Barrel Project #1 - RIS
Manor Hill Brewing
- From:
- Manor Hill Brewing
- Maryland, United States
- Style:
- Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 12.5%
- Score:
- +8 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.62 | pDev: 3.59%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jul 24, 2016
- Added:
- Feb 27, 2016
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by ThisWangsChung from Maryland
3.49/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.49/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours an extremely dark ruby color. The head is a finger high and khaki in shade. Retention sucks, plain and simple. Not much lacing sticks to the glass, either.
This has a very barrel-laden aroma. I get tons of oak and tons of vanilla poking through in particular. The base beer is definitely closer to a European-style stout - behind the aggressive bourbon lie notes of smoke, dry baker's cocoa, tobacco, and dark fruits. As it opens up, those raisin and plum notes pop better. It's extremely redolent of Parabola in terms the way everything comes together, and in terms of the strong vanilla-laden sweetness. Smells like a winner...
It starts off with some nice vanilla and dark chocolate flavors flavor-wise. The oak flavors slowly but surely appear around the middle, and really hit on the finish. The whole beer rings muddled and confused - that's a no-no for a big, barrel-aged imperial stout. But I'll be fair and also say it unfurls some nice layers of smoke and dark fruits as it opens up. It almost seems like the oak is too much here, hindering the balance and creating this beer's Achilles heel. One great thing here: the alcohol is perfectly hidden. Some will mistake the big oak notes for booze, but I think it tastes closer to 8 or 9%. It's a promising design, but it's not a great one yet.
The mouthfeel seems slender and dry for 12.5%. While there is a lingering sweetness left behind, its very tannic feel makes it surprisingly drinkable and downright dangerous. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the starting bulk I like in something so big. Carbonation is fairly low.
I think this could use a few tweaks, personally. The flavors aren't defined well, and it's too oaky - the two seem linked to me (with the latter drowning out all the former). Still, I'm glad to see a brewer from this state actually attempt something like this. So kudos to Manor Hill, and here's to hoping they'll tweak this recipe to make it great.
3.49/5: Far from perfect, but Rome wasn't built in a day y'know
Feb 27, 2016This has a very barrel-laden aroma. I get tons of oak and tons of vanilla poking through in particular. The base beer is definitely closer to a European-style stout - behind the aggressive bourbon lie notes of smoke, dry baker's cocoa, tobacco, and dark fruits. As it opens up, those raisin and plum notes pop better. It's extremely redolent of Parabola in terms the way everything comes together, and in terms of the strong vanilla-laden sweetness. Smells like a winner...
It starts off with some nice vanilla and dark chocolate flavors flavor-wise. The oak flavors slowly but surely appear around the middle, and really hit on the finish. The whole beer rings muddled and confused - that's a no-no for a big, barrel-aged imperial stout. But I'll be fair and also say it unfurls some nice layers of smoke and dark fruits as it opens up. It almost seems like the oak is too much here, hindering the balance and creating this beer's Achilles heel. One great thing here: the alcohol is perfectly hidden. Some will mistake the big oak notes for booze, but I think it tastes closer to 8 or 9%. It's a promising design, but it's not a great one yet.
The mouthfeel seems slender and dry for 12.5%. While there is a lingering sweetness left behind, its very tannic feel makes it surprisingly drinkable and downright dangerous. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the starting bulk I like in something so big. Carbonation is fairly low.
I think this could use a few tweaks, personally. The flavors aren't defined well, and it's too oaky - the two seem linked to me (with the latter drowning out all the former). Still, I'm glad to see a brewer from this state actually attempt something like this. So kudos to Manor Hill, and here's to hoping they'll tweak this recipe to make it great.
3.49/5: Far from perfect, but Rome wasn't built in a day y'know
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