     Siberian Night Imperial Stout (Thirsty Dog Brewing Company)
Well, its snowing pretty hard outside right now so it seems fitting to crack open this bottle of Russian Imperial Stout. This could be the best beer that Thirsty Dog puts out so if you get a chance to try it make sure you don't miss out. From the Thirsty Dog site: "Imperial Stouts are by far the "Grand-Daddy" of all stouts. They are very,very dark and rich, with a deep-roasted, satisfying flavor. Siberian Night is made in this tradition. It is creamy and full-bodied, with a complex character from generous amounts of roasted, toasted, and caramel malts. For those who demand flavor, this is the perfect libation." Here we go... Pour - yep, its dark. Real dark. Inky and dangerous looking with an espresso colored head that fades to an "oil spill" of wispy foam on top. Looks impressive.
Aroma - big chocolate and coffee notes along with the expected roasty/toasty malt smells. There are also some molasses and licorice aromas coming out along with some vanilla and cream. A couple more whiffs and some of the alcohol comes out. This smells ridiculously good.
Taste - where do I begin. This tastes like a shot of espresso thrown into a strong stout. Its got such nice bitter sweet flavors along with great body and smoothness. Lots of roasted malt tastes combine with some vanilla and chocolate and a bitter cherry-like alcohol finish. This has to be tasted to truly be appreciated.
Overall - Definitely a Russian Imperial Stout that stands out amongst its many peers. Plenty of great flavors, nice strength and way to easy to drink. I wish I had more.
Would I buy more of it? - absolutely. Next time I see some I'll be grabbing a few bottles as this was the only in my cellar.
Note - (Wikipedia) - Imperial stout, also known as "Russian imperial stout" or "imperial Russian stout," is a strong dark beer or stout in the style that was brewed in the 18th century by Thrale's brewery in London, England for export to the court ofCatherine II of Russia. In 1781 the brewery changed hands and the beer became known as Barclay Perkins Imperial Brown Stout. When the brewery was taken over by Courage the beer was renamed Courage Imperial Russian Stout. It has a high alcohol content - nine or ten percent abv is common. This higher alcoholic content was necessary to prevent the beer from freezing in transport, due to the colder temperatures in the Baltic.
Posted by Russ Labels: Russian Imperial Stouts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
