Portsmouth Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

I've had this beer 4 years in a row (both Kate Day draught and bottles), and in all cases, this has been an average Impy Stout. It pours black with a creamy beige head, although the retention was pour. The aroma is dominated by roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, and dark fruits as is the flavours. Aside from the rarity, there is nothing to distinguish this from a lot of other American-made imperial stouts.

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

A pitch black color with a tan head. The aroma contains some dark chocolate, coffee, alcohol, and a hint of dark fruit. The flavor contains some chocolate, licorice, coffee, and some grapes. The finish was a little on the sour side. Overall this was good but not "Great"

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

The bottles a year old. Pours a deep dark black colour with a medium brown cap. Not a bit of light gets through. The aroma is quite pleasant - roasted malt, nuts, coffee, vanilla, plums, chocolate, and molasses. All stuffed into one bottle. The flavor was decadent. A creamy rich concoction of delectable treats. A bitter beginning with roasted malt, plums and coffee gives way to vanilla and chocolate before finishing with a bittering finish. Almost as great as my Kate. This is the perfect stout in the same sense that Chimay Red is the perfect Belgian Strong Ale....best in class!

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Bottle Date: 2008 (current when tried)
Aroma: roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, licorice and plums
Appearance: black with a dark brown head
Mouthfeel: full bodied
Flavour: very malty with hints of sweetness and bitterness that dance on the tongue
Overall: This is a very rare beer that is brewed in small batches. I enjoyed it a great deal, but for many people, it is considered highly overrated. You need to try it for yourself and see

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 10

Received via trade. 2008 release. There are beers that transcend words and are just better left to be tasted instead of read about, because reading surely doesn't do it justice (at least my words don't). There are better wordsmith's out there who can do it justice, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is world-class beer.

The beer pours out an inky black color, rumbling body with a dark tan frothy head. Head retention in impy stouts is paramount for me because I enjoy a nice creamy head to last the entire pint. While the size of the head varied during my pint, it remained no less than a 1/2" thick the whole time. The aroma was just as decadent as can be. Huge notes of rich dark chocolate dipped cherries, vanilla coffee, port wine, brown sugar, molasses and soft anise notes. Sublime.

Flavor is just as impressive and wonderful as the aroma. Milk chocolate and coffee saturate the palate. Warm kaluha dark chcolate brownies and caramel sauce are my first thought. Port wine characters really exlode after it gets warmer, and it just pulls you in deeper. I've had stouts where chocolate is a major player, but this is a star in Kate the Great. It's like the brewers took some of the worlds greatest desserts and crammed them in this bottle for us beer geeks to enjoy. I even had Bud Light drinkers going..."holy shit" after sharing it around the pool. Bravo.