30th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout
Great Lakes Brewery (Canada) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
Stout - Imperial Regular|
Score
7.21
|
|
Sign up to add a tick or review
4.5/10
—
Appearance 5
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 5
Overall 18
Low tan head on a near black body. The aroma is sumptuous with chocolate fudge, bourbon and biscuit malt. Big, rich, slick and warming, this is a superior RIS. The chocolate fudge leads the taste profile with bourbon, fresh coffee, toffee, butter and dark berries adding to the blend. Hints of vanilla, macaroons, fruity hops and wood shavings create a superior complexity. Whoof.
Tried
on 23 Sep 2025
at 20:13
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
65 cl bottle @ Timo A
Aroma has licorice, tobacco and whiskey tones. Flavour is sweet with strong whisky notes, vanilla and wood. Alcohol is present - and even disturbs a bit. Aroma is nice but flavour is too stuffy and overwhelming.
Aroma has licorice, tobacco and whiskey tones. Flavour is sweet with strong whisky notes, vanilla and wood. Alcohol is present - and even disturbs a bit. Aroma is nice but flavour is too stuffy and overwhelming.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Apr 2019
at 15:01
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Dark brown. On the nose, lots of barrel, hints of coconut, some coffee, and a hint of chocolate. Tastes like a cherry truffle – some vanilla, chocolate, a bit of coffee, barrel and then the fruitiness. It’s not a bad beer, but it is a bit messy.
Tried
on 28 Dec 2018
at 19:27
8.4/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Tasting at Oakes' Manor, bottle
Black colour with brown, creamy generous head. Aroma and flavour of fudge, nutty chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, light coffee in the aroma, more dark cocoa in the finish; good body strength, moderately sweet and alcohol-warm.
Excellent.
Black colour with brown, creamy generous head. Aroma and flavour of fudge, nutty chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, light coffee in the aroma, more dark cocoa in the finish; good body strength, moderately sweet and alcohol-warm.
Excellent.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Dec 2018
at 17:39
7.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Bottle - Coconut, chocolate, coffee nd big roast. Deep jet brown with a small head. Raw chilli pepper, chocolate and coconut. Deep brown with a small brown head. Silky and peppery notes with dark chocolate and a long finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Dec 2018
at 04:46
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
650ml (thx, Brian C.!) at Josh's. Pours a very dark brown with a beige head. Aroma is chocolatey bourbon with cocoa, vanilla, and some booze notes. Taste is similar, pretty sweet with lots of fruits, cocoa, and vanilla. Very good.
Tried
on 28 Dec 2018
at 04:43
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
22 oz. bottle, pours black with a small tan head. Aroma is loaded with complex bourbon barrels upfront, with medium roast and a hint of vanilla. Flavour is less impressive, with dark red fruits, more subdued bourbon (than the nose suggests), with a touch of vanilla, cocoa, and cold brew. Lots of red fruits, with a pleasant, subtle bourbon character on the finish. Excellent.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Dec 2018
at 04:38
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Pours a pitch black colour with no highlights. The frothy head is a deep warm beige like coffee going down slowly, leaving patches of lacing. Big bourbon smell over roasted malts, chocolate malts and the coffee. The sweetness of the bourbon with the coffee do blend very, very well - for those who like sugar in the morning hot drink. Which is not me, but I still love this. Yes, I love this one and I am not even at the flavours yet. This is where the vanilla beans shine. They blend so well the bitterness of the coffee, roasted malts, liquorice notes, molasses and so many more. Why do they do bourbon? So we can use their barrels to make amazing beer that you can sip on a cold winter night.
Tried
from Can
on 25 Nov 2018
at 00:30
2/10
Tried
on 30 May 2018
at 01:44
8.6/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of black chocolate notes with some bourbon, vanilla and light oak presence is quite enticing. Taste is also a great mix of creamy black chocolate notes with light residual sugar notes, some roasted malt with nice smooth notes of bourbon and vanilla with light char oak notes also discernible. Body is full with nice creamy texture with good carbonation and light warming alcohol notes. Really solid BA RIS that should be part of their regular line-up.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Feb 2018
at 18:05