Black & syrupy,dense tan head.Woody vanilla nose.Palate of smoke,wood,vanilla,heavy roast & alcohol.Big bitter end from hops/roast A very complex, well made beer, which I rated highly, but I don’t like it (too much wood)

341 ml bottle. Pours black with huge dark tan head. Aromas of hickory smoke and dark roasted malts. Smooth and full bodied. Dark flavors of burnt wood, burnt malts, dark fruit, and dark chocolate

Imported from my RateBeer account as St-Ambroise Stout Impériale Russe (by Brasserie McAuslan (Brasseurs RJ)):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 17/20, MyTotalScore: 4.1/5

23/11/12 - 341ml bottle @ home - 2011 vintage - BB: n/a (2012-1304) Thanks to Hafiz for the bottle!

Clear dark brown to black, thick substance, small beige to brown head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: sweet, caramel, pretty yeasty, pumpernickel bread, cocoa powder. MF: quite some carbon, medium to full body. Taste: pretty bitter overpowering a lot of the flavours, caramel, cocoa powder, bit sourish, incense, slightly sweet touch. Aftertaste: caramel, charcoal, coffee, little sour, some vanilla.

Millésime 2020 Des notes de vanille, un fond de boisé, du Bourbon, du chocolat noir et du café composent les éléments de l’olfactif. Mousse de couleur moka, dense et crémeuse qui se maintient de longues minutes sur un liquide noir tout à fait opaque. Torréfaction intense en bouche, assortie d’un alcool bien présent et d’un léger boisé. Beaux accents de mélasse s’étalant au coté du café et du chocolat noir. Le sucré est superbement en équilibre avec les accents de torréfaction. Le corps est ample, bien charpenté et la texture veloutée. Même après toutes ces années, cette bière demeure un classique du style. Elle dépasse les tendances nouvelles (pastry stouts et compagnie) et demeure de par sa simplicité un grand plaisir à boire. Millésime 2020: O: 7 V: 4.75 G:7.45 B:4.75 O: 17.55 T:17.55 Moyenne des 3 millésimes: 4.4 Millésime 2013 dégusté le 3 Nov. Nous retrouvons en olfactif le bourbon, la mélasse, le boisé, le chocolat, le café et les cerises. La même complexité des arômes. Elle nous offre toujours la même apparence également; mousse onctueuse, crémeuse et épaisse. La dentelle tient un peu moins que l’au passé. Le café est toutefois dominant dans ce brassin-ci, avec du bourbon et des notes de boisé. Les cerises et les notes de sucre sont moins présentes que par le passé, laissant place à une légère amertume en finale. Le café et le boisé ressortent plus cette année. réduction de la note de 2 points par rapport à l’an passé (4.6) I was pretty anxious to taste that 2012 vintage having made my 12 pack reservation many weeks ago. Aroma: A lot of molasses with black coffee, wood notes,black chocolate and cherry. Aromas are exploding up the nose in a remarkable complexity. This powerful and complex nose can easily serve as reference to all other stouts. Appearance: pitch black, marvelous creamy head with two colors: pale and chocolate brown. Head is sticking to glass for several minutes and developing a tremendous lacing. Taste: Attack and mouth feel is very round and unctuous, paired with a little sparkling all around the tongue. Perfectly roasted malt flavors are pushing up the perfectly balanced notes of molasses, caramel, cherry, chocolate and coffee. Sugars are very well balanced too. An exceptional beer. Body and texture are perfect. Every zip is a delight. Having tasted the last three vintages, I have to say that 2012 is a great if not the best batch.

Thanks to an IP trade with Patrick in Montreal for this one! Drank at home in Mar ’12. Poured from a 341ml bottle into a goblet to a rich black colour with a dirty brown speckled frothy head (which is a good thing!) On the nose dark roasted and chocolate malts, wood, a faint dose of vanilla along with a pinch of bourbon, just the right amount, not overpowering. In terms of taste I get the dark roasted malts immediately and also hints of coffee along with the chocolate flavour, the former which I didn’t really get on the nose! Some woodiness in the taste and overall very well balanced with you knowing all about the bourbon but it not getting in the way! A bitter/roasty/dryish finish turning slightly sweet as you digest - which was excellent! Full bodied on the mouth with a rich drinkable finish for a 9% beer and minimal carbonation. Overall - an excellent imperial stout and the bourbon flavouring was just right!

Bouteille 341ml. 2011. Couleur noire opaque, mousse couleur lait au chocolat très dense, laissant une belle dentelle. Arômes de lait au chocolat, de café, de feu de bois et de bourbon léger. Goût de lait au chocolat, fumée, bourbon avec une belle amertume en fin de bouche ainsi que d’une touche d’alcool. Texture crémeuse, riche avec une faible carbonation. Une bière assez lourde, mais aussitôt qu’on la verse, on a envie d’y goûter.

2011 bottle via a trade. Pours with a twist off bottle with a high fill line. Pours with a pretty inky black hued body with a massive dark brown head. Great retention. Completely opaque. Great lace. Aromas are of leather, dark fruits, medium roast licorice, barrel, vanilla and currants. Tons of esters and highly darkened roast. Some caramelized character (barrel vanillin and some melanoidin/malt character). Lightly grassy hop character that doesn’t contribute much. Lots of chocolate, roast, medium barrel, coffee, and light vanillin with licorice and raisin. Flavors are medium to low bitter, lots of leather and nutty notes with a touch of smoke. Barrel character is pretty low, but this is still a solid base. Heavy roast and smoke levels are a touch high for my tastes, but that is splitting hairs. Fuller bakers/dark chocolate character, medium coffee, unfermented merlot grapes and currants. Ash and tobacco. Medium brown sugar with low barrel vanillin. Big, thick and velvety mouthfeel, elegantly low carbonation. Not excessively weighted on the mouth, but nice and soft, with a bit of mouth coating. Overall a very well made beer. For my taste it could use a touch more barrel nuances, but it is still very tasty.