Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout
Every so often we brew this tasty treat that clocks in at 10% ABV. A silky smooth, motor-oil black pour reveals rich, roasty notes of caramel, chocolate and coffee.
Like the first stouts brewed for Russian Czars, this offering is big, bold and built to last. Grab a few for the cellar, a couple for your comrades and enjoy because— like those Czars of yesteryear— this beer may be gone soon.
Like the first stouts brewed for Russian Czars, this offering is big, bold and built to last. Grab a few for the cellar, a couple for your comrades and enjoy because— like those Czars of yesteryear— this beer may be gone soon.
3.8
385 reviews
Middlebury, United States
Community reviews
Bottle at CBC Denver, April 10 2014.
Black color, brown head. Sweet, malty, roasted scent. Roasted, sweet, grainy taste. Roasted aftertaste. Medium mouthfeel, medium bitterness.
Draft at Khyber. Pours black with tan head and nice lace. Nose of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate. Medium to full body. Big roasty taste, hints of smoke, espresso, some chocolate. Fairly strong hop bitterness
Draft at Khyber Pass. Tulip glass. Thick black pour with a small tihht beige head. Tons of great dark roasted malt flavors. Chocolate nibs. Charcoal grill. Burnt caramels. Hints of coffee and dark fruit, but the emphasis is on chocolate and ash. High ABV is well hidden. Smooth finish. Tastes notably less sweet than most Imperial Stouts - and that?s fine by me. Body is creamy enough to fit as a proper Russian Imperial for me - and I?m a stickler to that requirement. Missing some of the more complex flavors that a great Imperial should have, but the notes presented are right on the money. Was not expecting something so good out of this. Pleasantly surprised.
Tasty and very roasty. Good brew as most otter creek is good stuff. Almost stovepipe but apparently higher abv.
Bottle. Pours opaque black with a medium dark brown head that dissipates fairly quickly leaving good lacing. Aroma is chocolate, roasted malts, a bit of cardboard, anise. Flavor is an improvement, light sweet, medium bitter, roasty, chocolate and rich on the tongue. Lingering bitterness on the finish. Fairly full bodied and creamy. Quite nice in the end.
Pours dark brown, no head. Aroma of chocolate, plum, toffee. Malty, chocolate taste. Overall very nice.
Bottled 650ml PBFVIII
Deep opaque black, small brown head. Toasted, chocolate aroma. Medium-bodied. Toasted, some chocolate. A bit lame finish.
Bottle. Poured 11/16/13. Oily; Deep brown black with a thin but resilient chocolate head. Aroma is lots of roast malt, chocolate, creamy, hints of dark berries, vanilla, sweet, savory. Taste is creamy, little chalky, nutty, roast malts, chocolate, some dark fruits, very mild bitterness at first; finish is bitter chocolate and some earthiness. Exquisite lacing, full. Carbonation is low. Mouth feel is full, oily, rich; but not syrupy or coating. Really a fine RIS. Well crafted.
Pours. Thick black with a nice dark brown head. Aromas of holy shit roast, a whiff of alcohol. Taste is inky black madness, roasted cock, some balls but a touch too sweet for real enjoyment. Finishes semi-sweet with just a touch of prison sex. No anal rape offered. I feel defiled.
Very dark brown, very small brown head. Aroma coffee, chocolate, roasted malts. Medium full body, harsh alcohol, syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor is roasted malts and mocha but overly sweet and hidden by alcohol with an unpleasant tangy finish. Seems like most people liked this one but didn’t work well for me.
Dark pour tan head. Aroma of soy sauce, honey, grains. palate slight creaminess. Flavor of char and coffee.
Bottle from Total Wine Sterling. Pours black with a thin khaki head. Has a bit of lacing in the glass. Big roasted malt notes on the nose with a hint of licorice. lots of roasted chocolate and licorice on the tongue. finish lingers a bit. Hides its alcohol well. This is a hell of a lot better than I thought it would be.
I poured a 12oz bottle into a goblet. It was bottled on 2/4/13 and cost $4.49 ($0.37 per ounce).
Appearance: Just looks thick and viscous flowing out the bottle. Body is extremely dark with a brown frothy head. It mostly dissipates, but does leave some lacing, which is impressive for such a big beer.
Smell: A strong aroma of dark malt, espresso, and milk chocolate candy. No alcohol presence.
Taste: Otter Creek is a brewery known for making pretty mainstream stuff that you can buy in the supermarket. I’ve enjoyed a few of their beers, but some have been unimpressive. When I heard several people recommend I try their Russian Imperial Stout I was surprised to hear it. Now that I’ve drank it myself I can see why everyone’s raving. This is a quality RIS that can hang with the big boys as it’s robust, complex and highly drinkable.
The first taste I notice is sweet milk chocolate. It almost seems sugary, though I doubt this beer is brewed with any actual chocolate or other additives. Beers of the style tend to have a strong red grape flavor, and while that taste is present here, it takes a backseat to deeply roasted (but not burnt) malt and iced coffee flavor, balanced by a strong hop presence. The label indicates the beer is 65 IBUs, which actually seems a bit low since big imperial stouts tend to be high in bitterness to balance out the intense malty sweetness. I think a lot of balance is being done by the malt’s inherent coffee and roasty flavors. There’s some alcohol warmth and flavor as it finishes, but it actually complements the palette quite well. I have to say I’m floored by how good this beer is, since it can definitely hang with the big names of the style.
Drinkability: A delicious imperial stout is a lot less appreciable if it’s hard to drink. Thankfully, Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout doesn’t have that problem as it has a soft, comfortable mouthfeel with a velvety texture. It goes down smooth with a slight hoppy bite on the finish, but leaves no lingering aftertaste other than some chocolate notes. It does not nearly feel as heavy its 10% ABV weight. Though there is alcohol warmth, it’s not distracting. That seems to be what separates a great RIS from an average one.
Bottled@PBF VIII. Deep ambery brown to black colour, small brown head. Toasted and some ashes with sweet alcohol. Flavour is quite much the same into a nice roasted and and liquorice bomb. A bit one dimensional
65 cl bottle @ PBF 2013.
Pours dark red color with a small off-white head. Aroma of caramel malts, faint honey, pale malts and toffee. Flavor of caramel malts, rye, toffee,licorice and some cocoa. Dry palate.
3414
650 ml bottle @ PBF 2013.
Pours a pitch black colour with a beige head. Aroma of roasted malts, cream, salty licorice and biscuit. Flavour of roasted malts, biscuit, floral hops, cream, some mild vanilla notes, strong milk chocolate and straw. Full bodied, oily mouthfeel and really smooth and soft finish with roasted notes. Alcohol warms nicely. A bit thin, but really enjoyable.
650ml bottle @ PBF 2013
Pours pitch black with a foamy white head. Aroma of roasted malts, sweet syrup, chocolate, coffee and grainy notes. Taste is roasty, chocolatey, sweetish, syrupy and grainy with notes of coffee and wood. Finish is malty, chocolatey and syrupy with notes of grainy malts and roastiness. Quite good imperial stout.
Bottled at PBF. near black, minimal head. Citric licorice aroma. Sweetish with full body and clean, rounded mouthfeel. Some grapefruit and tobacco, but most flavours seem contained behind plastic. Big and bold. Dull.
65 cl bottle @ PBF VIII
Aroma is somewhat sweet with hay, cocoa, some soy sauce and licorice. Flavour has soy sauce, salty licorice and hints of coffee. Also some hay. Odd, but there’s a certain English feeling here.
Bottle->snifter. Black with small brown head. A: coffee, chocolate, roasted malt. T: dark chocolate, roasted malt, ash. Bitter. Good, not great.
Boozy nose, bready background. Poured from 12oz bottle opaque black with slight caramel foam. Small in amount of head, but solid retention. Not super strong on the mouth, bitter hop middle and finish. Booze bite.
Bottle, great rich deep flavors, awesome thickness, another Vermont gem. Roasty with a bitter finish
From notes: Poured opaque black with a small, thin dark tan head. Roasty malt aroma with a note of coffee. Full body, moderate thickness. Chocolatey flavor up front, giving way to dark roasty malt and a burnt note that lingers in the finish. Some booziness as well, that might become more restrained with age.
12oz bottle in a snifter. Pours black with a lacy, tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, some chocolate and light coffee, and some light floral hops. Flavor the same with a nice maltiness. Smooth to thicker texture. A decent imperial stout.
Very nice mouthfeel with the standard bitterness common in imperial russian stouts. I am getting lots of burnt malts but not much else. Decent lacing but it might be just a tad over carbonated for my tastes.
Bottle at Max Burger, Springfield, 18/05/13.
Pitch black with a thin tan head that clears to a film.
Nose is dark fruits, burnt toffee, liqourice, touch plasticy, mineral notes.
Taste comprises dark fruit, pepper, molasses, dark malts, light dark chocolate tones, sugars, booze.
Full bodied with fine carbonation, warming alcohol in a boozey finish.
Ok impy stout but a way from being top draw, the alchocol is a little too evident and could have been better integrated.
Draft at Pony Bar HK with Linh. Pours a deep black body with nice vibrant tan espresso lacing. Aroma is strong coffee. Mouthfeel is medium with notes of sweet coffee, dark chocolate malts, a nice richness and an alcohol character in the finish (almost bourbon, but not as good).
12 oz bottle. Hampton Falls Village Market. 2012 vintage.The nose is very chocolaty with some alcohol, light hops, and a touch of espresso beans. Flavor is sweet bakers chocolate, caramel and candi sugar, a touch of smoke and a real nice roasted malt backbone. The ABV is only slightly noticeable. Mildly creamy texture. This brew is worth the price of a four pack. The other three bottles are getting more age on them. Even at this point it’s a nice drink.
Bottle sample at a tasting at the Beer & Beyond shop. Thanks zvikar. Black with brown head. Sweet, a little dry, chocolate aroma, sweet taste, alcoholic, a little dry and roasty. Full body, burning finish. Nice.
On tap - Pony Bar, NYC. Malty subtle chocolate and a perfect example of the style. Just heard thunder outside-- the work of this fine brew!