Red Gobbler - BBA Imperial Russian Stencel Stout
River Rouge Brewing Company

12 ounce can into snifter, 2017 vintage. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy dark tan head with decent retention, that reduces to nothing pretty quickly. Minimal lacing on the glass, with some light streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, oak char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. A bit too fruity/yeasty aromas, increasing booze as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts, bourbon barrels, light-moderate fruity yeast, and light earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, oak char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. Mild herbal, grassy, roast, char bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, dark bread/crust, licorice, dark fruit, light smoke/char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, bourbon barrels, light-moderate fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; with a great roasted bitter/sweet, and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Lightly increasing warmth of 12.5%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged Russian imperial stout. All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, bourbon barrels, light-moderate fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish. Perfect balance of super rich malts and bourbon barrel presence/integration; with restrained fruity yeast and mild earthy hops against sweetness. Not overly boozy/tannic on barrels, or bitter/charred on malts. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example. Definitely aged well for the style.