Good Russian Imperial Stouts

Have to second a lot of these recommendations. Old Rasputin and Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout are brewed year round so those should be the easiest to acquire. I really enjoy Samuel Smith's - it was the first RIS I ever tried/reviewed, and I think it flies under the radar quite a bit for 2 reasons: 1) it's not as "big" of a stout in terms of ABV or flavor profile (i.e. its not trying to muscle your palate into submission like other RIS that are more in-your-face boozy; and 2) try as it might, it is simply hard to beat Old Rasputin's price point (for a long time here in KY it was $7.99/4pk - now its up to nearly $9, but that's still cheaper price-per-oz than any other readily available RIS that I'm aware of).

Even then, I still tend to find that the seasonal-release (i.e. your Ten FIDY, Bell's Expedition, Brooklyn Black Chocolate), aren't really that difficult to find out of season.

I'd also highly recommend anything from Southern Tier's Blackwater series - although not a single beer in that series is *technically* classified as a Russian Imperial Stout (all American Double/Imperial Stouts), I would think they are still in the same vein of stout, just much more bold in their use of ingredients to create a more pronounced flavor profile.

 

Sierra Nevada Narwhal 2014 was just released in Georgia last week, thus marking an early start to "imperial stout season." It is extremely enjoyable this year, with a flavor profile consistent with the past year years. I'd venture to say that it might even be a bit better.

Unlike many RIS's characterized by chocolate or coffee notes, Narwhal has a distinctively dried fruit aroma and flavor, with certain creaminess in the mouthfeel. In that way, it's probably more like the English-one RIS's (Samuel Smith, Courage) than American-brewed ones.

Fine beer that should now have a wide distribution. Seek it out.

 

Old Rasputin is the gold standard, IMO, Saranac was the beer that got me into Russian Imperial Stouts.

 

Agreed! Narwhal is a fantastic beer.

 

I wouldn't disagree one bit. But I would add that Bell's Expedition is another gold standard--and my favorite American-brewed RIS. It should be remembered that there were very few RIS's being brewed when Expedition was first released years ago.

 

Pretty things Barbapapa if you can get it. Which you can't in PA. So nevermind.

As others have said, Ten FIDY's always a good choice, as well as Old Rasputin. Both fairly available and delicious.

 

I'm not a trader, but I've told myself that this will be the year that I trade for some Plead the 5th and Blackout Stout. Other than Siberian Night (which I was able to get while travelling this past year), these are the two mainstream RIS's I have yet to try.

 

Founders Imperial

 

yes and yes

 

When is Ten Fidy being released?

 

Zhukov is as good as it gets... but i love stone RIS and espresso ris, and really like Southampton RIS. Narwal is pretty solid as well.

 

Pretty Things Barbapapa. Surprisingly a phenomenal Imperial Stout.

 

There's tons of great imperial stouts. The best two that I have had are Marshal Zhukov, and founders imperial stout.

 

You need to try Stone Russian Imperial Stout with about 6+ months on it.