Solzhenitsyn
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
- From:
- Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
- United States
- Style:
- Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 9.8%
- Score:
- +6 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.64 | pDev: 3.23%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 3
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Dec 24, 2023
- Added:
- Mar 06, 2022
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by VABA from Virginia
4.65/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.65/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Pours a very dark color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has chocolate and coffee hints
Taste has a chocolate and coffee flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A very good Stout
Dec 24, 2023Aroma has chocolate and coffee hints
Taste has a chocolate and coffee flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A very good Stout
Reviewed by Braunmeister_1943 from Pennsylvania
4.44/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.44/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
On tap at West Chester,PA Iron Hill location.
L- Jet black with virtually no head.
S- Coffee and cocoa.
T- Coffee upfront which gives way to sweet dark chocolate.
F- Moderate mouthfeel with very little carbonation.
O- This is a really great RIS! The only issue I had was that it was served a little too cold.
Jun 19, 2023L- Jet black with virtually no head.
S- Coffee and cocoa.
T- Coffee upfront which gives way to sweet dark chocolate.
F- Moderate mouthfeel with very little carbonation.
O- This is a really great RIS! The only issue I had was that it was served a little too cold.
Reviewed by JJKBeerLvr from Pennsylvania
4.86/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
4.86/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Poured from a 23oz bottle into pint glass in March 2022. I have drank both the 2018 and 2019 'vintages', but this review is based on drinking the 2019 version.
Appearance: Dark black with a thick tan/brown head. The head is 2-finger thick with very fine bubbles. It lasts for a few minutes and ends with a thin tan head. It has a little lacing that sticks to the glass.
Smell: Strong aroma of roasted malt, bourbon, and hops. There is some coffee and a hint of sweetness like chocolate as well, but overall the bourbon dominate the others.
Taste: There is a nice balance between the bourbon, roasted malts, coffee, and hops flavors. There is some chocolate and licorice flavors to enhance the taste and add some complexity. The company literature mentions Sherry flavors, but I taste bourbon, similar to barrel-aged stouts. There is a strong alcohol presence, as with other Imperial Stouts. Great aftertaste.
Mouth-feel: Very thick, but with an extremely smooth and creamy body. Much more smooth than most other imperial stouts.
This is an excellent imperial stout, and it has a variety of flavors that adds an impressive complexity to the beer. Although this is a big beer, it is smooth and really enjoyable to drink. The smoothness adds to the overall enjoyment. Overall, one of my favorite imperial stouts, and one I want to drink again. I have been drinking Iron Hill's standard RIS for a few years, and like this version even more. The aging is noticeable and adds to the complexity in the taste, while making it smoother and more enjoyable to drink. The standard RIS has more hop bitterness, is 'edgier', and obviously no sherry or bourbon flavors. This is so smooth and enjoyable, I may try to 'age' their standard bottled imperial stout to see if it will also improve with age. Regardless, Solzhenitsyn is in my top 10 of stouts. I do not live near any of the Iron Hill facilities, so when I do travel there, I recently have bought my favorite "triple crown" of their bottle reserves: Solzhenitsyn, Russian Imperial Stout, Big Pig Porter.
My current favorite stouts in order are:
Founder's CBS
Founder's KBS (almost any of the varieties)
Goose Island Beer's Bourbon County Brand Stout
Weyerbacher's Sunday Morning Stout
Iron Hill's Solzhenitsyn
Fegley's Bourbon Barrel Aged Insidious
Hoppin' Frog's BORIS Oatmeal Imperial Stout - Barrel Aged
Sierra Nevada's Barrel-Aged Narwhal
Avery's Bourbon Barrel-Aged Czar Imperial Stout
Founders Breakfast Stout
Mar 18, 2022Appearance: Dark black with a thick tan/brown head. The head is 2-finger thick with very fine bubbles. It lasts for a few minutes and ends with a thin tan head. It has a little lacing that sticks to the glass.
Smell: Strong aroma of roasted malt, bourbon, and hops. There is some coffee and a hint of sweetness like chocolate as well, but overall the bourbon dominate the others.
Taste: There is a nice balance between the bourbon, roasted malts, coffee, and hops flavors. There is some chocolate and licorice flavors to enhance the taste and add some complexity. The company literature mentions Sherry flavors, but I taste bourbon, similar to barrel-aged stouts. There is a strong alcohol presence, as with other Imperial Stouts. Great aftertaste.
Mouth-feel: Very thick, but with an extremely smooth and creamy body. Much more smooth than most other imperial stouts.
This is an excellent imperial stout, and it has a variety of flavors that adds an impressive complexity to the beer. Although this is a big beer, it is smooth and really enjoyable to drink. The smoothness adds to the overall enjoyment. Overall, one of my favorite imperial stouts, and one I want to drink again. I have been drinking Iron Hill's standard RIS for a few years, and like this version even more. The aging is noticeable and adds to the complexity in the taste, while making it smoother and more enjoyable to drink. The standard RIS has more hop bitterness, is 'edgier', and obviously no sherry or bourbon flavors. This is so smooth and enjoyable, I may try to 'age' their standard bottled imperial stout to see if it will also improve with age. Regardless, Solzhenitsyn is in my top 10 of stouts. I do not live near any of the Iron Hill facilities, so when I do travel there, I recently have bought my favorite "triple crown" of their bottle reserves: Solzhenitsyn, Russian Imperial Stout, Big Pig Porter.
My current favorite stouts in order are:
Founder's CBS
Founder's KBS (almost any of the varieties)
Goose Island Beer's Bourbon County Brand Stout
Weyerbacher's Sunday Morning Stout
Iron Hill's Solzhenitsyn
Fegley's Bourbon Barrel Aged Insidious
Hoppin' Frog's BORIS Oatmeal Imperial Stout - Barrel Aged
Sierra Nevada's Barrel-Aged Narwhal
Avery's Bourbon Barrel-Aged Czar Imperial Stout
Founders Breakfast Stout
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