Victory Storm King Stout

Great nose, burnt sort of double FES awesomeness going on from the first instant.

And indeed a rather nice progression of flavours, including a bunch of good choc / coffee / roast notes that work well in the style. What's different about this beer is the way they're presented - it feels like it's maybe backwards in a way, providing the comforting chocolate stout presence first up, before bitey aggressive roast smokiness second. The whole thing leaves you with a pretty powerful dry roasty mouth presence which is not unpleasant, but a bit different to the norm.

Good stuff here - perhaps not quite the traditional 'imperial stout' for mine tastewise, though it does slip through at an unobtrusive but substantial 9.1%. It's not that the taste or body is lacking - it just comes across as more like a hyper awesome full roasty FES party monarch than the sweeter and heavier, benevolent imperial king you were expecting.

Fun times to be a royal. 8.0

To Øl Goliat Imperial Coffee Stout

Back for another gunning run on the To Øl coffee cache, fresh from a pretty successful campaign debut.

It's a good looking pour again, and at a solid 10.1% these guys are serious. Big coffee again delivers beguilingly on the nose - draws you in for a taste. The body and palate both back it up beautifully but it's important to note it is not just about the coffee .. it's a beautifully rounded, heavy, satisfying cudgel of a stout this with all the creamy complexity this style deserves.

I love it when these sorts of beers have a development of flavours, and it's no wonder these guys learned the dark magics of Mister Mikkeller in sampling this one. If I had to nitpick I'd say maybe just ever so slightly too sweet - but that's really drawing flaws in what is another excellent beer. 8.5

Mornington Russian Imperial Stout

Need something to wash the mouth out after that last crime against humanity - lucky we have the ever reliable Mornington to help out.

Nice pour, couple cm of solid fluffy head atop a pitch black body. Coffee notes extrude first up but once you get closer there's a fair bit of fruitiness there too.

It comes across very fresh first up on the palate, perhaps this is still a bit young. Alcohol and yeast are certainly apparent as the wave subsides there too, along with coffee and some relatively harsh hops. All in all could use at least a few months more to think about things, mesh and meld a little better to attain its full character.

It's sedate and the mouthfeel is good so I'm confident this will grow into a nice beer. I can only rate what's in front of me though and at this stage - just needs a bit more time. 5.5

Haandbryggeriet Odin's Tipple Dark Norse Ale

Sometimes a variety of factors (low light, elapsed time, my own shocking lack of care) combine to mean a beer's mugshot ends up some distance from what it actually looks like in, you know, reality.

In this case though what you see is genuinely what you get - it's a massive 11% imperial stout that glugs like an oil spill with an almost studious evasion of any carbonation whatsoever.  

My notes for the nose on this one include the phrase 'complex Christmas chocolate' along with shortbread and other assorted biscuitry. On the palate though it's a mixture of complex and straightforward that takes a bit of time to understand. The label certainly confirms it's a beer they've tried to keep very simple recipe-wise (think stacks of choc malt), but the sheer bulk of it coupled with their use of wild yeast gives it a thoughtful sort of quality too. I got a fair bit of alc coming through on this, not all of it pleasant.

Our local bottle-o informs us that each time they get a batch of this, one particular customer turns up and purchases almost all of it right away, so it's certainly got some fans. For me, an interesting experiment but not one I'll be searching out again in the near future. 7.0

Epic Epicurean Coffee & Fig 2011

A special bottle this and had been incubating for some time in the fridge as a result. Finally cracked it open with good company one recent evening and immediately felt thankful for the decision.

The coffee on this is really quite extraordinary - it comes through stronger and more appetizing on the nose than any other beer I have tried, sharp espresso notes rather than the more general ground coffee elsewhere. It's got an enticing presence all round, and for good reason.

Alongside the massive smooth coffee presence this beer has also been racked over roasted figs, and coconut and both provide excellently balanced counterpoints to the main action. This was a beer brewed from a concept born from collaboration with a food critic by reports and it's both a highly successful dalliance and an example of beer as art.

I generally check ratebeer after completing each review, just to get a sense of where things sit in the wider community and the broader public sentiment. In this case this beer has been marked pretty harshly and I can only conclude it's the lack of really 'imperial' flavours going on. Whatever the reason it's a travesty - do yourself a favour and go grab a bottle while it's still around. Then thank me. 9.5

Wigram Russian Imperial Stout

Nice packaging! And the bottle itself is a bomber of sorts after all.

Presentation top notch out of the bottle too - looks great, lovely lasting creamy iced coffee coloured head, perfect RIS performance. The nose has a slight bitter edge with a little less fruit sweetness than you might expect from this style - although it could well be in keeping with the relatively restrained 8.5%.

On swigging you can expect a pleasant flat mouthfeel, creamy notes, and coffee the main characteristic here from start to finish and indeed beyond. Slight soy notes mingle with the roasty toasty bitterness. It's got good presence for the abv and while not the most complex in this class, delivers a very smooth and easy drinking experience.

The only hard work in this beer is not drinking it too fast as it telepathically calls you back for another sip seemingly as soon as you've put it down. You're only drinking 20ml at a time of course, but when you pick up the glass 35 times a minute...

Great stuff, would drink again. 8.5

Red Hill Imperial Stout

An imperial stout, pouring a carapace as solid and black as a roll of strategically placed gaffer tape.

So - that's one tick. There's a disappointing lack of head from this one though, only a slight patina of red mocha visible for a split second at the start. A little low for an Imperial at just 8.1%.

Initial thoughts on the aroma take me to the lands of the chocolate vanilla porter, but there's a bit of backing body there too. The problem with this body is it's lurking in the shadows holding a blunt rusty knife made of acetone and other stray tendrils. Hmm. Feeling a bit ill at ease now but all you can do is continue down that alley..

The flavour profile of this beer starts off quite nice, coffee notes evident up front, along with a muted parade of raisiny imperial notes. They too seem a little subdued in the context of that serial killer Acetone and his quiet but strangely insidious intimations of unripe fruit and off notes.

I think it's the hop profile in this beer that creates this odd edge rather than anything untoward in the beer's creation, but I couldn't help wishing they'd just left it alone and let the deeper choc / coffee notes do their job unharrassed. 4.0 3.0

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout 2011-12 edition

Not often you see a 'chocolate' stout coming in at 10% abv!

Also it's becoming clear upon looking at this bottle where Bootleg got their name. Huh.

Anyway, this is a big beer off the bat, nice pour delivers an oily glass presence with a low but attractive mocha head. The nose certainly starts off on choc but then meanders through a variety of raisiny imperial sort of notes consistent with an imperial stout. There is no real booze present to blast off your nose hairs for you.

Drinking this it is clear it's not the mellow, choc milk sort of experience you get from most beers with 'chocolate' in the name. Instead, this is a beer story where the chocolate malt takes a bit of a back seat. It's there, sure, but only as a soft foil to the imperial army of 6 different malts doing their respective jobs. There's a nice burnt custard sort of effect it generates that just covers the alcohol and leaves this smooth and refreshing.

So, not a very 'chocolate' sort of beer in the end, but this shouldn't be taken as too bad of a thing. It's an interesting approach to this style and one I found intriguing and flavoursome if not quite as indulgent as various other options. 7.5

Moa Imperial Stout

Despite the lovely cork on the bottle, I was a little surprised to see this one pushing 10.2%.

Something about the labeling from these guys suggests to me they're a bit lightweight - which if this beer is anything to go on, couldn't be further from the truth.

Instead, this pours lovely and consistent with a heavy body and leaves a lovely sticky beige finger of head. It's got one of those imperial stout aromas true to form, with molasses and sultanas the standout. Booze is pleasantly unobtrusive in the nose, remaining hidden unless you really hunt for it like some nasal version of Kirby.

This beer is aged in pinot noir bottles, and it does feel apparent with the red wine rum and raisin flavours really suiting this imperial stout. There's some dark fruit present before a pleasingly dry coffee aftertaste takes you to a full and reassuring conclusion.

I have to say I wasn't expecting much here but I enjoyed every drop. Recommended. 8.0

Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout

I'm starting to feel pretty confident picking up big stouts and porters from anywhere in Scandinavia.

Happily this is another fine example from the big man at Nøgne Ø. It starts off with a nice pour, residing solid and deep black in the glass very much to style. The head is mocha with that slight reddish tinge I love to see from beers of this providence.


Roasty tones are immediately apparent from the nose, which comes through very rounded and hitting all the right imperial notes. There's a bit of booze present, ever so slightly disproportionate to the 9.0% abv.

Mouthfeel is again exactly to style - yet another dark euro effort that just feels so comfortable and accomplished, deliberate in its flavours and above all mouthfeel. There's an inherent silkiness of body here that you can just tell others are trying for on occasion but very rarely succeeding. Very good indeed.

It's not a subtle drop, instead confidently delivering what it has to say from the books of roast coffee, licorice, and indeed booze. A little hot perhaps but delicious once again, top drop. A yardstick brew both for the brewery, and the style. 8.0

Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

A nice quiet introduction to this Norwegian brewer with a double imperial wheat stout.

Wait, what?

For a beer so removed from the norm, this doesn't really show it with a lovely mocha coloured vortex-like head atop a solid black body. The aroma likewise is largely in line with typical imperial stout characteristics though there is an element of clean, non-fruity booze and a slight edge of what could possibly be the wheat in there also.

First reaction on sipping is a bit of soy that keeps on through the mouthful. There's sufficient malt backing and imperial malt fruit there too, but it all seems a bit more 'front of mouth' than the norm for the more rounded (.. or maybe just non-wheat) examples of this style.

After the initial shock it's more or less a regulation imperial stout, just perhaps a bit cleaner, a bit lighter, and a bit .. well, less good. In saying that though I fully approve of this effort to do something different and it's far from a failure, delivering a solid body and some nice roasty flavours in there along the way. Interesting - a good effort. 7.5

De Molen Rasputin

This one came recommended (it generally would need to, with the $35 price tag..).

Initially a bit browner than expected out of the bottle, though it doesn't show too well in the shot above. What you do see is the mysteriously solid head, which came out looking more like a meringue than a typical stout hat. Still, after letting things settle, it generates a pretty complex aroma, covering darkfruit, caramel, coffee.

On first bite my initial reaction was the mouthfeel was too highly aerated but it resolves within an instant to produce a velvety progression that actually suits the style very well. Taste delivers a massive burst of christmas cake, big brandy notes, quite fruity round character. It's heavy but not turpentine hot, no real problem here. There's a lingering burnt brown sugar taste that carries you through to the end with dark candied fruit.

This beer can be cellared for up to 25 years so it may improve with time. We can only rate what's in front of us though (2011 bottle by the way) and at this stage it doesn't do a great deal more than other (cheaper) beers accomplish in this style. There's just not much "wow", and on that thought it's difficult to wholeheartedly recommend. 7.5

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel

Beer Geek Brunch - Weasel edition: so named because it uses those famous coffee beans that have been, ahem, run through a civet.

It's familiar but highly pleasing territory as you open this one, like coming home, beautiful heavy pour, pretty red-mocha head, well developed nose pressing all the right buttons regarding coffee, slight chocolate, and roast. In short, a Mikkeller stout.

Taste wise it has more coffee throughout than the previous Beer Geek range, bit more vanilla / milky nature to it too, very smooth indeed for its heft. Oatmeal roasty flavours, total class act as always. It's not as sharp coffeewise as you might expect, instead really quite creamy, makes it easy drinking and a fine companion to nurse for a while.

I'd recommend this beer to just about anyone. Superb. 9.0, maybe rising ..

8 Wired Batch 31 Imperial Stout

Fresh from the successes of Batch 18 we strolled into #31 expecting good things.

This too is an imperial, but scaled down a little at 11% abv and in fact quite different to the previous release. It's a smokier nose and far smokier taste than before, without the plum pudding / christmas cake characteristics that were dominant in Batch 18 and many other imperials. Bitterness is held in check here.

This is a quality beer and easy, enjoyable drinking. I preferred the previous edition of this particular line however for its deeper content and less bacon like tendencies. 8.0

8 Wired Batch 18 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Special batches (yum) of imperial stout (yum) from 8 Wired (yum)? Well, if you insist, I guess.

12.5% ABV and 4.9 standard drinks to the bottle puts it squarely in the big leagues, and it's got a red tinged angry head on it too which soon subsides.

Has a big and slightly worrying nose, a bit like Basil Zempilas. There's plum pudding there, dark fruit, with a bit of chocolate and alcohol in the background, and just a slight tinge of coffee.

Bang, the taste on this is pretty immense, and it unfurls a big covering bitterness from about halfway through. The alcohol is warming throughout but not bitey. It's a drink for smooth jazz sipping over a good long time with some contemplative thoughts and possibly, just possibly, a cigar.

It does have a bit of an oaky barrel finish to it too which sets it all off just nicely. I'm glad it wasn't a bourbon barrel or this thing would just be insane. All in all, a fine beer indeed. Shame there aren't more. Yet. 9.0

Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout

I just love them big bottles of stout.

Had assumed from the bottle (perhaps naively, looking back at the red star logo) that this was a standard english stout, but from the plum pudding nose you become instantly aware of it's Leninist roots.

You get lovely round oily stout first up, then it moves into fruit tones, and finishes up dry roasty coffee. Pretty damn good, but contrary to the label marketing I found this kind of slow going due to its Ruski nature. A good beer to sit with over a long evening with a book. Or a bear. 8.0

North Coast Old Rasputin

Another Imperial Stout, tipping the scales at a referee enraging 9%.

I say enraging because it seems 9% is on the lower side for this style, which is frequently spot on the big 10 instead. In any case this pours nicely, with an attractive off-white head and solid black body.

The alc is definitely present in this beer, but it's not overly intrusive. Taste around that is coffee dominated, bit of dark choc, various dark malts, dark fruits.

Quite impressive in its own way but I find myself wondering why I'm not drinking a big nicer porter stout, or a massive IPA or something instead. Those who are a fan of the style however should still give this a go. 7.0

8 Wired iStout

Finally the big day where we could crack this big bottle of expensive expectations.

Pours flat, disappointing lack of head. Jet black except the edges where you can see just a bit of light. It's 10%.. but there's not too much alcohol apparent in the aroma or the taste. The roasty coffee taste is long and lasting after a real full mouth experience from this one.

The bottle suggests putting this over vanilla ice cream. My word that sounds amazing. But at the same time it's like watering down a high quality spirit .. bit of a waste.

I want more of this. 9.0

- edit -
Another try of this yields a bit more soy and salty flavours than I'd like. Bumping it down to a still excellent 8.5

Courage Russian Imperial Stout

A big ten percenter from an English brewer in the Russian style.

Didn't have a photo for some reason. But the beer is in there somewhere so that'll have to do.

This was first brewed for good ol' Catherine back in 1795 or so they say.

Pretty big alc on the nose, and this smashed me with alcohol taste on the first bite too. Bottle says pear tastes, I got a bit of that front of the mouth. Swish it around and it's aggressive, but the coffee helps pull it through.

Err. Bout equal with  Murray's Spartacus. From the 10% beers we've had of late.. I'd stick with Lenny's HeBrew RIPA. 6.0