Stone Imperial Russian Stout
"There’s no question that Stone Imperial Stout is revered among enthusiasts," states Stone CEO Greg Koch. "I know, because I’m one of ’em and I can hardly wait for it to come out each year!"
Some may think that a late Spring release for a special brew of this sort is an odd time for it to come out onto the market. Koch justifies this with the rationalization "What better than a warm time of year to come out with a brew that tastes great as it warms up!"
That’s because "ice cold" is certainly not the appropriate way to serve the beer. Nearly without exception, the darker, richer and more alcoholic a brew is, the warmer the serving temperature should be. The Stone Imperial Stout label describes the brew as being "intensely aromatic (notes of anise, black currants, coffee, roastiness and alcohol) and heavy on the palate...expect this mysterious brew to pour like used motor oil and taste even heavier! Serve at 55 degrees."
Some may think that a late Spring release for a special brew of this sort is an odd time for it to come out onto the market. Koch justifies this with the rationalization "What better than a warm time of year to come out with a brew that tastes great as it warms up!"
That’s because "ice cold" is certainly not the appropriate way to serve the beer. Nearly without exception, the darker, richer and more alcoholic a brew is, the warmer the serving temperature should be. The Stone Imperial Stout label describes the brew as being "intensely aromatic (notes of anise, black currants, coffee, roastiness and alcohol) and heavy on the palate...expect this mysterious brew to pour like used motor oil and taste even heavier! Serve at 55 degrees."
4.2
3171 reviews
Escondido, United States
Community reviews
Bomber, 2014 vintage. Rich roasted malt aroma with notes of dark chocolate, coffee, licorice, molasses and anise. Pours inky black with a thin mocha brown head that has good retention and some lacing. Starts with roasted malt, licorice and molasses flavors as well as having a rich, full body and slick, viscous mouthfeel. Finishes smooth but dry with dark chocolate, anise and coffee flavors. Nice Russian imperial, even after almost a decade.
Pours inky black with a small white ring. Aroma is roasted malt, small smoke, nice earthy hops as expected with Stone. Taste is medium bitterness from the hops with some from the chocolate notes. Nice hop warmness still after 5 years on a shelf. I love Stone. This is my last one in my cellar. Thanks COVID. I need more.
Superlative.
Just what you expect for the style. Scads of dark chocolate with notes of molasses, leather, coffee, and a hint of star anise. Full palate, but a surprisingly dry angle to an otherwise slow, rich finish.
Bottle from 2016.
Отличній имперец. Слаженный. Легко пьется. Плотный и не слишком алкогольный. Легкая горчинка.
Dark chocolate, plum, black licorice, coffee, smoky and booze in the nose. Fierce head out of a bottle. Kind of a crazy light body, though. What's holding this up? 2016 vintage. Big hit among the bowling team and friends. 9-5-8-3-15
aromat intensywny, mocno kawowy, dość wyraźnie palony, trochę gorzkiej czekolady. W smaku dalej najwyraźniej kawa, trochę czekolady, trochę palone, ale nie jakoś za mocno.
19/20 huge roasted coffee, perfectly balanced, rich with chocolate and sweet notes
Amazing beer! V. 2016
Killing aroma! The perfect balance between dark malts and wine.
Taste. Pleasant body, a little dry. It tastes like a mix of wine, chocolate coffee. the finish is wine, there are alcoholic notes.
Perfectly balanced delicious R.I.S.
A good one bottle. Of course Stone give us one more good beer. Thanks a lot.
good stout
spettacolare imperial stout, come molte birre di stone ben fatta e bilanciata
Palona kawa, goryczka, wytrawne. Bez zbędnych udziwnień, przyjemnie. Z wzrostem temperatury coraz lepiej
Rami Rami is drinking an Imperial Russian Stout by Stone Brewing at Kufle i Kapsle
W starym stylu. Kawa, palonosc, wytrawnosc, niezbyt intensywny, gorzki, i nagorsza sprawa - wodnisty. Z zalet: spoko ukryte alko. Niespecjalnie mi, 3.3?
(On tap) Black with tiniest tan head. Aroma of music s, coffee, smoke. Full bodied, sticky with fine carbonation. Awesome taste - rich and complex. There’s plenty of sweetness, coffee, chocolate, there’s some raisins and some hints of booze. Really good.
2015 vintage. 10.6% ABV. On tap at the Stone Brewing Taproom, Berlin on 25-May-2019. Almost black in colour with a small beige coloured head. Aroma of dark fruit, liquorice and pine. Full body and soft carbonation. Taste of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, hops and alcohol. Medium bitterness. Seriously smooth for the high ABV.
19/I/19 - 1Pt. 6Fl. Oz. bottle I've had for a long time, shared @ Nieuwjaarsreceptie Gentse Biervereniging, BB: n/a, 2014 vintage - (2019-119)
Clear dark brown to black beer, small creamy beige head, little stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: all dark chocolate, soft roast, little dusty, caramel, vanilla notes. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: pretty roasted, caramel, lots of dark chocolate. Aftertaste: roasted, prtty bitter, some gingerbread, bit sweet, little oxidized, bread crust.
Very very black , notes of vanilla caramel coffee and I taste raspberry to ....this is a hell of a great beer I have no issues giving this 5 stars!
Incrwible ceeveza de sabor y aspecto impecable. Muy agradable e i tensa ssu degustacion a camara lenta es como se disfruta mas. Me ha parecido una cerveza impecable
Bottle. Black colour, beige head, not very stable. Aroma is very complex. Chocolate, dried fruits, plums, raisins, noble alcohol, bourbon. Bit spicy. Taste is roasted, coffee, cocoa, caramel sweet, alcohol, dried fruits. Bitterness in the aftertaste. A bit boozy. Very good.
2016 edition, cellared 2.5 years. Pours thick black with a two finger, dark tan head. Aroma is strong roast, some cocoa and light dried fruit notes. Taste is dark chocolate and some brown sugar, moving to roast and some acetate. Finish is roasty. A decent imperial stout.
This is a really nice Imperial stout but for me it fails to impress. A classic interpretation of a generic impy, this is really nice, but it's nothing that stands out. Nice hints of licorice, dark malts and dark berries. A good Imperial stout for sure, but way overrated.
Smagt fra flaske til større smagning. Smagt op mod Hoppin' Frog BA BORIS.
Tyk og sort med beige skum.
Aroma af malt, kaffe, let metallisk.
Smager sødt og bittert i god balance, malten dominerer overraskende meget. Fuld krop, bitter finish.
Paahteinen, herukkaa.
Bottle, 0.65l. Black pour, half finger frothy brown head, medium retention. Broken lacing on the glass. Malty nose, caramel and toffee, charred, touch of plum and raisins.
Full body, soft to medium carbonation. Thick and creamy texture, chewy mouthfeel. Charred, roasty bittersweet taste. Aroma of caramel and toffee, plum, raisins. Mild latte and vanilla notes. Sugar, moderately sticky. Long finish, dry, mildly bitter with subtle liquory notes.
Pretty good RIS. Full bodied, tasty and fairly complex. Nice one.
2016 Release mit 10,8%. In der Nase Espresso, dunkle Schokolade. Im Trunk sehr cremig, sahnig, Kaffee, Zartbitterschokolade, hinten bitter, leicht alkoholisch. Spät holzig.
0,65 l. Bottle from Spicy Days Zagreb. Dark color with beige head. Roasted malt and coffee aroma. Dark fruit, coffee, alcohol and sweet. Light bitter finish.
Bogaty aromat pralin, gorzkiej czekolady i kawy espresso. Gęste, oleiste, alkohol przykryty bogactwem doznań.
Vintage 2016. Ponizej moich oczekiwan. Piwo ma spora piane bardzo ciemno brazowa, srednio trwala i nie oblepiajaca wnetrza sniftera. Ciemna nie przeswitujaca barwe niemal jak spuszczany olej z 30 letniego garbusa po przejechaniu 300 tys kilometrow, bardzo oleista i tlusta struktura. Zapach tylko dobre palone espresso, smakowo jest tu alkohol ukryty, slodowosc i nuty palone, poczatkowo wyczuwalna chmielowa goryczka ale potem juz tylko lepko i slodko, ogolnie za slodko. piwo dobre choc po zawyzonej ocenie mozna bylo liczyc na wiecej. Pewnie za krotko lezakowalo u mnie w piwnicy, moze po kilku latach by sie lepiej ulozylo.
Vynikající kousek od Stone. Imperiální stout s vysokou kvalitou.. V chuti dominujá kávové tóny, jak je u stoutů tradiční, s vyšším řízem, plnou chutí, jemnou hořkostí a hustou krémovou pěnou.
Stone Imperial Stout is an awesome brew. I try to sip and savor but it's just to damn good.
As you would expect from and imperial Russian Stout this thing pours a thick and dark a motor oil that is 20k miles over due for a change. Doesn't taste like motor oil though as this brew has wonderful notes of anise, black currants, coffee, roastiness and alcohol.