Stone Imperial Russian Stout

Stone's Imperial Russian Stout came in at #1 beer in the world over at www.ratebeer.com, so I decided that it was worth checking out. I was lucky enough to find this fairly rare beer at a Whole Foods in Vienna, VA.

This beer pours with absolutely no carbonation, and has an amazingly rich aroma. It has a very heavy body, and the taste of roasted malt is very abundant. The beer is however very strong, coming in at 10.5% ABV. It has a slightly alcoholic aftertaste, but the roasted flavor lingers as well.

It is definitely a beer that should be sipped in a small glass (I really need a snifter or a tulip glass). The picture above is of a small glass that I gave my wife, and my glass. My wife thought that this beer was terrible, but she just isn't used to high ABV beers, and also doesn't generally like roasty stouts.

This picture is also a reminder that I really need to stop using my cell phone to take these pictures. I promise that I'll get my digital camera out next time :)

Overall, I'd give this beer an A rating. I'd definitely drink it again, but I'd probably have it in smaller quantities, and I'd try to share with friends (that actually like stouts).

-Bo