roastiness last through to the finish, accompanied by hints of prune, licorice and smoke. Some herbal, earthy and dirty hop astringency rounds the profile out nicely, lingering on into a persistent aftertaste with just a touch of boozy warmth. Medium-full in body, with a smooth (near silky) mouthfeel and light carbonation levels that gently agitate the palate. Very drinkable for its abv; the alcohol is borderline detectable, but it's so goddamn tasty that I need to consciously force myself to slow down (and take sips, rather than gulps).

Final Grade: 4.20, an A-. Bomber Brewing's RIS is one very solid, traditional-style imperial stout - one which doesn't consider it necessary to smack you in the face with a burlap sack full of adjuncts to provide a high quality beer-sipping experience. Indeed, this is a genuinely satisfying stout to sip. Canadian imperial stouts of this calibre remain relatively rare - so if, by fortune's will, you are given the opportunity to sample this beer, my suggestion would be to purchase multiple cans. Certainly worthy of the accolade it earned at this year's CBAs.

Obsidian that reflects your uncertainty back onto yourself.

Smouldering malt wafts within and around a train of chocolate slaves dragging a dense, other world Who Broods its sapid, velvet licorice apocalypse.

A soft seductive invitation to fiendish underworld embraces. Alluring, burning and so properly evil. Anise whips and scorched caramel cat-o-nine tails slash wax coated tongues. Maple trees tortured long and deep weep exhausted syrup over swathes of rich Stygian shores.

The sun dares not tread here. Milk angels secretly make love in charcoal skies far beyond god's chastising eyes.

Got on trade! Served at 8deg C in a tulip glass

A- Opens well and pours a 1" high brown head with a vigorus pour that lasts for nearly 5mins before film out. Very dark brown colour

S- Nice malt and sweetness.

T- Super complex. Lots of depth and character. Sweet and roasty good. Has a lot of bittering hops. Just a wonderful example of a well planned brew.

M- Creamy going down and dries out nicely.

O- Excellent brew. This base in a bourbon barrel would be fantastic. Will buy if I see it around

Food Pairing

This thick and rich brew would go very well with....... Brownies! Pretty much any chocolate cake will do as well.

Enjoy

Bomber Brewing 'Russian Imperial Stout' @ 9.5% , served from a 473 ml can purchased for $4
A-pour is a dark cola brown from the can to a black in the glass with a small thin tan head leaving a fine spotty lace film along the pint after every sip
S-bit metallic smelling
T-smokey start , with a somewhat dry finish
MF-ok carbonation , not the biggest body
Ov-weak RIS , just an ok beer
prost LampertLand