Double Eagle Imperial Stout
Wild River Brewery & Pizza Company

This beer pours a dark brown with almost no head. The aroma is bitter chocolate and roasted malt. The taste is similar with a little coffee added. Quite good expect for the coffee flavor.

A 12 oz can from the brewery's taproom in Brookings, Oregon.

Appearance. Appropriately dark and topped by a good tan head.

This is a bold, hoppy, relatively bitter imperial stout.

 

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle picked up at the Grants Pass location... Poured into my standard slim tulip glass.. dark tan/brown head took a little coaxing.... the brew is definitely not "black", but more of a deeep polished walnut... fairly clear.

Nose is pretty much strictly roasted malt... maybe some coffee if I close my eyes and imagine... not a lot going on.

Flavor is the same as the aroma.. decent roastiness.. but not much else.. fairly clean with no real fruity esters.. no real chocolate or cocoa... no coffee... just clean dark malts with enough residual sweetness to balance.

Body seems a touch light, carbonation bit too high.. but honestly this makes it more drinkable IMO... think of it as a Foreign Extra Stout and you will be very happy.

3.5/3/3/3/3.5

 

 

 

Pours a deep flat black color with a small cream colored head.

Aromas are of cocoa, cream, and some brown sugars.

Taste is of really dark roasted malt flavors. Mostly brown sugars and molasses, fairly sweet, with some cola notes as well. Finish has a hint of alcohol warmth, and some mineral hop notes. Maybe a little bit too sweet, but that is a bit of nit pick. This is a tasty brew.

Mouthfeel is nice and full, with good crisp carbonation.

Drinkability is quite good. This is a solid drinkable imperial stout. I like it, and would enjoy sipping another one some day.

At Wild River Pub, in nonic pint.

Extremly opaque coffee color when held up to light, none would penetrate. 1 finger quickly disappearing head w/minimal lacing.

Overwhelming sweetned espresso taste and aftertaste, Alcohol feel non-existant.

Feel of drinking a cold, carbonated Cafe Cubano as opposed to a beer. Overly sweet and devoid of alcohol. Not worth a second try.

From a 22 oz bottle poured black with very little head and therefore no lacing. Nose of light dark malts. Very mild. Very watery. Feels like stout that has been diluted with water in the mouthfeel. Coffee and chocolate flavor. Nothing wrong with taste, but except for the alcohol content seems more like a sweet stout as opposed to an imperial.

The beer came dark black from the tap, only revealing hints of color when directly in front of a light. The head is a light tan and retained islands of spotted head and thick droopy lace down the sides of the pint glass. The nose was full of chocolate, stouty, sasparillic smells. The taste has aspects of cola and molasses and feels smooth on the tongue at first. Its smoothness is then cut by a slight hint of its high alcohol content. It has amazing head retention for as much alcohol, and the head is replenished with each new raising of the glass. The mouthfeel is full and alcoholic. This has great drinkability for an imperial stout; deceptively so. Watch out.

On tap at the brewery. Served very cold, but it blossomed as it warmed up; be sure to order it well in advance to let it sit out. Deep black with a thin brown head.

Everything it should be, like a textbook RIS. Lots of deep roasted malts, making for a sweet, rich beer. Generous hop additions add a pleasant, assertive bitterness. A bit thick and sticky. Enjoyable but not extraordinary.

Mouthfeel was okay, but could be improved. Same old same old.

I mistakenly ordered this beer when the waitress told me their current beer menu included a stout. Not knowing it was their imperial, I asked for a pint. Though I was hoping to revisit this brew on some future occasion, that occasion was hastened by a lack of communication. Note to servers: never say “stout” when you mean “imperial stout.” It makes a difference.

I’d previously had Double Eagle and several other Wild River beers served from bottles and was dismayed to learn their bottled beers lag far behind their draught beer in quality. While it’s not surprising that an imperial stout might survive the bottling process with more grace than other more delicate brews, it was still revealing to note that my Double Eagle on tap was more robust and lively than the bottled version I’d had seven months previously. The draught had a light vinous aroma with a casual alcoholic reverence. It showed minimal head with lace that held early in the pint. Its body was the darkest brown and quite placid. The same misplaced flat-cola notes found in the bottle, were detected in the draught.

All in all, a beer of relaxed contours and temperament.