Stone Imperial Russian Stout - Belgo Anise
Ale brewed with anise, oak chips and belgian yeast.
3.6
566 reviews
Escondido, United States
Community reviews
Deep black in colour with a thin but lingering beige head, light lacing.
Aroma is of coffee, liquorice, roasted malt, light sweetness.
Flavour is heavy on the liquorice, roasty, creamy and quite sweet, light coffee, some bitterness and some alcohol.
Creamy mouthfeel, medium body, moderate carbonation.
Finishes long, bitter, warming with lots of liquorice.
It’s good. I like the direction that the anise takes this beer. Gives it a nice big body.
Black, with a nice frothy brown head. Smells like coffee, caramel, and licorice. Taste is heavy on the coffee, dark chocolate and caramel, with the anise being kind of a subtle background player. Light fuit flavors as it warms. 2010 vintage, drank on 10/17/2014
"i am surprised to like this as much as i do (based on two shared bottles). haven’t had it head to head with the classic yet (which is one of my all time faves) but this is deeelicious. aroma is the strong point. the licorice like anaise, chocolate and roasted malt is great. subtle oak also comes through in the feel and flavor. i for one am glad they did two versions of this and OG. neither was better than the original imo, but both were very very good!"
Bottle: Funny story, I actually thought this was the regular Stone IRS when I bought the bottle (wasn’t paying much attention clearly) only to get home & realize it was the anise version. I do not enjoy anise in this capacity. Not at all. Jet black pour, small amount of sediment with a thick, deep-tan & leathery foam on top; nice retention. Nose is all roasted malt, anise, & licorice. Tastes like biting into a goddamn Star anise pod. Black licorice, anise, mint, medicinal front to back with a mild dark fruitiness of figs, raisins. But mostly anise. VERY sweet, quite cloying. Overdone, not to mention I hate the flavor to begin with. Creamy body, thick. But really hard for me to enjoy this one. Just not my thing, at all.
cherry and pomegranate acidity, anise accents, spicy Belgian yeast, roast, mild vanilla, moderately bitter chocolate. Moderate tannins, lighter mouthfeel for abv and style.
2014-07-23. Black body with a nice modest beige head. 3+ Aroma is richly anise, over a dark malty core. 7++ Flavour has rich dark malt core, good amount of anise character throughout. Fairly bitter, bitterness lingers. Moderate Belgian yeast undertones. Smooth average plus to medium bodied palate, modest carbonation. 3++ Nice but the anise is a bit strong even for me, and I quite like anise. Bottle via Bartowel trade with dmitsI>
Bottle at Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Originally rated 30122011. Colour is black with brownish white head. Aromas and flavours: Spices, anise, sweetness, coffee and roasted malts.
Bottled. Pours black with an average brown head. Aroma of dark fruits, anise, coffee, wood, licorice and roasted malts. Medium sweet flavor that ends up more dry with alcohol. Full bodied, oily texture and soft carbonation. A very nice Impy.
Black colour, beige head. Aroma of malts, soy, dry dog food and a hint of anise. Flavour anise, liquorice, malts and roasted malts. Quite full body. Finish anise, liquorice, roasted malts, hint of coffee.
(from 66cL bottle @ RBBWG III, Gent. Shared by Jeff, thanks!)
(Bottle) Black colour with lasting, creamy, pale brown head. Malty, roasted nose with notes of liquorice, anise, black rye bread, dried fruit, soy sauce and spices (ginger?). Malty, roasted taste with anise, liquorice, chocolate, black rye bread, prunes, raisins, cacao and a generous spicy bitterness in the finish. Full body, with a smooth and rounded mouthfeel. A certain sweetness coming through. Lots of anise and liquorice character, but it’s very well balanced despite the alcohol level and the spicy Belgian yeast character. Very nice.
Aged 3 years (2011 vintage): I really wanted to age this longer, but it’s more important that I make room in my cellar. So, with a heavy but happy heart, I am now privileging myself to this heavy but happy ale. Its brown head is still full, but bubbly, and relinquishes itself after a minute or two upon the deep, black-colored surface. The nose is still strong and potent with notes of alcohol and roasted malts, but with a strikingly unique blend of Belgian yeast and anise. Two flavors that are distinct enough on their own to dominate a beer have actually blended very well over three years to create a soft, but sharp, character that is no longer subject to my complaints of either.
Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout
Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout
Overall, the aroma is soft and sweet, with a touch of alcohol, roasted malts and chocolate forming the base. It’s wildly different once you take a drink, and although it’s so strongly flavored at first it really rolls over the tongue in such an almost velvety way that you can forgive what feels like a hoard of Belgian yeast spores dragging bitter chocolate and anise-laden roasted malts across a charred, almost smoky tongue. It’s full, yet light in an almost fruity way, reminding me of a sweet, but full-bodied wine. The Belgian yeast seems to be walking an extremely straight line here, and has yet to tip into any uncomfortable territory. It really is a nice blend of not only the yeast and anise flavors, but also the yeast and roasted malt flavors. It’s bright for such a dark beer, and actually tastes like it could easily age for another few years.
Rated on 11-20-2011. When poured, this bottled beer has a medium sized fizzy tan head with a short retention, opaque body and spotty amounts of lacing. The aroma is caramel malt, roasted, chocolate, sweet, and anise. The flavor is sweet, pine hops, malt, roasted, anise, alcohol, and anise. The mouthfeel is light carbonation and this beer is medium-full bodied. This is a sipping beer, some alcohol comes out in the flavor and a beer worth trying.
Just finished up a 08, 11-14 vertical of regular. This was the worst of the bunch. Held onto it thinking the licorice would drop off. No. Still smells line licorice and tastes like licorice. Decent. But the variation adds nothing but subtracts quite a but.
bomber pour..2011 odd year..fairly black color with a mocha/tan head..small bubbles atop a larger than expected head..aroma is not the highlight here with stout qualities and as others have stated a somewhat bandaid like presence. mouthfeel is quite creamy and vanilla heavy with roasty qualities..not getting as much of the licorice like stuff from the anise..definitely an interesting offering with some dark fruity plum..mandarin orange in the fray as well...ok..but not on par with the regular ris...
22 oz 2011 bottle served in a Belgian snifter.
Pours near black and sits black and opaque in the glass. Small bubbly head sonn retreats but some lacing is provided.
Aroma: sweet, woodsy with a hint of vanilla.
Flavor: robust and rich with a very obvious contribution from the anise, a more moderate impact of the oak, and some funky-fruity aspects from the Belgian yeast. Probably less sweet than the anise makes it seem, but seems a little too sweet.
Feel: full body with soft, medium-low carbonation.
O: interesting but a big step in the wrong direction from the excellent, better balanced, ’regular’ Imp. Stout which I last had less than 48 hours ago.
Thanks Jef @RBBWG14! Pours dark brown with orange highlights. And a tiny head. The smell is anise, dark roasted malt, chocolate. The taste is dark fruit, anise, dark roasted malt. The body is medium with active carbonation.
Smell like a stout...but addition of a phenolic bandaid. Taste yeasty and somewhat sour. Not a big fan.
Starts like any good stout, with flavors of roasted coffee and dark chocolate. The anise taste bites hard, but is somewhat smooth out with flavors of vanilla bean, toasted grain and wood. The Belgian yeast is definitely noticeable but not overly strong. It somewhat detracts from the rich stout flavors in my opinion. Finish is sweet with hints of brown sugar and cream. I like experimental and unique beers, but the flavors don’t mesh that well in this one. But a below average imperial stout is still better than most other beers.
bottle at RBWG14 ;
Pours black, small grey head
Smell is pure anise .
OK carbo .
Taste is anise, some roasted malts . Not that thick . sweet, vanilla .
Ok ..
2011 poured from bottle to tulip glass. Dark opaque hue with thick brown head that lingered. Aroma is anise, esters, sugar, floral, earthy, bitter cocoa, slight funk, ethanol. Mouthfeel is nice with medium body and good carbonation. Taste is sweet throughout with an astringent following and slight ethanol finish. Slight CO2 bite. Overall, this is an interesting brew. I’ve not previously had anything quite like it and most likely never will in the future, but I like it.
11.01.2014, 0,65l bottle @ home:
Big brown creamy longlasting head. Aroma is kind of strange sweet spicy, dak malts, anise, yeast, hand lotion, spices, citrus, mint. Taste is kind of strange sour-ish and sweet, yeast, dark malts, anise, citrus, spices, hints of cardboard. Medium bitterness, thin amost medical harsh mouthfeel. Just weird, not even close to my cup of tea.
I poured a 22oz bottle into a tulip glass. There was no specific bottling date other than it being a 2011 release. I got the bottle at a Christmas party (thanks to whomever brought it!).
Appearance: Opaque, ink-black body. No visible carbonation. Pours to a fairly large, brown, soapy/foamy head which laces and retains well enough.
Smell: Huge black licorice notes along with toffee and some chocolate. No roasted malt or alcohol.
Taste: You don’t tend to associate Belgian character with American-style imperial stouts. So, it’s definitely interesting that Stone choose to experiment with a Belgian yeast strain plus anise on their usual Imperial Russian Stout base recipe. The result is a stout that’s only slightly different than the usual brew, though sweeter and less bitter. It’s possible this palette isn’t what it tasted like in 2011, though three years of cellaring doesn’t seem to have harmed it at all.
Up front I get a strong, fruity flavor of black cherry and blackberry. This is quickly followed by a strong sweetness of black licorice and a Tootsie Roll-like chocolate flavor. Not much in the way of bitterness, and certainly no hop taste to speak of. There might be some coffee-like bitterness hiding in the background that shows up in the aftertaste, but for the most part there’s not a lot of bitter flavor here. I was actually hoping for a lot of roasted maltiness, but it seems to have faded. As far as the Belgian quality goes, it’s difficult to pick up on since the base brew is so strongly-flavored. A hint of alcohol at the end imparts some rum and vanilla flavor, which is nice. Overall, it’s a sweet brew that’s tasty and satisfying, but far from amazing.
Drinkability: The first thing I noticed about Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout was its thin, slightly fizzy mouthfeel. That’s probably due to the yeast strain, though it is a nice change of pace from the usual stick-to-your-teeth viscous mouthfeel of most stouts of this nature. It’s no challenge to drink as it goes down smoothly with surprisingly (and somewhat disappointingly) little aftertaste. Almost no alcohol warmth, either, which is surprising considering the beer is quite hefty at 10.5% ABV.
Really interesting beer. The anise comes out most pronounced in the aroma, but even at that point there is complexity in the chocolate, roasted malts, and woody notes. The Belgian quality is somewhat secondary, except for how the body isn’t quite as rich as a great Imperial Stout (I had a Bells Expedition, aged 5 fives, immediately following this, and it was much more vanilla and a bit thicker.) Still, there’s a lot of sophistication to this, which comes out well as it warms. Good stuff. Loved the aroma. Bottle.
(Backlog) Strong black licorice aroma right off the bat. Malts, wood some dark chocolate, sweet, roast, but mostly dominated by the anisein the overall smells. The look is dark latte colored head, black in color. The taste is better balanced than the smell. Swee
Vintage 2011, odd year version.
A: Black ale with cherry hedging and excellent clarity. Single finger of light mocha foam falls to a thin sheet of the same. No lacing.
S: ANISE SEED TAKES 90%+ OF THIS AREA. As I really dig deep, I can reach in for some roasted notes, but again, the anise seed is exactly what I’m getting. I expected some of the Belgo yeast to add character here, and maybe it does, but the anise seed is soooo powerful, I can’t seem to really enjoy everything this beer could offer. Sometimes, just as I start to smell this, it reminds me of root beer, but then it just becomes overwhelming anise seed without any attempt at balance.
T: Soooo, this is like anise seed tea, carbonated. There are some burnt coffee flavors in here. I’m tasting some of the belgian yeast in the finish, but overall the Anise is just too powerful to really enjoy an entire bomber of this beer. It reminds me of Raki, a turkish liquor that is also really strong in the anise seed flavors, and to be sipped over the course of quite some time (this is also quite thin and refreshing and flat).
M: Thick and creamy feel with lower carbonation and a dry finish. Really a nice combination and the finish allows for resonance. Too bad the resonating flavors are offensive in intensity.
O: This is really disappointing. I think this idea could really be great, but the execution here is a bit monolithic in profile of the flavor. The look and feel are great, but my olfactory and gustatory sensations are offended, this was a drain pour for me.
Serving type: bottle
06-26-2011
How: Bottle.
Where: Man in the Moon, Stockholm.
Appearance: Black colour with a brown head.
Aroma: Liquorice, aniseed, raisin.
Body: Medium body, low carbonation.
Flavour: Liquorice, chocolate, aniseed.
2011 bottle. Dark beer with a short lived brown head. Nose with lots of molasses, some wood and a darkness that I’ll attribute to the anise. This is not so much a black jelly bean anise flavor but more of a Good -n- Plenty. There is enough sweetness to balance but the whole thing is very big. Lively on the tongue but heavy on the palate. Interesting experiment...
TAP at Chez Moeder Lambic during "Moeder Lambic Vs. Stone".
Only found back scores, not ratings.
FROM NOTES: June 29, ’12
Poured from a cellared 2 ounce bomber into a pint glass.
A: HOLY ANISE/LICORICE, BATMAN! Maybe some roasted malts, but did I mention anise...?
A: Pours black with a finger-width tan head.
T: Follows the nose with BIG TIME licorice/Anise Flavor and a hint of malt but gets a bit rough and strong after a second or two. Finished with the subtlety of a punch in the balls and a lingering aftertaste that you will not soon forget.
P: Shockingly thin body and feels over-carbonated.
O: Their Imperial Russian Stout is other-worldly GREAT, but this is a bit rough, like licking an ashtray and filling your sinus cavity with Anise.
Aces and ales in 2011 bottle. Black pour with a thin milk chocolate head that settles around the edge of the glass. Nose is strong Oak and Belgian yeast. Not getting a lot of anise, maybe it died off. Taste is sweet chocolate mixed with Belgian yeast and a big backbone of oak in the finish. The anise/licorice is still there a bit, but must have died off since bottling. I really like this. I can understand why people prefer the normal RIS, but this isn’t as much of a fluke as others make it out to be.