To read more on Stone Brewing Co., please check out my review of Stone's Ruination Tenth Anniversary here.
This beer is what is referred to as an Imperial Stout. Alternately, you may hear this style referred to as a Russian Imperial Stout, American Double Stout, etc. Everyone is talking about essentially the same thing. Remember how we discussed that the word "imperial" meant that the beer was an amplified version of the original style, i.e. Imperial IPA? Well, the Imperial Stout is where the term was first used and its origins are, in fact, imperial. The style originated during the reign of the Czarina Catherine the Great of Russia, who ruled from 1762 until her death in 1796. During this time, the Russian imperial court, through their travels and connections, developed a taste for traditional English and Irish stouts that had been made in Great Britain for some time. These traditional stouts are actually quite familiar to many beer drinkers. This is the style that Guinness falls into. Being the rich and powerful nobles that they were, Catherine's court requested that stouts from the British Isles be sent to them in St. Petersburg. This is where their grand scheme hit a snag. The long and arduous journey required to get beer from England to Russia in the late 18th century meant that these relatively light dry stouts, as they're properly known, were spoiling in transit and were unfit for consumption by the time the Russian nobility got their bourgeois little fingers on it. Not wanting to disappoint the noble court (or lose out on potentially huge profits), English brewers found a solution. They began making an extremely strong interpretation of stout designed for export that would survive its trek and be enjoyable upon arrival. To achieve this, they used the same recipe that included dark, roasted malts (imparting the beer's classically dark color) but increased the quantities of malt, hops, and yeast to produce an intensely flavored, high alcohol beer. The style caught on, and soon English brewers weren't just making the beer for export. It also became popular in England as a decadent indulgence.
It would be the dawning of the craft beer revolution in the U.S. during the last 30-40 years that would give rise to the style's greatest popularity. The Imperial Stout is today a cornerstone for the craft beer world. Examples of the style are as plentiful as one could hope and they have indeed become an outlet for many brewers to push the limits of what beer can be. Since the beer is so sturdy, it can survive and indeed thrive under a number of treatments that would wilt a less hearty brew. Imperial Stouts are often barrel aged in clean oak, bourbon, port, or cognac barrels. They might be brewed with real coffee and/or chocolate to accentuate already present flavors. Additionally, brewers sometimes push the abv limits of beer with this style. While standard Imperial Stouts start out around 8% abv but frequently run into double digits (Stone's Imperial Russian Stout is 10.5% abv), some crazy brewmasters have pushed the alcohol of their Imperial Stouts up toward 20% abv and beyond. This wild creativity and innovation has made this a style with a very intense following and a plethora of extremely well regarded examples. Stone's interpretation just happens to be one of them.
The beer is presented in a 22oz bomber bottle with a relatively basic label that features the Stone gargoyle. After popping the cap and vigorously pouring into my Libbey Poco Grande glass, I am left with a marvelously dark beer. The main body of the beer is inky black with only tints of dark brown, cola-like highlights at the edges when held to light. The center of the beer is an abyss. This black as a moonless night beer is topped off by a half inch mocha colored head that gradually fades to a ring around the glass with some spotty foam throughout the center. Looks great. Appearance: 14/15
It has been too long since I had this beer last and plunging my nose into it screams that very fact so loudly I'm afraid of disturbing the neighbors. The aromas are fantastic. I'm met by a great roasted flavor instantly reminiscent of finely brewed espresso. Chocolate, caramel, and vanilla come in to dominate the nose while I pick up on a faint charred note floating around in there. This beer receives no barrel aging, but that char is definitely there. By no means assertive, but present. Baker's chocolate provides some additional pleasant bitter notes to back up the espresso. Nose: 24/25
Oh buddy, how I missed this beer! My first drinks are like slipping into your favorite pair of slippers; I feel instantly comforted and at home. While classic bitter espresso flavors are there, the roastiness that is so apparent in this beer also reveal that certain uncanny sweetness that I also enjoy when drinking actual espresso. Its the sort of sweetness that really takes you aback because that is the last place you'd expect to find sweetness, buried there in the middle of this espresso. I am also confronted by those classic stout flavors of chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and even a little toffee. I'm beginning to think that the faint char note I smelled in the nose was simply another expression of the roast in this extremely complex and satisfying beer. What really makes this beer world class and sets it apart from so many of its lesser counterparts is its ability to achieve such balance and harmony with the multitude of flavors present. An inferior example might be very coffee forward or too chocolatey sweet. This beer delivers all those flavors, in overdrive, yet they never fight one another. They are a chorus in perfect harmony. Remember how I said Stone was known for their intensely hoppy beers? Well, this guy has tons of hops too, but this time around they're virtually undetectable beneath the massive malt bill, present only to prevent the beer from becoming a boozy, cloying mess. Palate: 50/50
The mouthfeel is among the best I've had in the style. Thick, viscous, a touch oily. Fuller than full and the perfect cap to an already amazing beer. Mouthfeel: 10/10
OVERALL: 98/100
This beer has stood the test of time. In an industry that is constantly shifting and that prizes an ever higher standard of innovation, this beer is a bastion of perfection, a stalwart that still sells extremely well. It serves as a reminder to all those would be brewers of the style that this is where they have to aim if they want a chance in hell of making a great beer. This beauty will also pair well with many foods. Cheesecake, chocolate torts, coffee flavored ice cream, toffee, fine caramels. I also wouldn't hesitate to pair this beer with strong cheese or even a dry rubbed steak. If cigars are something you're into, might I recommend pairing this beer with a maduro cigar of your choosing. If you would like, buy two bottles of this: drink one fresh during the summer months and age the other one in a cool, dark place to see how it develops after a couple years (or ten). Cheers!
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