Espresso Totalitarian Imperial Russian Stout
Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.58
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With a beer as bold and robust as Stone Totalitarian Imperial Russian Stout, it’s not easy to build another level of flavor. That’s why we use hundreds of pounds of espresso beans to give Stone Espresso Totalitarian Imperial Russian Stout an added layer of rich complexity. The coffee flavors meld beautifully with the roasty bitterness of the dark malts for an intense complement of flavors, while staying true to the essence of this classic, historical style.
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7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 8
12 ounce can, canned February 23rd.
Pours a pitch black with a finger of tan foam.
Big coffee and roasted malt nose, bitter from the coffee, dark chocolate bitterness, some booze.
Coffee and roasted malt up front..with a burnt malt character. Dark chocolate is quite bitter, very mild hints of sweet chocolate but the bitter rules. Alcohol is not hidden well.
Mouthfeel is good. Carbonation is on the light side.
Enjoyable.
Pours a pitch black with a finger of tan foam.
Big coffee and roasted malt nose, bitter from the coffee, dark chocolate bitterness, some booze.
Coffee and roasted malt up front..with a burnt malt character. Dark chocolate is quite bitter, very mild hints of sweet chocolate but the bitter rules. Alcohol is not hidden well.
Mouthfeel is good. Carbonation is on the light side.
Enjoyable.
Tried
from Can
on 19 May 2019
at 22:58
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
12 oz. can, pours black with a small beige head. Aroma is loaded with espresso upfront, with a bit of medium roast. Flavour is likewise dominated by lightly bitter espresso -- it's like drinking a potent beer-converted espresso shot. Potent and rich. Excellent.
Tried
from Can
on 17 May 2019
at 06:02
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Dark brown. Thin head. Big coffee aroma, with a lot of chocolate. Dry, fairly bitter. Lots of burnt espresso character. Good body. Again, quite assertive and coffeeish.
Tried
on 17 May 2019
at 05:58
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
650 ml bottle. Pours black with short tan head. Aromas of chocolate, oily black coffee, soy sauce, and sweet roasted malts. Rich dusty flavors of roasted malts and espresso. Pretty simple, but clean and tasty. A little hot but compliments. Good
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 May 2019
at 23:39
8/10
Dark black bod med foam tan head. Roast choc coffee arma. Roast choc coffee ash flav. Med full bod mod carb. 8/5/8/4/15 4.0
Tried
from Draft
on 11 May 2019
at 21:07
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
12 ounce can, 5/5/19. Black, large creamy brown head, good retention. Aroma of roast, coffee, anise, tobacco. Taste is roast, molasses, coffee, spice, espresso. Full bodied, booze well hidden.
Tried
from Can
on 08 May 2019
at 06:01
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Can. Very black with a tan head that settles to a cm then lasts OK and laces well. Aroma of heavy roast, coffee, strawberry jam, beans (!), light nut meal - grunty, but the elements still have room to move. Canned 23 Feb but already you wouldn't swear there's actual coffee in it (not a complaint). Just shy of full bodied with a fine balance between sweet, bitter and roast-astringent. Been a while since I had the normal Espresso RIS but I think this just shades it.
Tried
from Can
on 03 May 2019
at 12:36
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Can from Todd, thanks for the hookup. Dark brown/black with a thin tan head that slowly dissipates. Rich roasty chocolate and coffee on the nose and flavor. Rich sweet thick beer. Perfect post gardening cleanup beer on a chilly April day.
Tried
from Can
on 28 Apr 2019
at 21:14
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Roast and caramel. Lots of espresso, gives off a burnt aroma. Black pour with good mocha head. Bitter end. Nice stuff. Tap at Stone Richmond.
Tried
from Draft
on 27 Apr 2019
at 17:24
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Can pour into nonic pint glass from Julio's Liquors. Appearance is inky black pour--faintest dark mahogany with bright light source directly behind, so basically opaque--light sparkle at the edges of the glass, finger-width light brown head with poor retention and no lacing. Aroma is rich, roasted coffee over dark chocolate and roasted malts. Taste is mild-to-moderate strength coffee over roasted malts. Palate is medium side of light-to-medium bodied with velvety smooth texture with late froth, astringent alcohol, which kind of ruins the mellow vibe, mild alcohol warmth and finish as taste. Overall, don't think it's an improvement on the base Totalitarian stout. Coffee is surprisingly muted in the taste and the alcohol is too present in the palate. Still good but not without noticeable faults.
Tried
from Can
on 13 Apr 2019
at 03:10