bottiglia 33 cl, schiuma color cappuccino media grana media persistenza, colore marrone intenso / nero, al naso cacao caffè caramello vaniglia, in bocca caramello cioccolato fondente frutta secca leggero tostato, lieve astringente, corpo strutturato, alcool ben bilanciato, carbonazione piatta, attacco dolce con amaro moderato. Si beve volentieri fino alla fine, non ti stanca. Molto buona. 17.03.18

330 ml can into snifter, best before 3/2019. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense and rocky khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, toasted dark bread, smoke, charcoal, herbal, pepper, and pine; with lighter notes of leather, tobacco, raisin, plum, fig, cherry, and roast/toast/smoky earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, moderate earthy hops, and light fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, toasted dark bread, smoke, charcoal, herbal, pepper, and pine; with lighter notes of leather, tobacco, raisin, plum, fig, cherry, and roast/toast/smoky earthiness. Light-moderate roast/char and herbal/peppery/piney hop bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, toasted dark bread, smoke, charcoal, herbal, pepper, pine, leather, tobacco, dark fruit, and roast/toast/smoky earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, moderate earthy hops, and light fruity yeast flavors; with a great hop/char bitter/sweet balance; and zero acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready, and fairly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mildly warming 10.4%. Overall this is an excellent Russian imperial stout. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, moderate earthy hops, and light fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the ABV, with the modestly bitter/drying finish. Very rich dark/roast/charred malt complexity, balancing earthy hops, and pleasant complementing English yeast fruitiness. A very enjoyable, well made, and spot on style example as expected.

Birthday bottle from Dranken Geers, Oostakker; thanks to Anke & family! Labeled 'Rasputin'.
Pours cloudy, very dark brown with a diminishing, frothy, beige head. The aroma contains lots of raisins, dried & candied fruits, dark chocolate, roasted malt, caramel & hops - a bit unusual. It tastes medium chocolatey/malty sweet and medium roasted bitter; dry, hoppy finish with warming 'liquor' alcohol. Full body, creamy texture, soft carbonation. Exquisite!

Pours pitch black with a tiny head - minimal carbonation evident. Aroma is rich and sweet, roasty, a lot of coffee, caramel, figs, plums, molasses, cola. Beautiful and rather complex. Oily thick mouthfeel. Flavour is complex and rich, coffee and other roast aroma with moderate malt sweetness. Rather spicy, some herbal notes, plums, caramel, some nuttiness. Exemplary for the style.

Bottled. Muddy deep brown. Small head. Aroma: powerful malts, toast, toffee, caramel, chocolate, minor roast, nuts, prunes, dates. Complex. Full body. Classic impy on taste. Bombastic malts, dried fruit, nuts, balancing bitterness. Great classic impy