YOUR Top 5 Imperial Stouts!

Thought I'd start a thread dedicated to your favorite beers, per style. I'll add more perhaps each day or so.

To start things off, Imperial Stouts! Here are mine:

5 - Stone Russian Imperial Stout
Classic taste for a RIS! Thick mouth, black and sticky, great mixture of hops and malt, and just a bit heavy in the alcohol. Coffee and chocolate throughout!

4 - Dogfish Head World Wide Stout
Roasty with a super rich chocolate taste! Fruit notes to go with that chocolate and definite coffee characteristics. As big as the alcohol is, it's super drinkable and doesn't taste too boozy.

3 - Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti
Damn, this beer is good! Awesome tan head that just sticks on top of this black beauty. Roasted barley and sweet chocolate mixed with a dominate oak character in the nose. Very nice carmel taste with a slight alcoholic burn that warms you up. Perfect blend of a great beer with good oak characteristics.

2 - Avery Mephistophele's Stout
Hell yeah! Amazing black delight with a huge tan head. Sweet chocolate and carmel notes with some alcohol notes. Taste is sweet, big, and coffee like. Very warming but not overpowering. Should be sipped, and slowly appreciated.

1 - Cigar City Hunahpu's Imperial Stout
Super thick-like nothing else! Unbelievably black, with no red or orange around the edges, even with the brightest of light. Mocha brown head. Bitter chocolate, burnt roast, vanilla, fruit, and spices! Thick like syrup! This is the best stout I've ever had, and one of the only beers I've ever enjoyed this much.

What are your top 5!?

1. Yeti (the original of course)
2. Bells Expedition
3. Old Rasputin
4/5. Dont know, maybe the one by Clipper City

Cigar City's Hunaphu is currently being brewed again! Yesterday and today they're brewing it and it should be ready come March!!!

1. Bourbon Barrel Aged Ten Fidy - Oskar Blues
2. Kentuky Breakfast Stout - Founders
3. The Event Horizion - Olde Hickory Brewing
4. Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti - Great Divide
5. 2008 Bourbon Barrel Aged IRS - Stone Brewing

That's just off the top of my head.

1. Kentucky Breakfast Stout - Founders (probably #1 b/c its the hardest to find)
2. Beer Geek Breakfast - Mikkeller
3. B.O.R.I.S The Crusher - Hoppin Frog
4. World Wide Stout - DFH
5. Choklat - Southern Tier

Just tried Bells Expedition... wow! great Imperial Stout

I gotta try a commercial IS. I made one and think it's pretty good (but have no frame of reference). Insanely rich but becoming smoother with aging.

Rasputin
Rasputin
Rasputin
Rasputin
Rasputin


To me, that is THE Imperial Stout by which all others are measured.

Doesn't need coffee, bourbon, oak, etc to be awesome.

Howie said:

Rasputin
Rasputin
Rasputin
Rasputin
Rasputin


To me, that is THE Imperial Stout by which all others are measured.

Doesn't need coffee, bourbon, oak, etc to be awesome.

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I rarely drink commercial/craft brews but had my first ever RIS the other day, Old Rasputin from a nitro tap. That beer has haunted me since! I already changed plans and made my first RIS this past weekend and just ordered a nitro/stout faucet. I think it was one of the best beers I ever had (but it was cold outside and it was my first beer after a long day, so the situation was perfect).

cmmcdonn said:

2. Beer Geek Breakfast - Mikkeller

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That thing is awesome. Mikkeller is great. I met him last week. Currently doing a collaboration here in Tampa, with Cigar City. It's a Raison Rum Imperial Sweet Stout.

Howie said:

Rasputin

To me, that is THE Imperial Stout by which all others are measured.

Doesn't need coffee, bourbon, oak, etc to be awesome.

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the bourbon barrel aged rasputin is even more awesome than the regular, IMO

I had Old Rasputin at World of Beer and I have to say, I wasn't impressed. The hype may have just been too much for me. I expected a lot more. Perhaps I should try it again.

Sweetwater- Happy Ending (actually my favorite beer)

1. Oaked Yeti
2. KBS
3. Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout
4. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy
5. Stone RIS

In no order:

Founders Breakfast Stout
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti
Southern Tier Choklat
Dogfish World Wide
Bells Expedition

Need to try list:
Kentucky Breakfast
Ten Fidy
Darkness
Dark Lord

This is my favorite style come winter.

maxam said:

In no order:

Founders Breakfast Stout
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti
Southern Tier Choklat
Dogfish World Wide
Bells Expedition

Need to try list:
Kentucky Breakfast
Ten Fidy
Darkness
Dark Lord

This is my favorite style come winter.

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Choklat is special.

Ten Fidy and Dark Lord are must tries, my friend!

Old Rasputin
Black Xantus

kjjohns5 said:

2 - Avery Mephistophele's Stout
Hell yeah! Amazing black delight with a huge tan head. Sweet chocolate and carmel notes with some alcohol notes. Taste is sweet, big, and coffee like. Very warming but not overpowering. Should be sipped, and slowly appreciated.

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Mephistopheles is so damn delicious!

1. Bourbon County
2. Old Rasputin
3. Bells Expedition
4. Night Stalker
5. Surly Darkness

I need to find a good all-grain recipe for an Imperial Stout. I just got some Oak barrels and I need to do some aging!

Too Bad the Oak Aged Rasputin is $20 a bomber, but it is da-ish tho. :rockin:

LongDukDong said:

Too Bad the Oak Aged Rasputin is $20 a bomber, but it is da-ish tho. :rockin:

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That's the only reason I've never tried it.

And how could I have forgotten Bell's Expedition? Also one of my favorites.

jmkratt said:

Mephistopheles is so damn delicious!

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Right?! Don't know why it's not getting any love!

I blind tasted Yet, Old Rasputin and Expedition and Yeit won barely over Expedition, and Rasputin was a distant third. Its good, by over-hyped IMO

Péché Mortel from Dieu du Ciel brewery. Awesome chocolate flavour with a smooth coffee aftertaste and a solid, firm bitterness. You can't drink much more than one in a sitting, but it's very, very good.

Got to try Ten Fidy from a can @ WOB last night and it was good. Person I was talking to said Old Rasputin from a bottle and from a nitro tap are two different animals so it wouldn't be fair to compare Ten Fidy from a can with Old Rasputin from a nitro tap.

Unfortunately, they only had Ten Fidy from the list I had (gathered from this thread). No Expedition/Mephistopheles/Dark Lord/Choklat/Breakfast. They said they were going to be getting Old Rasputin on tap soon.

I'm glad I saw this thread because I am trying to find top Imperial Stouts to try. I have never been big on Stouts / Porters but last night I had one in the fridge that a friend brought as a swap for homebrew.. I cracked it open and I enjoyed it, wishing I had a second.

It was a Weyerbacher Old Heathen Imperial Stout. I don't know where that sits on the scale of quality but it may have opened my eyes up to the darker beers!

Now I'm making a list of ones I want to try, generated from this thread

SpanishCastleAle said:

Unfortunately, they only had Ten Fidy from the list I had (gathered from this thread). No Expedition/Mephistopheles/Dark Lord/Choklat/Breakfast. They said they were going to be getting Old Rasputin on tap soon.

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You'll likely have to go to Total Wine to find these beers, and I guarantee that they're available there. I live in Tampa and one of my best friends who's as well a homebrewer lives in Orlando. We both frequent the Total Wine locations here in Tampa and over in Central Florida. They have the best selection that I've seen.

coypoo said:

I blind tasted Yet, Old Rasputin and Expedition and Yeit won barely over Expedition, and Rasputin was a distant third. Its good, by over-hyped IMO

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I've only had Rasputin from the tap and I really wasn't impressed. I think it's over-hyped as well.

juslod said:

I'm glad I saw this thread because I am trying to find top Imperial Stouts to try. I have never been big on Stouts / Porters but last night I had one in the fridge that a friend brought as a swap for homebrew.. I cracked it open and I enjoyed it, wishing I had a second.

It was a Weyerbacher Old Heathen Imperial Stout. I don't know where that sits on the scale of quality but it may have opened my eyes up to the darker beers!

Now I'm making a list of ones I want to try, generated from this thread

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Right on, man! The Old Heathen is a good beer, no doubt. It is, however, not nearly as large as most of the beers on this list. I'd say if I did a top 15, Old Heathen would make the list.

Definitely get into Imperial Stouts. I was once the same as you, not a fan of stouts or porters. Keep drinking! Cheers!

kjjohns5 said:

You'll likely have to go to Total Wine to find these beers, and I guarantee that they're available there. I live in Tampa and one of my best friends who's as well a homebrewer lives in Orlando. We both frequent the Total Wine locations here in Tampa and over in Central Florida. They have the best selection that I've seen.

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Thanks, I'll try there. I don't usually buy beer (I've got a ton of homebrew at home) but now that I've tried a couple of RISs I really like this style and need to explore some of these other examples. Rasputin was my first (I'd never heard of it but that means nothing, I've never heard of most craft beers) and now I think I'm hooked on RISs.

EDIT: Just remembered I have also tried Southern Tier's Oat which I think is a seasonal. Liked it somewhere between Rasputin and Ten Fidy.

In no particular order:

Founders - Canadian Breakfast Stout
The Bruery - Black Tuesday
Deschutes - The Abyss
Three Floyds - Dark Lord
Portsmouth - Kate the Great

kjjohns5 said:

Right on, man! The Old Heathen is a good beer, no doubt. It is, however, not nearly as large as most of the beers on this list. I'd say if I did a top 15, Old Heathen would make the list.

Definitely get into Imperial Stouts. I was once the same as you, not a fan of stouts or porters. Keep drinking! Cheers!

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Yeah, I live in Delaware and it is made in PA so I wasn't sure how far they distribute it. It is the first one that I recall that really had me wanting a second.

Tonight I am going to a local store to pick out some single bottles of Imperial Stouts, this list helped me out a ton

Howie said:

Rasputin
Rasputin
Rasputin
Rasputin
Rasputin


To me, that is THE Imperial Stout by which all others are measured.

Doesn't need coffee, bourbon, oak, etc to be awesome.

Click to expand...

This.

Though admittedly I haven't tried a TON of Imp. Stouts....still...This.

juslod said:

Yeah, I live in Delaware and it is made in PA so I wasn't sure how far they distribute it. It is the first one that I recall that really had me wanting a second.

Tonight I am going to a local store to pick out some single bottles of Imperial Stouts, this list helped me out a ton

Click to expand...

Weyerbacher's Heresy is another good RIS. They take the Old Heathen recipe and age it in oak (or bourbon) barrels

What I find funny here is that the majority of people are picking Imperial Stouts with "extras"

Coffee/espresso
bourbon
oak
etc. . .


Those are "specialty beers." How about a great true Imperial Stout?

I recently had Old Rasputin on nitro and didn't particularly enjoy it. The nitro/lack of C02 threw off the balance and made it seem too sweet.

Howie said:

What I find funny here is that the majority of people are picking Imperial Stouts with "extras"

Coffee/espresso
bourbon
oak
etc. . .


Those are "specialty beers." How about a great true Imperial Stout?

I recently had Old Rasputin on nitro and didn't particularly enjoy it. The nitro/lack of C02 threw off the balance and made it seem too sweet.

Click to expand...

Or how about we don't care if it tastes good is within rough distance of the style guidelines ?

BrookdaleBrew said:

That's the only reason I've never tried it.

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Not sure if i'd go out of my way to buy it again since the cost of 3 4pks is roughly the same price, but that damn bottle stared at me for months on end before i decided to put in my basket. It does have some subtle differences but nothing that really separates itself from the original recipe IMO.

I'd say treat yourself to a bottle for Xmas!

Founders Breakfast Stout
Peche Mortel
Rasputin (not as good but a great value)

If you love RIS and have not had either of the first two, do yourself a favor and give them a try!!

KBS & Breakfast Stout
Beer Geek Breakfast
Hitachino Espresso Stout
Empire Strikes Black
Speedway Stout

Not a fan of Yeti...there is some flavor in there that really bothers me.

NCB Old Rasputin, and
Deschutes Abyss

Stone; some success, but no real distinction. Certainly looking forward to Dark Lord and hope it isn't all hype.