Pisgah Vortex II
Treat yourself to the first of the Vortex series to be offered in a bottle. The strongest Pisgah beer to date, this Russian Imperial Stout would make any 18th century Czar proud
3.8
209 reviews
Black Mountain, United States
Community reviews
Cracked this one late Christmas day with my son as well. It was from 09 all I’ll say is drink them if you got them. This one may have sat to long slight funk in the brew so I’ll just give it average ratings all along Will have to grab a fresher bottle and revisit it again
Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured a dark brown color with an average frothy brown head that lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy roasted chocolate, caramel and alcohol aroma. Medium to heavy sweet chocolate malty flavor with a medium to heavy sweet and small alcohol bite finish of moderate to long duration. Full body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. This is a solid beer.
Sampled at GonzoIllini’s Birthday Party (Western Springs, IL). Happy Birthday, Tony! Pours a richer deep blacihs brown hue, near opaque with some touches of light, deep haze. Frothy tannish ring atop dies to a film, laces ok. Aromas are sticky and sweet, caramel and toffee, toast, gentle oak. Chocolate, some oak, vanilla and coffee. Initial is medium bodied, some dark fruit, toffee, and toast. Kiss of sherry, red fruit, some cocoa, carmelization. Mellow roast and toast, biscuits, gentle heat hits the palate quickly. Touches of roast, toffee, heat, mellow oxidation. Good flavors but a bit of bruising heat into the middle and backend. Ok.
On tap at Appalachain Vintner. Poured near black with a dark brown head that quickly diminshed. Aroma was dark coffee and dark chocolate with sweet toffee. Flavor with robust with espresso with some thick chocolate and toffee. Not overly complex but very nice and it held back the ABV beautifully. Finishes full and almost creamy milk chocolatey.
I’ve had this bottle in the basement for two years or so and tonight for Todd’s fortieth seemed like the prefect time to pop this one. She poured a solid black with a monstrous tan head that took forever to recede. From the first pop of the cap we are disappointed with the beer. There’s an earthy funky fruity aroma with a hint of roast that fills my nostrils. The flavor is tart and fruity with a bit of nasty funk. Medium to light body with an insane level of carbonation and a slick tart mouthfeel. Obviously there is something wrong with this bottle, and I’m quite disappointed I’ve held on to this so long. So my first Pisgah beer is infected, well that sucks.
Shared bomber to snifter (thanks jmborggren). Looks good; pitch black with thin mocha lacing. Smells malty and toasty. Tastes like is smells, but better, with a sweet, smooth finish that’s good on the palate. Ahh is hidden well too. Nice.
Draft in a flight at the brewery. Easily the best beer I’ve had on this trip to Asheville. Poured very dark with a nice head to it. Thick and smokey, with great malt flavors and robustness.
Bottle. Dark brown pour with a tan head. Big chocolate nose. Chocolate & caramel, with a slightly bitter note (not so much from the hops, but maybe the malts). A little thin in the body. To be honest was expecting a little more after the chub inspiring aroma......
Bottle shared by Lunch. Thanks Paul!
A: This big RIS has a black body. It is opaque except for the uppermost layer of the beer, where it appears a bubbly, dark brown. A small beige head sits atop the beer, but fades very rapidly.
S: Nice aroma with scents of roasted malt, chocolate.
T: A good tasting beer, with prominent chocolate flavors. At nearly 12% abv, this beer packs a punch that it difficult to disguise. Alcohol is present from the nose to the finish, though it’s a well crafted beer and overall, tastes fine - just strong.
M: Medium bodied, not as viscous or thick as I would prefer from such a high gravity beer.
D: A solid beer. I would enjoy having this again.
27th April 2010
Opaque black beer. Short lived bubbly brown head. Light palate, quite airy for it’s abv. Moderate carbonation. Dark beer but not much in the way of dark malt characteristics. More like a Belgian beer made with dark sugar. Generic fruits with a pleasant tang. A little lactose sweetness. Subtle chocolate before the soft finish. Not bad at all.
Originally reviewed: 4/19/11. Pulled this one out of the cellar for round 3 of "A Beer Observed," with my drinking buddy, CP.
Vintage 2010.
Poured my allotment into my Allagash chalice. Pours with a slight glug out of the bottle. Color is deep dark brown that turns to black in the center. Small beige head caps it off. The nose is rich with notes of chocolate, vinous grapes, alcohol, roasted coffee. Pleasant surprise that the aroma stood the test of time. I dig it.
The mouthfeel is slightly on the thin side, but not weak at all. This just doesn’t sit heavy on the palate. No coating of the mouth as some of the style do. I’d like it a little thicker, but the "wetness" definitely helps in drinkability. This beer definitely errs on the sweet side of the spectrum. As another reviewer noted, this could be a hybrid Sweet Imperial Stout. Milk chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar, finishes off with slightly acrid coffee and booze. Again, I dig it. This beer held its own for sure. I think this is the best beer I’ve had from the boys at Pisgah. I haven’t been all that impressed to date, but this one may bring me around some. I want some more.
22 oz. bottle courtesy of a trade with crajun. Pours very dark brown, not quite black, with a moderate tan head that lasted through the first quarter of the glass and left light lace. Very pleasant aroma that is filled with coffee and roasted malt. The flavor begins with roasted malt and a bit of coffee and is followed by some sour cherry. The mild tanginess of the sour cherry lingers on the palate for about ten seconds. The body I thought was a little light for an imperial stout. Not a fan.
Pours a thin black with very little head. Nose and taste are a bit tart, coffee, roasted malts, dark fruits like fig, plum, raisin, a touch of caramel sweetness. A decent beer for sure but not remarkable.
Bottle shared by Peter at STL RB gathering, thanks! Pour is pretty much black with a thin tan foam. Aroma and flavor are loaded with roasted malt which is balanced well by sweet toffee malt notes. Also hints of brown sugar and vanilla. Hides 11.7% quite well. This is a very smooth and well-constructed offering. I liked this one a lot.
22 oz. bottle via trade. Pours a dark brown color with amber highlights and a tiny head. Aroma of sweet and caramel malts, chocolate, dark fruits, and a hint of soy. Flavor of sweet, roasted, and caramel malts, molasses, chocolate, and toast. Medium-bodied, with moderate carbonation and a sweet, chewy mouthfeel. I’d call this a ’mild’ imperial stout compared to most other American takes on the style. The ABV is totally hidden and it drinks so easily and subtly.
Sampled at the StL RB gathering. It poured a dark brown color with a tan head. The aroma was of chocolate, some light coffee, brown sugar, with hints of vinegar and molasses. The flavor was sweet and malty with chocolate, brown sugar, roasted malts, coffee and hints of wood. A very good Imperial Stout.
Tasted from cool-looking tall bottle at 2nd STL Ratebeer Gathering, thanks phaleslu. Poured a thick, opaque black color with creamy tan foam, somewhat lasting with nice lace. True-to-style Imperial Stout aromas and flavors. Roasty, bready, notes of chocolate and coffee, raisins, plums, fruity ale yeast esters. Tangy hops balance. Heavy body, almost syrupy mouthfeel, lingering bittersweet aftertaste. Quite good.
(bottle - sampled at STL RB Gathering) viscous black with tan head. Aroma of roast malt. Flavor is roast malt, dark fruit, some coffee.
Sampled at STL RB Gathering - Pours dark brown with a tan head. The aroma has roast, berries, soy and light chocolate. Medium smooth body with light carbonation. The flavor starts with smooth roasty malt and cocoa. The finish gets a bit spicier and has more dry cocoa. Nice impy stout.
Tasted on 12/23/11 from a capped 650mL bomber bottle. Pours an oily, extremely dark brown, with a thin tan head that leaves very thin, spotty lace. The nose is milk chocolate, vanilla, roasted marshmallow, and toasted coconut, overall, very sweet. The flavor is, once again, fairly sweet, with milk chocolate, toasted coconut, roasted marshmallow, vanilla, and a bit of dark chocolate bitterness. The body is full and oily with light, but still stinging, carbonation, and a long, toasted coconut, vanilla, and roasted marshmallow finish. Overall, this is a sugar bomb, but still tastes very nice.
snifter off tap pours dark like old engine oil with dark brown creamy head
smells of roasted and sweet burnt oily meat. appearance black darkness might need a spoon. medium sweetness, lightly bitter, full body, creamy, sticky, thick feel, soft carbonation, Overall well balance body to alcohol very nice
In short: A very sweet, syrupy, chocolaty and fruity imperial stout. Ok.
How: Bottle 22oz, split three-way. Exact age unknown (probably around 1 year old). Bottle sent to me by rgtravers, thanks a lot Ryan.
The look: Black body topped by a persistent small tan head
In long: Nose is roasted, chocolate fudge and baked fruits. Taste is very sweet, burnt cake, chocolate fudge, lots of dark fruits. Thick syrupy body. To my palate the fruitiness was venturing into borderline sourness territory. Nothing very interesting here, I found that Vortex less captivating than the one we create when I flush the toilet. Because yes, don’t like, I know that you also look at your poop spiralling down after you flush.
The beer is dark brown, not really black, lots of brown in the light. The head has little carbonation only rising about a finger of light tan head that is gone quickly. Light lacing.
The aroma is medium mostly malts show with some light bitter coffee with some chocolate at the end, not a ton going on.
The taste has much more going on the the aroma, it has a little sweet vanilla and chocolate with a light bitter coffee finish. Its really nice.
The feel is the biggest downfall here, its really light, I think this is because its organic.
Overall, this is a good RIS, and great organic beer, I can’t believe its organic.
Bottle: Near black pour with a thick, creamy brown head. Aroma is sweet with fruitiness, light chocolate, and some roasty notes. Taste seems subdued; modest roast and coffee with faint tones of chocolate and fruity yeast. Lingering finish if dark fruits and baker’s cocoa.
Bomber shared by glouglouburp.
Appearance : Pitch black with a creamy brown head.
Aroma : Resinous hops with roasted malt. Nice coffee and light chocolate. Light licorice with nice sweetness. A bit syrupy.
Taste : Nice sweetness with nice dark chocolate and light coffee. Light resinous hops. Not much alcohol. A bit syrupy. Very nice finish. Nice notes of dry dark chocolate.
Overall : Interesting beer... Quite sweet and syrupy but I like this. Very nice finish. Nice dark chocolate. Nothing outstanding but very nice.
Bomber thanks to Austin. Pours a totally black color with a medium light brown head. The nose is heavy chocolate, roast, smoke. A nice strong flavor of heavy metallic roast, chalky, cocoa, dark chocolate, milky, some dark fruit. Very milkshake-like smooth and nice. Very nice.
Draft at brewer as well as sample at Bruisin Ales, Thanks Mike. Pitch black color, small brown head. Scent is hops, caramel, and booze. Taste is sweet toffee like, some wood notes and a hint of coffee. Creamy and very tasty!
Kinda like a soured imp stout. Not sure if that is on purpose or not. But it definitely has some sour notes. Jan 2009 bottle. Awesome lable art.
Bottle, 22oz. It’s a reddish dark brown beer with a small, tan head. Slightly sourish nose, but mostly chocolate, coffee and sugar. Very sweet on the palate, full body. Slightly sourish too, with a good dash of chocolate, coffee and dried fruits. Bitter finish, coffee style, not the hoppy bitterness. Overall, quite nice, but a bit too straight forward. 100917
Bottle. Black colour with a tan head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, alcohol. Flavour is roasted malt, hop, alcohol, fruit, berries, coffee. Full bodied nice beer.