Russian Imperial Stout
Longwood Brewpub & Restaurant

 

Longwood's Brewery 'Imperial Stout' @ 7.5% , from a 650 ml bottle , bought for $6
(originally had on tap @ GCBF rated 4)
A-pour is near black with a small tight tan head leaving a streaky lace ring along the edge of the pint glass
S-faint smell of cherry , dark chocolate , brown sugar & coffee
T-ok tasting , nothing jumps out at me ,
MF-low carbonation, bit thin for a RIS , weak , yes I feel the booze but I don't get a smell , taste , mouthfeel that wows me
Ov-not up to local RIS standards , glad I only bought the one & done

cheers LampertLand

 

650ml bottle poured into tulip 19/4/12

A dark brown with a large cola edge, two fingers of light tan head that retains well ending up as a thin film with a few thick rings of lace

S some coffee, cherry and chocolate are quickly overwhelmed by wild yeast, there's still some hops shining through but its quite funky and I somehow doubt that was intended

T if this isn't infected I'd be surprised because it tastes like a lambic crossed with a stout, some hops are present with some fruity dark malt but there's funk funking it all up, still drinkable but not RIS

M pretty thin for the style and a little sour, and that's not something I want in a big stout, I think the only funkless part of this beer is a finish of char

O drinkable but that's about it, well concealed booze but that's not enough to save this one

I'm hoping this was just a bad bottle because I'm just not grooving on this one. I can see what they were attempting but I think something went wrong with this one. No fault of EskimoDave sending it too me but I think luck wasn't working for us here. I can taste lots of dark roast and the hops are in the background but overwhelmed with funk, perhaps I'll look for it on tap

Edit.. perhaps my habit of not reading reviews before I review failed me here, after reading another lopsided review I'm sure this was a bad batch.

 

 

This beer was sour! and not like oud bruin sour, like sour candy sour. This bottle was infected. It definitely was no imperial stout.

Smell was sour with a hint of roasted grain.

Taste was very sour!

Mouthfeel was sour! very sour!

Bitterness was subtle due to sourness,

With that said it was not bad for a sour beer. I still drank it.

I had this beer at the pub, it was great. I bought a bottle, aged it for a few months, I'm drinking it now, its now quite sour. I also bought the dunkleweizen, also sour. Must be a bottling issue? Just thought you should know.

ps to be fair, my ratings are based on my tasting on tap at le pub.

A: Black with ruby highlights, medium tan head, awesome retention & great lacing.

S: Dark bread, brown sugar/molases, coffee, slight chocolate and hints of sherry.

T: Dark bread, molases, coffee, slighy nut & dark chocolate. Good bitterness with a pleasant fruityness. Very well-rounded/balanced for a big brew.

M: Moderate to full body is smooth & slightly creamy; well-attenuated with a relatively dry finish (considering the style).

D: Very drinkable.

Their website says 6.5%, but I think the menu said 7.5%.

Almost a RIS-lite. Good appearance: jet black with very dark brown head. Although it does lack the dark purple hints that some RIS have.

Smell is fairly one dimensional. Dark, roasted malts. Very faint hops. Black coffee and dark chocolate. Slightly bitter, but the vinous flavours I find in most RIS are barely there.

Too thin on the mouth. However, this does lend a certain drinkability to this that some RIS lack. Commendable effort, but could do with some work.