Left Hand Wake Up Dead

I hope the beer is as good as the label. I also love the website for this brewery, which has tons of info on their beer. This RIS is brewed with Pale, Munich, Crystal, and Chocolate malts with roasted and black barley, flaked oats, and Magnum and US Goldings hops.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 10.2% ABV. Colorado.

Dark ruby red. It’s got a tan head, but it’s not a huge one.

The nose is a bit boozy with some chocolate and roast coming through. There’s a caramel component that lightens it up a bit.

Mouthfeel is full bodied, but still has a pretty crisp carbonation.

Caramel and coffee meet, which turns into a roasty, boozy heat. It’s a big brew and the name is clearly appropriate. Although, it is less roasty than many RIS.

Not bad, and definitely worth a purchase. 88 points.

Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout

This is Stone’s one off for the IRS. I love the IRS, so I can only hope this will be just as amazing. This is brewed with a Belgian yeast, with anise and oak. Let’s see how it is.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 10.5% ABV. 55 IBUs. California. Limited Release.

Very dark brown to black, nice tan head.

There’s a ton going on on the nose. Yes, the anise comes through a bit, in a Jager kind of way. Some chocolate and dark fruits come through. I also get a wine and bourbon thing, which I bet is partly from the oak and high ABV.

Mouthfeel is big, like you’d expect, but still has a nice bit of carbonation.

The palate is similar to the nose. It starts off as the IRS that you know and love with a big chocolate and coffee component. It’s delicious, but then it turns into this weird Nyequil/Jager finish that I find completely off-putting. It’s a bit fruitier and it definitely has that whiskey thing going on, which I like.

I’m actually a fan of anise, but not in the Nyquil form. That’s all I taste on the finish of this. I miss the regular IRS. 86 points.

Alaskan Perseverance Ale

I finally got my hands on this beer. After watching the video posted below, I couldn’t wait to try it. This RIS has birch syrup and fireweed honey, with a little bit of their alder-smoked malt used in the Smoked Porter. They also add some brown sugar, so this thing is loaded with the sweets.

Alaskan Brewing Co. | Perseverance Ale from Redtail Media on Vimeo.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 9.0% ABV. 50 IBUs. Alaska.

Dark brown to black with a tan head.

The nose is a bit sweet with chocolate, vanilla, fresh espresso. This really does smell delicious.

Mouthfeel is full bodied, really nice amount of thickness.

Vanilla and chocolate with a nice sweetness. It’s got just a hint of coffee and honey.

I’m not getting the birch flavor, but this is just a nice, sweet stout. Easy drinking and a great dessert. 91 points.

Hale’s Pikop Andropov’s Rushin’ Imperial Stout

Great name for a beer, especially if you understand the reference. This RIS has six different malts, but they don’t list what they are. Let’s see how it tastes.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 8.0% ABV. Washington.

Nice dark color with a dark tan head.

The nose here concerns me, as it smells like vinegar. It’s also got a ton of coffee, which I like. A little hint of vanilla and apple, as well.

Mouthfeel isn’t too bad, a bit over-carbonated for me.

That vinegar is up front, but transitions to dark chocolate covered apples, and then to a mocha finish, which is actually quite nice.

Interesting beer, but that vinegar thing is no good. 80 points.

Lagunitas Imperial Stout

This imperial stout is a Summer release according to BA. Lagunitas calls it an Unlimited release, whatever that means. No information on the website other than calling this beer a hydraulic sandwich in a glass….

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 10.1% ABV. California.

Black with dark brown hues and a fading head.

The nose is major soy sauce. A little bit of chocolate and coffee, but soy sauce dominates.

Decent mouthfeel, but might be a bit too light for me.

Chocolate, coffee, soy sauce, orange, vanilla and dirt come through on the palate with a little bit of bitterness.

Hmm, I’m slightly undecided about this one. It’s good quality, but the soy sauce flavor just ruins it for me. 88 points.

Nebraska Black Betty

This is the notorious Black Betty whiskey barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout. I say notorious for the trouble it’s caused on Getting Tanked, so it was clearly appropriate for me to drink it on the show. As expected, I had a Black Betty moment. Luckily, I got a review out before it trashed me.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 9.0% ABV. 83 IBUs. Nebraska.

Very dark brown with a tan head.

The nose has some whiskey and oak, like you’d expect, and a bunch of chocolate and vanilla. Some brown sugar and honey also make an appearance. Great smelling stout.

Nice and thick mouthfeel. Decently chewy which is what I like to see with the style.

Bitter chocolate, honey, oak, rum, whiskey, and tobacco. A ton of flavor, but the whiskey barrel doesn’t dominate at all. Decent amount of hops on the back. It is a bit hot on the back, which I would like to see calmed down, but doesn’t bother me too much.

Nice, thick, boozy, imperial stout. Another good example of this culty style, and hangs up there with some of the best. 93 points.

Widmer W’11 KGB

For some reason, their website only lists the W’10 beer, but not this one. Anyways, it’s a cheap RIS. It’s about as cheap as any I’ve seen, so let’s see if it tastes any good. If it is, this would be a great buy.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 9.3% ABV. Oregon.

Actually pretty light color for a RIS. Head fades quickly.

All I get on the nose is alcohol and roast barley, not much else coming through.

Mouthfeel isn’t too bad, but it is too light.

The alcohol doesn’t come through as much on the palate as it does the nose, so that’s good. Over-powered by roast barley. Very roasted, tastes like burnt meat, burnt coffee, and burnt chocolate if you can imagine that.

Not a great beer, but for the price it isn’t too bad. I feel like they had a fairly light, bland base beer and then added as much roasted barley as they could to cover everything else up. It comes off as a shallow, unbalanced beer. 79 points.

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy

This RIS weighs in at 10.5% ABV and 98 IBUs. That’s big. Ten Fidy is made with 2-Row, and Chocolate malts with roasted barley and flaked oats, and of course, lots of hops.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 10.5% ABV. 98 IBUs. Colorado.

The don’t get much darker than this. Not much head, just a little bit of a dark tan mist on the top.

Big nose. Lots of roasted malts, soy sauce, saltines, dark chocolate, and some slight honey.

Big, thick, and bold mouthfeel.

Roasted and earthy up front and eases into a chocolate and caramel mid-palate, and then transitions to a soy saucy, and roasty, and almost meaty. Also has a little vanilla on the back.

Excellent beer. Admittedly, not my favorite style, as I’ve said before. The soy sauce doesn’t suit my palate that well, but don’t get my wrong, this is a great beer and I do enjoy it. This has great balance, transitions, and is just bold in it’s approach. This is like Russell Crowe. It says fuck you, but at the same time it can be one of the best out there. 92 points.

Sam Adams Imperial Stout

One of their Imperial Series beers, this stout features 2-Row Harrington, Metcalfe and Copeland Pale, Caramel 60, Munich, Special B, and smoked malts with unmalted barley and malted wheat. The hops are all East Kent Goldings. Let’s see if this RIS can hold it’s own against all the cult classics.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 9.2% ABV. Massachusetts.

Black with some brown hues. Tan colored head and some decent lacing here.

Sweet smelling, with a lot of caramel coming through. A little bit of chocolate and coffee. Not that much else, just smells very sweet and dessert like.

Medium bodied, the carbonation seems to thin it out a little.

Lots of sweet caramel on the palate. Some roasted coffee qualities on the backend. A little notice of the alcohol. Some orange and banana hit the palate.

So, it’s alright. It’s very caramel-y instead of roasted coffee and chocolate, which you normally will find on this style of beer. I don’t hate this beer at all, but there are much better places to go. 87 points.

Skagit River Trumpeter Stout

Before beginning this review, I just want to say thank you to everyone. My last post was my 100th, and yesterday I got over 2000 hits since I started this blog. That may not seem like a lot, but it’s a big deal for me. I’m lucky enough to be in this great craft beer community, and I look forward to continue to bring you reviews, and hopefully just talk about beer in general. I hope you stick around.

Skagit River Brewery is located really close to Bellingham, WA (where I’m at), but this is only the second beer I’ve had from them. The first I reviewed, but I wanted to get this one out first because it’s a limited release. This beer is a RIS, but the website doesn’t list the malts or hops used in it.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 10.0% ABV. Washington. Available late October.

Very dark, looks black, but can see a lot of red in the light. Leaves a really nice tan-colored head, and some decent lacing.

Nice nose, I get just a ton of coffee on here. Chocolate comes through a lot, a little bit of caramel, vanilla, oak, and I’m also getting a root beer component. Very aromatic nose.

Medium to full bodied with a bit of carbonation.

So much coffee and chocolate on the palate, wow. A lot of vanilla and oak presence, with some spices, and a little caramel and molasses. The roasted coffee lasts forever in my mouth. A little bit of bitterness lingers.

This is quite impressive. Reminds me of the Bourbon County Stout. This is going to be a hard beer to locate for most people, but if you find it, and like hefty stouts, give this a try. 91 points.