Grand River Russian Gun

Imperial Stout

3.5

210 reviews

Cambridge, Canada

Community reviews

3.2 bottle @ Vino Bellissimo / Lima OH --- dated: 2015/March/13. Aroma of malt and light spice. Opaque brown/black color, two-finger deep tan head, heavy bands of lace. Taste is roasted malt that adds light fizz and chocolate on the swallow, turning from there to light spice and prunes in a soft finish. I’m not getting the alcohol. The parts don’t work well together, perhaps partially due to the date.

3.8 Bottle from LCBO. Bottled Jan 2016. 8.0% and a different label from the one pictured. Pours medium brown with well-retaining and lacing lightish beige head. The aroma’s wonderfully rich, it’s sweet and roasty, strong molasses... Vinous, thick and intoxicating. Aah. Tastes a bit less as multilayered and lovely but stil very good: roasted malts, chocolate, molasses. The sugary sweetness is kinda too much even, I’d love more hoppiness and bitterness in a RIS. On the palate it’s not as thick and sticky as I’d have expected, it’s very soft and smooth and somewhat lightish with mellow carbonation. The alcohol is well covered. Overall a very enjoyable brew, albeit a tad too sweet as said, and could use more Imperial boldness. Loved the aroma the most. Edit: Can from LCBO, opened maybe a year after buying. Lovely stuff, easy-going yet deep. Bumbing from 3.7 to 3.8.

3.6 De couleur brun foncé qui tend vers le noir. Une mince mousse vient recouvrir le liquide sans trop d’effervescence. Au nez, c’est le malt torréfié qui domine avec un soupçon de chocolat et de petit fruit rouge. En bouche, c’est crémeux en bouche avec une belle offrande de grain rôtie, de chocolat et de petit fruit noir sous une vague de fumé.

3.7 500ml bottle. Pours an insane amount of foamy creamy brownish head and has a pretty dark brown appearance. Nice thick sticky lacing. Aromas of dark roasted malt, coffee and subtle chocolate notes. Flavours are also quite malty and sweet, some notes of toffee, faint smokey hints. Also some spices but quite subtle. Very smooth and silky sensation on the palate. Good retention and mouthfeel. Not too bad.

3.4 Deep brown body, almost black, with a tan head.bitter aroma and nutty effervescent taste.

4.1 500 ml bottle with a bottling date of 30 Dec. 2014 (almost exactly 1 year old) served in a Porter Bar goblet t about 50F. Rich flavor with plenty of hops to go with the dark roasted grains; this mix produces a taste dynamic that goes from surprisingly sweet up front to mild+ bitterness by the finish, with a good bit of change in the apparent balance of malts to hops along the way. Alcohol is very well hidden in the aroma but more obvious in tasting and produces a warming effect beyond the listed 8.5%. O: a fine RIS that’s worth seeking out.

3.2 Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured a dark brown color with an average frothy tan head that lasted with good lacing. Moderate roasted chocolate aroma. Medium toasted dark malt flavor with a medium dark bite finish of moderate duration. Medium body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Below average for style.

3.0 500 ml bottle shared with the group. Pours a dark brown color with reddish highlights and a small beige head. The aroma and flavor have bigger dark fruits, berries, plums, thin chocolate, very light roast, caramel, this doesn’t seem to be very characteristic of an imperial stout, more like a thinned out old ale or quad or something, some tart fruits, hints of alcohol, thin body, ok, but not as an imperial stout.

2.0 Bottle, thanks to alexsdad06 for sharing. Dark fruit up front, heavy roast, little bit burnt. Mild smoke in the finish, some paper. Very dark brown color, with a thin tan bubbly head. Leaves some ridges and bits of lace. Kind of an astringent bitter after taste, not very pleasant. Pretty dry, minimal sweetness. Just a touch of tart. Tannic. Medium to bigger body. Light carbonation. Ultra dry and astringent finish impedes drinkability. Not at all a fan of this. Seems as if it’s way past it’s prime.

4.1 Dark complexion with red hue. Thick beige head laces glass. Malt scent lends to impression of sweetness yet flavor is decidedly bitter with lasting aftertaste. Hints of chocolate, coffee. Delicious and warm in mouth. Great stout.

3.5 0.5 bottle. Clear, very dark brown color and a large, tanned head leaving a delicate lacing. Aroma of fruits, licorice, molasses, and dark malts. Taste of dark malts, iron, figs, fruity sourness, some roast, a spicy hint of alcohol, and some chocolate. A full body, a creamy texture, and a soft carbonation. Finish is way too sour, it does not seem to be an unusual thing for the beer as it has this sour disposition incorporated in the main flavor. Overall not a bad beer but its sourness gets increasingly obnoxious with time.

3.2 (Grand River Russian Gun Imperial Stout) Bottle 500 ml at home, served into a snifter, ABV 8.5% Dark brown, almost black colour on the body, with a huge and frothy tan head on top, with very good retention. Aroma of chocolate, malts, funk, barnyard, vinous notes. Taste is sour, something went wrong here, vinous notes, faint chocolate, faint roasted malts. Medium thin body, high carbonation. Nothing to do here.

3.4 500ml bottle. Darkest brown colour with ruby red glimmer and huge, frothy, fairly lasting, minimally lacing, beige head. Sweet-ish, chocolately aroma, hints of cocoa, vanilla, hundreds and thousands, a touch of anise. Taste is dark malty minimally roasty, slightly chocolately, dark and milk chocolate, a touch of cocoa, liquorice, anise, some red berry tartness. Fair complexity, rather light body.

3.6 La bière n’est pas noire. Elle est brunâtre aux reflets rouges rubis. La mousse était magnifique lors du service, mais quelques minutes plus tard, il n’en reste que bien peu de choses. Le nez est très agréable et surprenant pour une bière annonçant une RIS. J’y ai d’abord décelé des notes de fruits noirs comme des pruneaux et des dattes confites, un peu à la manière d’une quadrupel. En la laissant tempérer quelques minutes, les arômes se présentent maintenant différemment. Beaucoup plus de café, de chocolat noir, toujours sr une base légèrement épicée. Très délicate en bouche, cette bière m’a surpris par son caractère peu autoritaire. Ça me plaît. Le liquide est soyeux, de faible densité et moyennement pétillant. Une touche anisée caresse ma langue et tapisse l’intérieur de mes joues, tandis que les épices évoluent vers le fond de mon palais. Le café préalable ressenti au nez n’est pas présent en bouche. Celui-ci a cédé sa place à un doux caramel à la saveur de Grenache. Saveurs qui manquent somme toute de complexité. Très courte et douce, cette RIS est clairement une mauvaise représentante de son style mais demeure néanmoins une impériale stout facile d’accès et plaisante à boire.

3.8 2013 bottle. Nice anise and dark stone fruit aroma with a slight alcohol bite. Taste is more of a dark Barleywine but awesome fruitiness and the anise licorice comes through in a very good way. Very well done.

3.5 Bottle: Shaker: Enormous foamy head. Took half an hour to settle! Ruby red black ish beer. Beige head. Aromas of oat, chocolate, roast, malts, caramel, hint of tobacco, mocha and nuts. Flavours of roast, caramel, minerals, skunk, bitter, light dry, iron, mocha, hint of bay leaf and nuts. Aftertaste malts, grains, oat, toast, minerals and some bitters with hints of dried leaves, skunk and nuts. Low carbo, light creamy mouthfeel, medium bodied.

3.8 16 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 3/13/2015. Pours fairly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, toast, dark bread, light dark fruit, herbal, wood, light char, and yeast/roasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roasted/bready malt, earthy hops, and light fruity yeast notes; with solid strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, toast, dark bread, light smoke/char, herbal, wood, light dark fruit, and yeast/roasted earthiness. Good amount of herbal/wood char bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, toast, dark bread, light smoke/char, herbal, wood, and yeast/roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted/bready malt, earthy hops, and light fruity yeast flavors; with a nice roasted bitterness/sweetness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light carbonation and medium bodied; with a very smooth and fairly creamy/sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very good Russian imperial stout style. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted/bready malt, earthy hops, and light fruity yeast flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the ABV. A nicely enjoyable offering.

3.7 Negra opaca. Excepcional espuma, superabundante, ultradensa, color ocre, muy muy duradera, dejando una montañita, se puede escribir en ella. Aroma rico, tostado, chocolate.También chicle. En boca, tiene algo de muchas cosas, pero nada en exceso. Café, licor, chocolate, tabaco, malta. Todo ello con un cuerpo ligero, minimamente agrio pero bebible, escondiendo bien el alcohol. Final bastante amargo y postgusto de chocolate, amargo y calentito dejando patente (ahora sí) el alcohol. En conjunto equilibrada y notable.

3.8 Pours dark with an almost nonexistent head. Smell is mostly of toasted malts. Taste is much the same. A little bit more mild then imperial stout would suggest. A nice beer over all. I had this from a bottle.

3.3 Noire. Fin collet blanc. Chocolat au lait. Sucré. Vanille. Nougat. Légèrement aqueuse. Noix (arachide). Bien.

3.8 Surprisingly good. Aroma of chocolate with a medium body. But the taste is very nice and complex, warming, some plum...

3.7 500 ml bottle from LCBO. Pours black with tight beige head. Nose is roady malt and chocolate. Taste is more roasted malt, chocolate, caramel. Lingering bitter finish. Medium body for the style. Nice stout.

3.5 Bottle from Julien_Huxley, thanks! Black, pours a huge head. Ash and licorice in the aroma. Malty salty flavor with hints of ash. Very dry for an imperial stout. Licorice. tasty, aromatic, but tough to pour this one.

3.5 500ml bottle, black color, with a thick creamy beige head, nice sweet black, chocolate, toasted, caramel malty, molasses nose, with some light coffee, brown sugar, dark dried fruit, semi-sweet dark chocolate baking bar accents and a light burnt toast, burnt bran muffin, chocolate pie crust, subtle licorice spicy note in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a warmth black, roasted, chocolate, toasted malty, dark bitter chocolate, burnt toast, burnt fruitcake character, with some light dark coffee, molasses, burnt dark dried fruit, mochaish, burnt sugar pie crust flavours, leading towards a warming fruit yeast, molasses sweetness, dark dried fruit, black coffee, lingering chocolate, black, caramel, toasted maltiness, roasty bitterness finish.

3.5 Liquide à apparence de pétrole, avec une carbonatation faible et une mousse pour ainsi dire absente. Le nez est de grains torréfiés, de café et un peu de raisin. Consistance mi-épaisse. La bouche est mince, plus dans les fruits confits que dans le café chocolaté, mais son amertume et ses saveurs franches viennent quelque peu la sauver. Cependant, certaines de ses saveurs sont justes, et d’autres moins. Satisfaisante au final.

3.5 16 ounce bottle, label says bottled on 2014/AUG/28. Served in a DFH snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about a half inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both decent enough. The brew smells like roasted malt, coffee, dark fruit, molasses and a bit of nuttiness. I think the taste pretty much is just like the aroma, but to me it seems the roasty bitter flavors are the strongest compared to the others. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s a bit slick and is easy enough to drink. Low/moderate carbonation. Overall I thought this was a decent brew, definitely worth a try! $5.20 a bottle.

3.4 At the farm in Calabogie. Smells of coffee, dark roasted malt. Tastes quite bitter, spiced cola, dry fruit. Body is acidic, medium, fizzy.

3.6 Bottle from LCBO at the Farm. Black slightly thin pour. Sticky legs and head. Aroma is sort of generic stouty - not in a bad way - toasted malt. Taste is chocolatey, bitter roasted flavor. Good. Lasting bitterness. Palate a bit thin. Pretty good.

3.0 Couleur noir avec aucun col. Aroles de café,chocolat,mélasses, sucres,caramel,alcool. Complexe mais pas du tout mon genre d’imperial stout!

3.6 Botella de 50 cl en el lúpulo en el momento el 12-07-2014. Embotellada en 02-05-2014. Color negro intenso con espuma oscura. Buenos aromas iniciales a especias, maltas tostadas y bastante chocolate. Sabores mas suaves de lo esperado con toques ácidos tipo saison o brettas bastante acentuados, junto con un cuerpo ligero,, muy fácil de beber para ser una imperial stout y tener 8.5 vol,,. Solo al final cuando ya esta a temperatura ambiente aparecen mas sabores propios de este tipo, siendo el chocolate, la melaza y las especias como la vainilla los mas perceptibles. Me esperaba otra cosa un poco mas densa y con mas cuerpo, original, se podría repetir.