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TerapinChef

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Sent them out today, estimated delivery for all three Saturday or Monday.
Here's what you got....


2 - 22oz Russian Imperial Stout
1 - 12oz Pure Soul Porter

My first time shipping beers so I may have gone a bit crazy on the packing, but I did recycle all of the materials used, so feel free to do the same when you get them. Recipes will be posted soon, and I'll send PM's to the recipients with tracking for those of you who can't wait.

Evan, I hope I timed this well with your return from France, I know those Frenchies can't make a good porter to save their life :)
 
Pure Soul Porter

psp.jpg

Pour/Aesthetic: Love the labels! I think you're the first one to send me beers with custom labels, and they're very nice. The pour was nice, plenty of original carbo + head, but it dissipated quickly. The color is dark as night with brownish-ruby edges.

Aroma: This is dominated by molassas / maple syrup aromas...which I particularly like but fear it's not really to style. There's also some dark, dried fruit on the nose, and a touch of roastiness. The more I let it sit, the more alcohol it puts off. At the very end, there's a touch of cocoa. No hop aroma.

Palate: Again with the molassas, and the dark fruit, but the roastiness that was all but MIA on the nose is evident here. I'm even picking up a bit of vanilla and something that I can only describe as very faint coconut. The mouthfeel is pretty standard, not too heavy, and this is showing itself as a nice quaffing porter that doesn't take itself too seriously. No alcohol burn, no hop flavor, nice bitterness balance. The one flaw I notice is that a couple minutes after taking a sip, your tongue takes on slight but unpleasant astringency. Yuri found this in a couple of my beers and suggested messing with my pH, but I dunno. It's really subtle so don't sweat it.

Proximity to Style: Not quite roasty enough for a robust porter, but it could pass as a brown porter. Plenty of fruity notes that I expect from brown porters. Perhaps a bit too much molassas character on the nose.

Overall Impression: A great little balanced quaffing porter. Easy drinking, not too serious (my porters can tend to be an undertaking in a bottle), and well-made. Thanks for sharing!


Score: 36/50
 
OK here we go.

Belgian Lady Breweries '888' Russian Imperial Stout 22 oz bomber

First off, let me second what Evan said and applaud you for your labels. Did you do the artwork? I never label beers cause I keg but I'm ALWAYS looking for good lables for my wines. I might be looking to you for help with my winery, Two Nurses Fine Fermantables.

Appearance
Major kudo's again for the label. On to the beer. World class head. It is STILL up to the top of my 20 oz pint style glass and the balance is sitting in a small glass. The head lingers on. The head is a bit darker than I'd expect. The color of the beer is as expected, dark and full but not as inky black as some. 2.75 /3 OK, I know that is a stupid score but... OK, so there, I changed it to... 3/3

Aroma
Subtle hints of black coffee. Loads of dried fruit. I'm getting a flashback to Christmas time and getting a tray of dried fruit from some great aunt. I always loved those and because I was the only one in my family who did I would get the whole enchilada for myself. It would take me a while but I'd eventually work thru all of the figs and dates and prunes. (I'd crap my brains out till the Super Bowl, too.) This brew just took me back there. (No, not the damned bathroom.) No perceptible alcohol nose. 11/12

Flavor
The fruit is in the nose but Elvis has left the building, fruitwise, on the tongue. The old bait and switch! I love it. I'm getting strong coffee, some bitterness. Roasted malt notes. Dark chocolate. It could actually use a smidge more of the fuit component but I'm not complaining. This does not have the cloying sweetness that is so common in this style (one I'm afraid my batch suffered from) and that is very refreshing. 17/20

(Are you starting to sense I REALLY like this beer?)

Mouthfeel
I just went looking for my digicam to take a pic of this glass and I'm bummed cause I can't find a memory card. It's 1/2 empty and the top half is coated with a thick layer of lace. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. 8 clear and obvious levels. 8 clear and obvious sips. This beer has body. You charged it with nitrogen and bottled form a keg, didn't you? 5/5

Overall.
Thank you, sir! May I have another?
Smack
Thank you, sir! May I have another?
9/10

45/50

This is probably the best beer I've ever gotten in a swap. Got any more sitting around you want to get rid of?

PTN
 
I'm FINALLY getting around to posting this review. I've been holding onto the notes for several months. My life has finally gotten back to normal and I can spend more time brewing and more time here on HBT. So, on with the review.

Pour/Aesthetic:
Nice pour, but a bit overcabed. I had to wait a minute or two for it to settle. Once it did, the head dissipated almost completely. The color is dark with just a hint of deep burgundy color at the sides.

Aroma:
Picking up some fruit smells and a bit of chocolate and roast. No hop aroma.

Flavor/Mouthfeel:
More fruit/date flavor and lots of roast character. Maybe some molasses? No hop biiterness, but nicely balanced. A bit of astringency that seems to go away as it warms.

Proximity to Style:
Really more of a brown porter than a robust, but pretty close. The roast is right on the money, but the fruit takes it into a different direction. Maybe ferment at a cooler temp?

Overall:
A nicely balanced, easy drinking, porter.

Score: 38/50


Belgian Lady Breweries '888' Russian Imperial Stout

Pour/Aesthetic:
Again, a bit overcarbed. Took a couple of mins. for it to settle. Nice tan head that stuck around for awhile! Color is black as night, but with a little deep brown at the sides, so it isn't as dark as a closet at night with the lights out.

Aroma:
Again, a some fruit/date smell and a bit of coffee. No perceptible hop nose.

Flavor/Moutfeel:
Coffee, roasted malt and some chocolate. No fruit, which is good! No hop dominance, which is also good. Keeps it from being cloyingly sweet. Nicely balanced and not too thin or too chewy.

Overall:
Just great! This could be a great all-night sipper. Kudos!

40/50

BTW, I agree, great looking labels!
 
Ignore me. I'm a RIS gnome, just bumping this thread. Some people, see, have the forum to not show posts older than 1 month. This leads to them thinking that their post was deleted - when in fact, it is just hiding from them. Just like this RIS gnome is hiding from you.

:)

missing:evan!
 
Here's my judging from the brewbubba's big beer brew off.

Judge 1: 31/50

Aroma 8/10

Coffee, toffee and licorice. Very light esters (prunes) some alcohol aromas with warming

Appearance 3/3

black, practically opaque, small ring of dark brown head at edge of glass

Flavor 12/20

Licorice, expresso flavors up front. Light fruitiness, moderate bitterness
Finishes roasty, spicy, alcoholic. Little harsh on the palate

Mouthfeel 3/5

Medium high body, medium carbonation, aggressive alcohol warming, solventy

Overall Impression 5/10

Drinkable stout, a little thin for style, as well as could use more malt complexity. Licorice-like character dominates, alcohol seems a little harsh. Could benefit from more aging.
 
So the original tasting notes from the first bottle got tossed when the wife cleaned out the office, and I just got into the second one last night. Good thing you're not pushy! ;)

888 Russian Imperial Stout


Pour/Aesthetic:
Good hiss, normal at least; the head was maybe 1/4" with no lacing, and was a very dark bone color. The beer is really black/dark brown with slight reddish brown highlights if you tilt your glass just right.

Aroma: A bit of roast & toastiness, big burnt toast and dried fruit with some coffee and a ton of chocolate to round it all out. There's a hint of alcohol but it's not overwhelming. Above all, it has that awesome "dirty potato chip" (as in, the actual brand, not a dirty potato chip) aroma that I first picked up on my first bottle of Bell's Expedition, and loved, and now I look for it in every American imperial stout I try. There's really no hop aromas.

Palate/Mouthfeel: Mid-weight, not too thick. Again with the Dirty Potato Chip thing. Very balanced bitterness, with very faint hop flavor and well-defined malt character (culminating in a toasted raisin bread note). The dried fruit and big coffee/chocolate again come through here, but it doesn't last long, as the dirty chips thing rules the finish again. There's a good amount of roast, not a ton, not overwhelming. A touch of astingency is really the most noticeable flaw, but it's not a big one. The alcohol is well-hidden, and it's quaffable. Very impressed with the final sugar levels and the balance with the IBU's.

Proximity to Style:
Aside from not having a ton of roastiness (which I think is often overdone in many American RIS's), it's very close to what I consider to be one of the best American versions (but not necessarily a Russian Impy Stout), the Expedition.

Overall Impression: Very close to mine, I think, but the dirty potato chip thing put it over the top. Very nicely done, pretty much the best of the bunch (yes, I do remember that much from the original side-by-side tasting!) Well done!

Score: 38/50
 
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