Maltitude Russian Imperial Stout
Pump House Brewery

A: Black with a light tan head, thin ring of retention, good leg/lace.

S: Black licorice, molasses and sherry. Bold but enticing.

T: Black licorice, molasses, tar, coffee, caramalized raisins, wood, smoke, good bitterness, warming booze (whiskey barrel?).

M: Well-attenuated moderate body has some roasted acidity and a drying finish.

D: A warming sipper. The type of brew you'd want to curl up with in front of a fire place.

Viggo shared this one. thanks eric!

12oz bottle, no label. sampled sept 14/09.

pours deep dark brown, not quite black but still opaque. a small dense brown head forms, quickly dropping to a ring around the glass but leaving tons of lace behind.

aroma is good. caramel and toffee. alcohol. dark and milk chocolate. coffee. dark fruit - raisin, date, plum. hint of lactic sourness. smoke and earth. whole wheat bread and biscuit.

taste is ok, but seems a bit off. dark and bittersweet chocolate quickly fades to puckering sour lemon. bit of brett-like horse blanket and leather. alcohol. stale coffee. multi-grain bread. bit of cracker. woody.

mouthfeel is ok. seems like it has thinned out as part of the sourness. bit of astringency. brett-y mouthfeel. medium body. medium carbonation level.

drinkability is ok. alcohol seems a bit warm and the sourness definitely takes away from the drinkability a little too. not quite sure what to make of this one. i think i'll keep my eye out for another bottle to re-evaluate and see if this one was a fluke or it's supposed to be like this.

12 oz bottle, big thanks to NASH for sending me a few.

Pours a very opaque dark brown, almost black, medium sized dark tan head forms, settles down to a thick ring, some nice lace spots on the glass. Smell is neat, biscuity, smoke and peat (I called it), alcohol, dark fruit, chocolate, caramel sweetness, almost a touch plasticy, reminds me a bit of the Paradox's in Scotch casks. Taste is a little off from the aroma, almost a sweet and sour thing going on, smokey, alcohol, some brown sugar sweetness, peat, oranges, raisin and dark fruit, citrusy, neat nonetheless. Mouthfeeel is medium bodied with low carbonation, some warmth going down. I liked the aroma, and the taste was off, but didn't really feel infected. Just kind of sour. Thanks Greg!

Hand bottled by brewer Greg Nash for Jon, who generously gave me a bottle. Pours black, with little head. The aroma, the taste, the beer is good strong coffee, and some beer, a little chocolate. We drank it, but it is a fine coffee that integrated some beer. The ingrediants of the style are there, in the secondary. Average or less mouthfeel, which is not a strength against this style's competition.