Shoveling Rain
Ruse Brewing

 

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice black with a solid 2 inches of light brown head. Good retention. The nose is really nice. Dark roasted malts, molasses, coffee, tar, and some charred wood.

The taste is lovely. Follows the nose. Super roasty. Oak, burnt toffee, coffee grounds, super dark chocolate, slight tobacco note, and burnt wood the morning after a nice fire.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a bitter roasted malt aftertaste. Lovely and perfect for the style.

Poured stout black with a one inch thick brown head that left impressive lacing.
The taste is very deep, strong coffee, cacao,
Oatmeal and dark bread. But much more chocolate and coffee.
The feel is viscous, probably from all the oatmeal in the mash.
OA, an excellent example of a take on the classic RIS.

ive had so little from ruse, but am so aware of the high regard beer people hold them in, so it was amazing to get to visit their spot, drink through much of the lineup, and take it all in. righteous space and beers! this one is a collaboration with block 15, super heady, apparently an adjunct free russian imperial stout, a little less new school than so many of their others, i love the name too! moderate viscosity on this almost black brew, decent inch of tan froth from the tap, but it settles back quick. aroma here is not too sweet, very roasty without being astringent or overly bitter, nuances of good espresso, dark chocolate, and fresh cut cigar, perhaps a little molasses to and just a touch of breadiness from the ferment. the flavor is bitter dark cocoa, faint smoke, dark volcanic soil, and even a little charred oak thing, not much alcohol coming through at all, impressive. light licorice, treacle syrup, and black tea notes as it warms, smooth and roasty and balanced, very wintery even without the alcohol presence, cozy and well refined, easy drinking for a slow style like this, almost has a baltic porter vibe to me, a longer, cooler ferment is likely. cool that these two got together to make this, seems like an awesome launching off point for cool barrels, port or rye come to mind, but is a fun one on its own too, not enough straight up russian imperials around anymore, well done!

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque in the glass with a half finger dark khaki head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of dark toasted and biscuit malt, dark chocolate and coffee. Flavor is dark, well toasted malt with light char, dark and bakers chocolate, latte coffee and hints of lactose. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess with great oatmeal character. Always wonder if I can be fair to a straight forward stout after weeks of BA monsters, but well made stouts like this prove that to be unfounded. Classic rich Russian imperial profile, but with really great multifaceted chocolate notes. In a blind taste, I'd suspect chocolate as an adjunct. Overall not too complex, mostly the chocolate and coffee, but that's really enough for this one. Serious oatmeal body too. They nailed this one. ABV well covered. Ironically spent a bit of time shoveling rain (ice actually) from my porch tonight, but packed it in and will let the now above-freezing rain take care of the rest overnight.

Can from Mongers.

Jet black with a dark brown head with good retention and lacing. The nose is immediately bitter and roasty, pungent and punchy in and old school RIS way. Bitter dark chocolate, burnt sugar, oatmeal fruitiness, dried blueberries, chicory, mild dried flower notes. The palate opens bitter and dark with lots of roast, bitter burnt sugar and dark chocolate before the creamy and fruity oatmeal comes through with a mild sweetness. Mild floral notes. Bitter, roasty finish with lots of creamy dark chocolate and fruity oatmeal. Soft carbonation. Lovely.