Union Series #6 Imperial Russian Stout
Summit Brewing Company

No idea why I haven’t reviewed this yet. 12 oz. bottle dated 2017.

Black, with a mocha head that dissolves into a petri dish layer within minutes. The nose is mostly malts so roasted they must have shriveled up like boys on a sub-zero night, with chocolate sweetness as it escapes fridge velocity.

Summit RIS could almost pass as an IPA. Searing bitterness – the roast kind, rather than the hoppy kind, which is an interesting contrast – makes this feel positively black coffee-esque. Underneath is black licorice root, charred grains, & dark chocolate that delivers a package of sweetness that files some of the edges back. No alcohol apparent. Mouthfeel is full, dry, & chalky. The beer is vanishing fast. It’s a good sign.

While I respect Summit, their beers are generally middle-of-the-road, engineered to appeal to the Hausfrau in Bagley as well as the carpenter in Cokato. This breaks out of that mold. An excellent beer, & one of the best I’ve had from this brewery.

Draft at Hopcat. Black with cap of soft beige head. Roasty aroma and tadte, chocolate, burnt toast. Taste brings a bit of sweet as well, hint of smoke. Dry.

2019 vintage, PD 10/25/2019. Drank with enjoyment on 3/13/2021. I had this (2019 vintage) when it was fresh. I remember it but not in detail. It seems smoother now, maybe more sweet, less hops notes.

Taste: roast, slightly dry chocolate, dark fruit (fig), caramel. a touch of alcohol at first. Maybe a micro amount of brown sugar and molasses. easy drinking.

 

Wish I picked up more of this beer when it was available. It is aging really nicely. Just so full, smooth, and rich. Not sweet or overly hopped. Dark roasty malts on full display.

20200304
Bottle - 12oz

 

12oz bottle - 2017 vintage, courtesy of The-Adjunct-Hippie - poured into a snifter at cellar temperature.

Pours an impenetrable midnight black, adorned with a finger of mocha tan head that quickly recedes to a centimetre of cap. A quick swirl generates some sparse spotty lacing.

Nose: Intensely rich, roasted malt. It becomes clear very quickly that they did not cheap out on the malts here. It's roasty, nutty, fragrant, and even a touch smoky. Aromas of fresh coffee, milk and dark chocolate, toasted bread, roasted almonds, nutty malted barley, vanilla, cream, charred oak, brownie batter, dark fruits, and a whisper of floral hops waft out of the glass. It truly smells like a high quality, ultra-fine Russian Imperial Stout.

Palate: A rich malty sweetness greets the palate, immediately followed by a roasty intensity that quickly washes it away. Intense flavours of charred malt, baker's chocolate, coffee bean, malted milk, vanilla, dried dark fruit, burned marshmallow, new charred oak, burned sugar, smoke, real black licorice, and even this cooling minty flourish towards the end. It's almost as of the malt is so deeply roasted, that it startles the palate, and confuses it with this cooling minty sensation. Into the finish, there's roasted pecan, bourbon vanilla bean, dark pie crust, malty barley, and bitter blackened roast. The bitterness is not from hopping, but rather clearly from the high degree of roast. There are some subtle floral and herbal hop notes, but they act to deepen the complexity of flavour, rather than contribute bitterness. Starts sweet, and the sweetness progressively lessens, until you arrive at the dry, roasty finish. It is dry, and it is bitter, but it isn't acrid or ashen. It's an espresso-like bitterness. Stout drinkers who are also fans of black coffee will find this to be right up their alley. The finish lingers for days, shifting more and more into cocoa/coffee territory.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is full bodied - rich, heavy, and slightly viscous. It isn't fully chewy or silky, some some particular bourbon barrel-aged stouts, but it has quite a bit of heft and weight, and truly stands as a sipping beer. Effervescence is quite adequate, given the beer's size, and the bubbles are fine and plentiful.

Overall: This is a big, bold stout. It isn't simply big and bold, but it's very clearly well crafted. It becomes evident that they strived to use only the highest quality malts, as well as sticking to tradition, and keeping the ingredients simple, authentic, anf minimalistic. It isn't over-hopped, but the hops provide complexity. It isn't over-roasted, but the roasted malts provide complexity. There are no crazy, unusual adjuncts. It's malt, hops, yeast, water, and time. Summit has managed to coax every last drop of flavour, out of as few ingredients as possible, and the result is this truly fine, classic, intense Russian Imperial Stout. This is well worth a try, especially for those who appreciate the finer subtleties of beer.

Got in a trade with The-Adjunct-Hippie. 12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 11/29/2017. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1 finger dense and rocky tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, toffee, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, wood, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, toffee, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, wood, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine, herbal, woody, grassy, peppery hops; and roast/charred bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, toffee, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, dark bread/crust, light licorice/dark fruit, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, wood, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a fantastic roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; with no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, fairly sticky/chalky, and lightly slick mouthfeel that is fantastic. Minimal warming alcohol for 10.5%. Overall this is an amazing Russian imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for big ABV, with the mellowly bitter/charred/drying finish. Amazingly soft feel for the style. Amazing huge/rich stout malt complexity; with balancing earthy hops, and restrained fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly amazing offering, and top tier style example. Reminds me of a less bitter Old Raspy a lot. Aged amazingly.

 

 

 

2017 vintage. Poured from 12 oz bottle into snifter. Packaged on 11/29/17 (per stamp on bottle).
A: Pours an extremely dark brown-black with 1/2 inch super dark mocha head with decent retention.
S: Herbal hops, charred wood, tobacco, molasses, dark chocolate, vanilla, and leather. Undercurrent of nutty (almond) malt. A bit of bourbon emerges with warming.
T: The hops again hit first with gentle herbal notes (minty and earthy) quickly followed by a lovely charred wood note (those two components go really well together!). Dark chocolate, dark roast coffee, molasses, dark sweet tobacco, leather, and hints of vanilla and almond.
M: Soft and supple with a good deal of heft. Viscous feel. Coating. Darkly sweet with bitter char and coffee aspects. Mild hop astringency. Finishes mildly bitter and fairly dry. Lingers and matures beautifully on the palate. Really, really nice!
D: Doing exceptionally well about a year out. The herbal hop notes are still fairly strong and lend a lovely counterpoint to the super dark elements. Definitely a pleasant surprise! Well done, Summit!

 

12 oz bottle poured into mini snifter.

Thick, heavy black pour with a finger of chocolate brown head, receding to a thin finger after a few moments.

Aromas of dark roasted coffee, dark chocolate, and slight molasses. Slight metallic aromas.

Flavors are of dark burnt coffee, caramel, dark chocolate, burnt toffee, faint molasses, and bitter piney/earthy hops. Faint smoke. The hops follow through to the finish.

Feel is thick and then a burst of carbonation comes forth. Very dry finish with slight alcohol burn.

Overall, a solid RIS. Not quite the caliber of Old Raspy or FBS but it's good nonetheless. A bit too much hop presence for my liking. Mellows out as it warms.

 

 

 

This beer pours a very thick black color. The head is dark brown, 1 finger, with average retention. There is some lacing on the glass.
The nose is rich, and malty. Chocolate, vanilla, caramel on the nose.
Taste - Like the nose, but more so. I get the vanilla, caramel and chocolate flavors. I also get a slight smoke flavor, but slight. Feel - Rich, thick, full bodied. There's also a slight alcohol burn, but not as strong as expected for a higher ABV beer.
A well made RIS. Really hits the style well, and I really like the size, at 12 oz, it is a perfect size to enjoy.