Royal Scepter
Levante Brewing Company

2026-01-11
16oz can served in a curvy Fremont glass. Canned 10/16/25. @Braunmeister_1943 sent it to me.

Pours very dark brown with a more than a finger of head on the pour. Head settles over a few minutes, leaves some nice looking lacing up the side of the head, a thick meniscus, and a thin but even skin across the surface. Smell is chocolate and vanilla, definitely some black licorice and dark roast coffee.

Taste is kick-in-the-palate RIS. Black licorice and almost resinous bitterness, nearly charred coffee, background molasses sweetness, burnt chocolate and scorched marshmallow.

Mouthfeel is almost thick, very smooth. This is a really nice beer.

Poured from a can at fridge temp. Pours jet black with a generous amount of tan head. It sticks around for a while and nicely laces the glass. The nose is roasted malts, coffee grounds, slight mint, slightly bitter hops, and a bit of black licorice.

The taste is super smooth and intense. Wow. This is fantastic. Dark roasted malts, almonds, slight hop bitterness (citrus peel), burnt toffee, slight molasses, black licorice, coffee grounds, charred wood, and an earthy note. Just a lovely beer.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied, and the aftertaste is charred wood and a bit of burnt toffee. This is how Russian imperial stouts should be made.

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into my snifter. The beer was obtained over Christmas holidays in PA. Date stamp on can is #1718 16:08 Drink Fresh. But not sure what that code tells me....
Onto the contents!
the beer pours a clear cola brown into my glass and rests only slightly darker , with no light passing through the glass.
A creamy dense beige head of about 1.5 cm foams up from the pour. It fades slowly to a sturdy surface covering and leaves some windowpane lattice on the glass. Looks like a well made beer, wish it was a little darker, but its all good.
Aroma is dark chocolate and roasted malts with a bit of an anice/black licorice bit going on and some bitter coffee. I also get a little bit of sappy and some grapefruit hops buried in the malt. In the background for sure, but it is there each sniff.
No hint of the abv on the nose.
First sip reveals a medium body with smooth texture and very fine tingly carbonation. Feels nice on my palate and drinks pretty easy.
Flavor is similar to the nose with some dark chocolate and roasted malt mixing with a bit of black coffee and dry bakers cacao. Slightly bitter, but not from hops. Dry chocolate lingering finish. a little citrus note too, sort of like a chocolate orange candy. Never any hint of ABV. The beer works and I appreciate the non adjuncted flavor and aroma. I do with the beer was a little darker on the pour, but still am enjoying this can of beer.

This is the correct way to do a Russian Imperial Stout! Glorious ebony color with a frothy head. Beautiful hoppy aroma with a hint of coffee amongst the roasted malt bouquet. Pleasant bitterness with cocoa, coffee and dark roasted malt flavor. Moderate mouthfeel with lively carbonation. Overall, a fantastic RIS!