HopTown Old Yeltsin Imperial Stout

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Pours black with a dark mahogany around the edges, a small dark tan head fades to nothing rather quickly. Aroma is strong coffee, sweet chocolate, molasses and rum, figs, anise, and peppery alcohol. Flavor starts with molasses and chocolate, transitioning into espresso, burnt dark chocolate, raisins and figs. An aggressive bitterness rounds out the flavor profile, with an aftertaste of burnt coffee, anise, and some alcohol. Very enjoyable, a nice easy drinking imperial stout.

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

Dark viscous pour and dirty brown head. Thin, but it did last a bit. Strong aroma of roasted malts in the nose. More in the flavor, with a hint of dark chocolate, smoked meat, burnt wood. Alcohol was very present, unpleasantly. This was not hidden whatsoever. A bit of a turnoff. Not the most well balanced brew I've tried. Thick in the mouthfeel. Finsih was smooth, with alcohol left on the palate. Not bad, but I was expecting a bit more.

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

Very enjoyable imp. stout, and a style that I tend to gravitate towards. This one doesn't dissapoint with a nice aroma of coffee and chocolate notes along with a sublte roastiness that makes you grin. Definitely medium-bodied, not chewy at all. Flavor comes at you with bitter chocolate, vanilla, toffee and roasted coffee notes. Warms you up nicely on a cold winter evening.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

12.10.04 Bomber bottle thanks to loweredsixth. Nearly black beer with thin tan head. Aromas are molasses sweet and sharpness is betrayed with a slight nasal burn from alcohol and hops. California style impy all the way, this brew is not letting me down. Deep and roasty, not much fruit. Plenty of coffee, caramelized grapefruit, burnt hazelnut. Could be fuller bodied for an imperial but the solid alcohol presence makes up for that pretty well. Very nice brew. Thanks, Joe!

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

Not perfectly black, you can see brown light around the extreme edges, but it's dark enough not to count off for. The head is a nice medium brown soup foam, but thin and quick to fade into a weather pattern. A very rich malty aroma with some fruit aroma. Low hop presence. There's a lot of fig in the flavor. I can almost feel the tiny seeds in the fig preserves my mom makes from the fig tree in our yard next to the cannaa lillies. It's sweet, almost a little too sweet as it edges on cloying. This mild bitterness in the back keeps it just on this side of the line, though. Still, that figgy flavor makes it pretty interesting.

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

Tar black with a muddy head.Bitter chocolate nose. Very viscous palate. Big roasted malt front with a decent little hop bite coming in near the end.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Poured an opaque black color with a small, tan head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of roasted malt, dried fruits, chocolate, and nuts as well. Taste of chocolate, roasted malt, vanilla bean, and some tart cherries as well.

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

I've seen the Hoptown beers for quite a few years. In fact, one of my favorite posters in my computer/beer room features a poster from "The Lucky Strike San Jose International Beer Festival" (August `97), where I was first introduced to this then-new brewery. And while I have since had decent examples from the brewery (most recently -- and most notably -- their IPA on-draught at O'Brien's), this is one brewery who's beers I haven't really respected overall.

But when both my buddy Richard raved about this beer, *and* I saw it for sale for a great price, the coincidence was too strong to ignore. And in retrospect, I'm glad I gave this particular beer another college try.

Murky black in body, with a tan-hued layer of foam, that never quite disappeared altogether. Nicely minimal in carbonation -- just exactly the way I like stouts, to be honest. That is to say, filling body from the beer, not a bunch of CO2.

Thick and filling in the mouth, letting the character of this West Coast Imperial Stout shine. That is to say, dry and bitter, like a good stout should, but with enough complexity in the middle and finish (plus some nice warming effects) to make sure you know that this bigger than the average beer.

Not extremely complex -- I would have preferred some more definitive fruit-like undertones to the presentation -- but a very nice and enjoyably drinkable interpetation of a style that always becomes one of my favorites this time of year. Recommended.
//TB

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Dark brown color. Large tan foamy head. Aroma is chocolate and coffee. A medium bodied Imperial Stout. Malts are chocolate with a hint of caramel and coffee. Hops are slightly spicy. Nicely balanced. Perhaps a little thin for an Imperial Stout. No alcohol bite. Mouthfeel is thin. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 8

extremely dark brown with a minimal head. the aroma is of burnt chocolate . The flavor is slightly sweet, w/ dried fruit notes. Although the aroma is roasty, the flavor has more sweetness than most imperials. Very nice.