Terrapin Side Project Big Daddy Vlady's Russian Imperial Stout
Big Daddy Vlady’s Russian Imperial Stout is Number 13 in our Side Project Series of beers. Brewed under the strictest Socialistic guidelines, this Imperialistic Stout will be carefully monitored and allocated accordingly. Black as the coldest Siberian Winter’s night, this colossal, viscous beverage will bring the hammer and sickle down on your little girly man’s palate.
3.7
172 reviews
Athens, United States
Community reviews
Bottle 65 cl. Courtesy of SpringsLicker. Pours an opaque black with a beige head. Thick, sweet roasty nose nose with quite a whiff of smoke. Rich body, sweet roast and overripe dark fruits with a malty bitter finish. 150313
Bottle @ Papsoe tasting. Black with a small beige head. Aroma is sweet, roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. Flavor is quite sweet and moderate bitter. Sweet and moderate bitter finish. 150313
Bottle shared by a friend. Black pour with a thick tan head. Aroma of malt, roast, some chocolate and coffee. Malty flavor with slight licorice and chocolate before a bitter coffee finish.
22 oz. bottle - . Thanks Rich! Pitch black with no head. Bittersweet chocolate aroma, with some roasted notes and molasses. The flavor is very sweet, with some roasted bitterness in the finish. Medium body, sticky, and a little silky. Overall, this is a flavorful, mellow, and relatively easy-drinking Imperial Stout. It’s apparent that the years of aging have been good for it.
Pours thick viscous black like used motor oil with a tan creamy head. Aroma of roasted malt, licorice, and dark chocolate. Chocolate, roasted malt, fig, with a bit of espresso. Very nice on a cold day!
22oz bottle courtesy of bulbman, thanks! I split this with a couple friends and they seemed to enjoy it more than I did. Not much point describing the appearance, it’s black and has a minimal head.it smelled like alcohol at first but as it warmed up it was a nice rich, toasty smell. The taste really had a charred meat flavor to it that was just too much for me. I won’t be seeking this out again.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 03-25-2011 17:52:14
Shared bottle at craft ale house. Pours pitch black with no head to speak of. The aroma has a lot of licorice and a little chocolate. The taste is very chocolate forward with a licorice trail.
Split a bomber of this with fellow BA danielnovak3 in the hotel room before the CBS release. Poured into a Deschutes snifter.
A: Pours a jet black with a khaki head. Bubbly and has some nice lace down the glass.
S: Black licorice, roasted malts, and sweet chocolate are all present. Finishes with a sweet vanilla and some faint dark fruits.
T: Man, the taste hid some great flavors. There is the big chocolate and roasted malts from the nose with a just a little bit of leather mixed in. But there is also a smokey oak smell that was completely hidden in the nose. It’s almost overwhelming, but there’s just enough to make it work and it is really integrated. The alcohol is well hidden.
M: Very heavy, close to syrup. Surprisingly drinkable though.
O: Some age as done some wonders to this bad boy. Pop it open now if you still have it.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 10-02-2011
Bottle @ Steve’s Ouse, acquired in a trade a while back. Black appearance with a dark brown head that dissipates a bit quickly. Light anise, roasty chocolate malty, mild vanilla aroma. Dark fruity, rich chocolate bar, vanilla, Hershey’s, mild anise flavor. Delicious, tasty beer.
Bottle shared by Lunch. Thanks Paul!
This beer appears nearly black, with a thick beige head that leaves some decent lacing in its wake. The aroma is primarily of roasted malt and alcohol. The flavor brings a lot of heat, with the typical stout characteristics a bit out of balance. It’s quite roasty with a formidable alcohol presence throughout. The feel is medium to full bodied. A small sample was plenty. There are many better examples of this style available.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 03-10-2011
Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a pint glass.
My pour is a very thick and creamy looking black color, with a full-sized mocha head.
The aroma is smooth, balanced, and relatively chocolate forward. Milk chocolate more than dark chocolate, with smooth lightly roasted dark malts, and a bit of coffee and cream.
In my opinion, this beer has improved nicely with the age it has on it at the moment. The front of the beer has a nice milky sweetness, some dark chocolate, roasted malt character, some vanilla, a bit of espresso, and there are a bit of resiny hop bitterness toward the end.
Even from the appearance, I could tell this would be a chewy, viscous beer, and the prophecy was fulfilled with each sip. The carbonation is light, gentle, and smooth. There is a sweet stickiness that is left on the lips after each sip.
This is a nice offering from Terrapin overall.
Thanks Wally for sharing this with us. Poured into my Hill Farmstead glass at cellar temperature.
A - No head, great lacing and light amber color on the edges of the glass. Midnight black beer.
S - Bourbon, cocoa and roasted malts with a hint of figs
T - Rye whiskey, chocolate milk, heavy malts
M - Very heavy, lots of booze, sweet and roasty. Dry finish.
O - Great beer but a bit too heavy. The booze is hot and needs to cool off a bit. Maybe another year and it would have been fantastic.
651mL Pours clear, deep sepia with a larger, creamy beige head. Decent retention and weak lace. Thick mocha and chocolate mousse nose with muted Mexican chocolate. Taste up front is briny, salty, moving to bitter chocolate, ending thin and metallic with iron and tart lemon. Lots of earthen soil and iron rich dirt. Gritty mouthfeel. Eh.
Vlady’s pours a pitch black as you would expect. 2 finger mocha head is poured. Sticks around for a good bit. Everything looks go so far.
Aroma is where it falls apart. I was hoping for a big roasty smell here but it’s really hiding. Instead it’s a very sweet aroma. Chocolate is the number one thing here followed by alcohol. The over 10% isn’t hiding here. The smell finishes off with dark fruits and molasses. I love RIS that give off a big “Wow that smells fantastic” aroma. This one just doesn’t do that.
In the taste the alcohol peaks through again but it’s honestly not that bad and doesn’t get in the way. The roastiness I was hoping is again missing for the most part. Instead it’s a sweet taste. Molasses, caramel, and dark fruits with a after taste of bitter chocolate. Once again it just felt like something was missing here. Close to being really good but just falling short.
Mouthfeel is pretty nice though. Very slick, creamy, and smooth. Probably it’s best aspect.
Bottle at a recent BA/RB tasting... Thanks to Beerlando for this one in a trade. I sat on it for about a year and it was tasting great now. A black pour with a tan head. A hint of that older stout taste with a lot of roast a bitterness that seemed to have left with nice caramel malt sweetness. Chocolate, coffee, toasted sugars and grains. Really nice drinking beer.
Love this beer! Very floral in smell and taste. Will definitely hit the spot.
First time trying this beer.
Pours a dark dark brown color, not as dark as I expected. Very thin head that vanishes quickly leaving a thin edge. The nose is very nice: Dark Fruits very prevalent, nice roastiness, a little bit of sweetness as well, licorice.
Medium/full body, not as thick and syrupy as I would like: also, cholcolate and a very pleasant bitterness.
Best brew I have tried from Terrapin but they lose points for brewing in a hell hole like Athens, Georgia.
bottle. pours black with whispy tan head, the nose has dark chocolate, burnt caramel, and raisins. kind of classic/typical impy stout nose. the flavor tends to fall more on the darker fruit side with raisins and prunes coming out strong although it is balanced by brown sugar, charred cocoa nibs, and a healthy hop bitterness. the body feels a little thin but swallows a tad syrupy and the palate is quite long. alcohol is really well hidden. overall this isn’t mind blowing or does anything new for the style, however it nails a pretty drinkable and well made imperial stout. too bad it’s 50degrees in Jan otherwise this would have hit the spot more.
Name: SP 13 Big Daddy Vlady
Date: December 20, 2010
Mode: Bottle
Source: Total Wine, GA
Appearance: black, fine tan head, bits of lace
Aroma: rich roasted aroma, sweet licorice, light hops, dark chocolate
Body: big thick body
Flavor: rich malt flavor, lots of roasted, dark chocolate bitterness, touch of coffee character, lots of hops
Name: SP 13 Big Daddy Vlady
Date: December 30, 2010
Mode: draft
Source: bsp
Appearance: black, dense tan head
Aroma: rich chocolate and roasted aroma, caramel sweetness brings out the richness of the chocolate, hint of vanilla
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich roasted flavor mixed with agressive hops, dark chocolate bitterness, hint of coffee
Name: SP 13 Big Daddy Vlady
Date: May 12, 2012
Mode: draft
Source: bsp
picking up a lot of winey sweetness, rich chocolate, fruits esters, roasted malts,
Name: SP 13 Big Daddy Vlady
Date: August 30, 2012
Mode: draft
Words: apalachain vintners
rich chocolate and sweet wine,
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *** /4
22 ounce from Bruisin Ales. Big chocolate stout. Really big. Bold flavors. Big body. One of the better Side Projects, for sure.
Draft from my house: keg is multiple months old poured into a dimple mug
pours extremely black and opaque with a large creamy espresso tan head that last for ever. very rich malt aroma with a big licorice and dark chocolate aromas, small hints of some roast coffee but not over powering. very inviting nose. big thick chewy mouth feel and a nice warming and smooth drinking beer. great chocolate flavors with hints of roast and coffee and nice bright licorice moments. extremely smooth and creamy for an impy stout. excellent drinker and has aged well
I’ve really been enjoying Terrapins side projects and this may be my favorite so far. 22 oz. poured into a snifter. Black in color and completely opaque with a rather small tan head. Smells of chocolate, coffee, and malty sweetness. The taste has a huge roasty beginning, with a mocha latte middle, and finished with nice chocolate tones with a touch of alcohol. This beer was very tastey however not the most amazing impy I’ve ever had.
Bottle, shared with Parksy and Brian. I’ve been cellaring this one for about 9 months. Inky brown, thick tan head that retains beautifully. Aroma and flavor are both very chocolatey with some espresso, cream, oats (I know this is not an oatmeal impy, but I kept hitting that flavor note). Nice hoppy finish. Full bodied with a silky mouthfeel. Very nice.
Have pretty much enjoyed all the side projects from terrapin so i was happy to see this .. . Pours a deep brown .. light head, light lacing .. . good dark roast, burnt molasses, and decaf espresso .. . light mouth for an impy stout .. . pretty good libation.. . . .
He should still be wearing a hat...
Forget about the hat... he’s got a gun!"
Location/Date: Catching up on ratings in November, 2011.
Appearance: Pours a black opaque.
Aroma: Aroma is sweet of coffee and vanilla.
Taste: More hop than expected, malty and sweet.
Palate: Medium body and slick.
Summary: A nice, hoppy example of the style.
22 ounce bottle that pours a thick black liquid with a tan head. Aromas of chocolate, raisins, roasted malt, and a touch of licorice. Flavors match the aroma, and as the beer sits, more boozy flavors come through.
Pours black with a soft pillowy mocha colored head. Nose is roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate and earthy hops. Flavor is also drying chocolate malts and a slightly bitter finish. Silky mouth feel and slight hints of booze.
Pours pitch black with small brown fizz. Smells super roasted, chocolate, coffee, with soft bitterness also on the nose. Tastes roasted with hints of chocolate and some coffee, no real bitterness; not very impressive unfortunately. Full-bodied with a smooth texture and soft mouth-carbonation, Terrapin Big Daddy Valdy’s Russian Imperial Stout finishes with a lingering bitterness.
bomber in trade from Tenn. In sniffer. Looks very black. dark tan head. smells of lots of thick chocolate. Thick chocolate and yummy. Some roasted chocolate. Typical straight up lovely double stout. Overall 8 of 10.
Bomber courtesy of Craftbeerdesign (thanks Geoff!) poured a translucent dark brown nearly black with a lasting brown head. Aromas of coffee, bakers cocoa, licorice, pepper, and roasted malt. Palate was full bodied and smooth with a warming finish. Flavors of roasted malt, bitter chocolate, cofee, pepper, licorice anbd dried fruit with a smooth warming lingering roasty bitter chocolate finish.