Brother Ivan
Bold Monk Brewing Co.

 

No canned on date. Poured into a Duvel tulip.

A: black with brown foamy 1-2 finger head that quickly settles but leaves impressive lacing.

S: a slightly worty aroma is first and downgrades the nose overall which also brings roasted malt, chocolate, and black licorice.

T: flavor also marred by worty character mid-palate with more classic roast malt, black licorice, cocoa, and black coffee in the aftertaste. Bitterness is medium.

M: medium body but very drinkable

O: not sure where the worty off-aroma and off-flavor comes from - maybe yeast derived? Anyway, glad I could try but wouldn’t pick it up again.

Poured from a can at fridge temp. Pours jet black with a small amount of head. The nose is roasted malts, lots of dark fruit, a bit earthy, and a general sweetness. The taste is really quite different from a typical RIS. This is not as bitter - more on the sweet side. Seems a bit off from the style, to be honest. I'm not saying it's bad, just not what I would expect. Sweet molasses, a bit of black licorice, malts, plums, raisins. Good overall.

Look: It pours dark browk with a brown head. Head retention is very good.

Smell: It has roast with a bit of sweetness in the aroma. There are some very low chocolate notes and low dark fruit notes.

Taste: It has strong roasted flavor. There are dark fruits with some chocolate. There are hints of vanilla.

Feel: It has a full body with a bitter aftertaste that is on the harsh side.

Overall, the flavors that are there are good. It's not the most complex imperial stout, but the flavors work very well together.

This beer is dark brown with some ruby highlights. Khaki colored head with moderate retention. Aroma and flavors are strong coffee, toffee and roast malt notes. Medium to full bodied. Moderate and appropriate bitterness. Alcohol is not as well hidden as others in the style. Pretty outstanding RIS though.

One of the best looking RISs I've had, lacing found the pint which I find rare if not totalli unique. Mouthfeel is full-bodied with a taste that is rich in roast. The only thing to ding was the smell, very much booze-forward completely hiding the other scents to my nose.

Look: Pitch black pour with a thin tan head.
Smell and Taste: Coffee and Chocolate. Slightly bitter on the pallet.
Feel: Oily with some carbonation.
Overall: The best thing going for Brother Ivan is the 9.7 ABV. Nothing really special to me. Not bad but there are greener pastures out there.

 

Poured from an undated can into a snifter, tar black through the middle, but with obvious clarity with light hitting the right angle. Center pour with a fingers worth of hazelnut hued head that ultimately clings to the edges as you drink it down. Aromas of dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted marshmallow, and toasted hazelnut. Flavors of bitter chocolate, and light roast coffee with a bit of milk and sugar. Nicely balanced at the finish, smooth, but not too sweet. This is a solid RIS. Not a style you see too often in Atlanta sans-adjuncts. Would put it up against any in the area and would be curious to see what some barrel aging might do, though perhaps hard to improve on the original.