Review: Parallel 49 Russian Imperial Stout (2017)

You may be wondering by now why I've been reviewing Stouts and Porters more than usual. Well, I'm clearing out of my beer hoard as I felt that it's time to make some room for stuff that's not beer, and once (if) my computer goes completely kaput, there's a chance that I may no longer be posting as frequently anymore (if at all). Blogs just aren't a popular medium for beer reviews anymore - I do do Instagram but I'll never do YouTube due to severe anxiety. That said, I've been writing exclusively about beer since 2009 or so, with starting this website up in 2010.. so who knows.. If people read this and like what I write, I'll for sure continue as long as my computer is still working.

This is a beer I don't even recall buying, Parallel 49's Russian Imperial Stout from 2017, but I guess I'm glad I never drank it because P49 makes some awesome beer (with Boombox also brewing there) so I know this will be a good one.

From the label: In the 18th century this bold strong Stout was brewed in London for the long & treacherous trip to the imperial courts of Russia. In keeping with this stoic tradition, this Whisky-barrel aged Imperial Stout is warm, full-bodied and fit for a czar. 10% ABV / 46 IBU.

Appearance: Black stout with a bit of a cola brown hue as it's poured into the glass. The head isn't as dark (burnt caramel) as I expected compared to be, rather it's reminiscent of a double double coffee, quite a creaminess with a light tan appearance to it. Good sprinkling of lacing on the glass.

Aroma: Rich, sweet and chocolatey. Notes of roasted malt to give it a bit of a coffee aroma to it, a LOT of caramel, a bit of a creaminess to it. Good amount of booziness to it, a bit of earthiness of peat, lots of cocoa.

Taste: Good deal of roasted malt right from the very moment it hits my tongue - rich, bit of a coffee flavour, dark chocolate. There's a bit of a dark fruit presence in the beer (raisins/prunes), moderate amount of molasses, a mild creaminess to it that shows up in the mouthfeel to give it a silky mouthfeel. Good amount of booziness that I can feel hit my body fairly quickly.. bit of a sweetness that's reminiscent of Whisky, as well as a bit of earthiness of peat. Quite bitter for an Imperial Stout, which lingers a decent amount of time for the aftertaste, possibly a hint of apple or pear there as well?

Overall Thoughts: Quite a boozy stout with a lot of sweetness to it with molasses/caramel, bitterness that lingers for quite a while and a bit of creaminess to it as well. Great Russian Imperial Stout that I feel like I should be sampling in a 5oz taster rather than from a 650mL bomber. It's become pretty rare for me to find beer in glass bottles now days with the popularity of cans, but this is something I wouldn't want to age if it were canned, it definitely aged pretty nicely here.

http://parallel49brewing.com/beers/9