Thanks to Jonny Beers (check out his site!) for the awesome beer, though I'm surprised he's not hitting me over the head yet :P
Today's beer is Russell Brewing's Rick August Russian Imperial Stout. Last year, Russell Brewing had a contest to have the best person's homebrewed beer to make it as an actual Russell Beer, knowing several homebrewers.. this would be a dream! Rick August's Russian Imperial Stout won and the rest is history!
Appearance: Pours a dark roasted black stout, like always. A tanned creamy brown head, similar to fresh baked chocolate chip cookies (brown sugar-like).
Aroma: First thing - the malt, it's a bit of a slight alcohol scent, followed by dark and burnt malts, dark fruit, sweet but burnt.
Taste: A dark fruit flavour akin to Unibroue's Trois Pistoles beer, then quickly follows is a bit of a smokiness, almost like hickory. A melody of different flavours everywhere - there's the coffee and dark chocolate notes that we're used to, some dark fruit, a smokiness similar to hickory, slightly creamy to the touch.. lots going on here!
Overall Thoughts: For a homebrew, there's no questioning why this beer won the competition! Congrats to Rick August! Absolutely love the curveball that this Imperial Stout gives off (dark fruits, a bit of hickoriness, etc). I hope the folks at Fort Garry end up doing this some day, that would really push for some homebrewers to get to work and create some omlicious beer! PS 10.8% ABV to get you a bit of a tingle and 86 IBU.
To follow the 2012 Beer Advent Calendar series:
Cranky Beer Blog
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