Courage Imperial Russian Stout (2011 and later)

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Pours black with a thin lasting head but no lacing. Aroma is sweet, chocolatey, caramel and smokey. Chalky med/full mouthfeel. Flavour is amazing. Roasted malt, chocolate, liquorice, plums, vanilla, tangy fruits and tobacco. Turned my nose up at Courage brews back home many years ago. So this was really a pleasant surprise. Excellent beer. Should have bought more.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Smoky aroma has a chocolate undertone and hints of molasses and coffee. It pours a rich, warm sable just a whisker above black and with a very thick, somewhat fluffy tan head that hangs around for a little bit. Flavor has elements of roast quality coffee, molasses and chocolate with a hint of licorice. There is some subtle sweetness and bitterness that balance each other nicely. Full-bodied texture is quite fizzy and a little syrupy - doesn’t get any better. A truly worthy RIS.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

SOLID! This is quite awesome. Pours as expected with a nice low head. I think the alcohol is masked quite well, but then again I seek out high ABV beers. Nice nice nice.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Bottle. Perfectly black colored body in the glass. There is a thin orange brown tinted head. The nose is sweet with lots of prunes and tobacco. There is also some anise and a little bit of vinous goodness. Tasting this one is interesting considering it has a slightly chalky mouthfeel. The tastes that come up front are strong anise and orange peel. There is also some dark chocolate and a sharp note of lightly ashy tobacco, but it’s not a bad thing. There is a smooth finish that lingers with the citrus and anise. A smooth frighteningly easy to drink body helps make this one an absolute pleasure on the palate. Nicely done and better than most imperial stouts I have had recently.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Pours an extremely dark amber that it looks black. Aroma is at first very intense but mellows out quickly, hints of roasted malts galore along with coffee. Taste is very earthy/nutty with hints of coffee grounds. Alcohol taste is its only downfall, can be pretty intense. Also very dry to the tongue. Finishes off dry. Overall a very pleasant brew that should get better with age.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Holy friggin complexity batman!! Nutty, earthy, bitter, sweet, coffee, cocoa, dark fruit slightly smokey craziness. Nice beer! Slightly too much fizz and alcohol showing in the finish are the only faults, and they are minor. Really nice impy :). Russian, yet distinctly English.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

A little bit different from the standard RIS, in the aroma and flavor is an unusual fruit presence i guess thats the pear, i can only describe it as a very 'fresh' pear, anyway some coffee and chocolate compliment it as well. The alcohol finish is a bit tough. Overall i thought that it was pretty decent, a bit of age on it wouldnt hurt.