Notes on beers in the style
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On-tap, The Packard, Fort Wayne, IN, USA. Appearance good, as expected. No frills. Ridiculously smooth, and this isn’t something that I crave. Bitterness kicks in quite quickly. It’s a long time since I drank expedition so that elements is a bit...
This is a beer that was so, so hyped and pursued 15-20 years ago, but that I had almost forgotten about completely until a couple of weeks ago when I made this impulse purchase at Horrocks, Battle Creek, MI, USA. God, the lengths people were going...
I'm a long time over FWs blends, and barrel program, there's just too much sameness about a plethora of beers, and they generally aren't things that I care for a great deal anyway. That combo means that I'm not much interested or intrigued (with a...
The pour is a viscous, black with a slightly orange colored head. Ostensibly, all the prerequisites of a RIS are there, but the beer never reaches the kind of crescendo that often comes with thistle. It's actually very reserved. Extremely light...
750 mL bottle. Jet black, with a solid tan head. Decent looker. Brewed with 8 malts and Muscovado sugar. The beer is very dry, and ironically considering the addition of the sugar, lacks any sweetness. I don't need a sweet RIS per se, but there...
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a nice looking one, with all the requisite attributes for the style, plus some really nice alcohol legs. Head and lace are not amazing, but solid. Nose is pretty strong, but mainly in alcohol...
22 oz bottle that I purchased in a Wegman's in Binghamton, NY, USA. Pour is exactly what one would expect; oily black body, with a thin, mocha film on the surface of the beer. The alcohol in the nose seems a little strong and it has me a bit...
22 oz bottle in the usual Side Project presentation, this is #13. $7.49 for the bottle. The latest in the deluge of beer that is coming out of Terrapin these days (with mixed results I might add). Standard jet black pour with a smallish head. There...
750 mL bottle from Total Wine in Jacksonville, FL. OK, small hiss/fizz as the cap is prized off, in a moment you'll see why that detail is relevant. Pour gives a rich looking, thick, jet-black body with a few very dark brown highlights at the...
Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. 500 mL bottle. Jet black pour with standard appearance in terms of head and lace. Not a great deal to report but nevertheless, looks good. Nose is quite rich and boozy and promises much. Frankly, tastes are less...
Additional notes 03/16/24 (pictured) Bottled 2010, so a 14 year old beer at this stage. Light pop on opening, that's a GREAT sign. A touch of gun smoke. Pour is magnificent for a beer of this age. Head, is great (if not well-retained),...
750 mL bottle, #396 out of 400; 2009 vintage. Shared with BEERchitect on a visit to Lexington, KY. Standard, black pour with a less than impressive mocha-like head (ABV obviously curtails this a little)) but still surprisingly poor given the fizzy...
22 oz bomber from the October 2009 bottling, drunk in Feb 2010. Pour gives a standard black affair with medium head, retention and a little lace. Nose and tastes are quite restrained with all of the usual roast, light bitter and mild-chocolate...
22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. 2009 bottling from earlier this year. Been holding on to this for a few months, tonight was the night to crack it open. Into the Terrapin snifter in a number of pours. Simple stuff on the pour; black as...
12 oz single as an extra as part of a recent trade. Pour is the requisite black ink body with some nice lace in a mocha, coffee color that is provoked by an aggressive pour. Opaque, even at the extremeties. Nose gives away plenty of really strong...
22oz bottle from Bruisin' Ales from the Jan 2009 release (I think). Pour is a standard jet black but it provides a very fizzy tan head. Short lived head and not much retention. Nose and tastes give a LOT of sweetness and some bitterness that is...
If I had to sum up this 12 oz, single bottle offering simply, I would say that is has most of the general attributes of the style, but it lacked any real depth in every department. Summarized thus; + A blackish pour, but lacked any significant...
$2.99 for the 12 oz bottle from Total Wine, Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA. This one goes into the Terrapin 22 oz snifter in small portions. I want to let this one warm over an extended period. Standard, black opaque beer with a thinnish, dark tan...
You never know what you might find! So, I take a completely unplanned trip up to Asheville, NC for the weekend and while I'm hanging out in Brusin' Ales, one of the customers (Scott) says that the Mellow Mushroom (a few feet away) has just tapped...
64 oz growler poured by Jaime herself at the brewery. Shared with the usual suspects at The Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA on a Friday afternoon. Pretty standard "black as night" pour with a small mocha colored head. Lace is small and settles to a...
Notes added 04/16/2022 2021 Vintage. This is the bottle pictured. Light solvent alcohol nose that does not really manifest itself in the initial tastes too much. The beer drinks very easily considering, and if anything feels a little thin. Alcohol...
Big thanks go out to Tim (BA 5thOhio) for the chance to have a crack at this (at the time) top 100 beer. 22 oz bomber poured into the Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs chalice. Jet black body with no hint of any light penetrating the beer. Fine mocha...
$5.99, Greens, Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Standard, jet black body with the espresso foam colored head - the color of the head reminds me of the tobacco stained wall coverings of really old, snug bars from the 70s. Attractive color. Some lace, but...
12oz bottle from a recent trip to Greensboro, NC. I *think* this came as a single from either Total Wine in Greensboro or City Beverage in Winston-Salem. I've had some very good Weyerbacher experiences, and I was hoping for (and expecting) a good...
Many thanks to Lance for sharing the Growler. Shared at The Brick Store with a few of the usual suspects. Poured into the tulip, the body is jet black with a nice mocha head. At first the aroma and taste are both simply solvent like - very strong...
12 oz single purchased on a recent trip to Greensboro, NC, USA before this made it to GA. Typical motor oil pour with some good looking Mocha/tan head. Lace is scant. Nose and taste represent a mild, milk chocolate lightly roasted malt. A hint of...
So I stroll into Green's on Ponce in Atlanta, GA, USA, and take a look inside the Belgian walk-in and I see a bottle of silver foiled neck, Black Hole. It appears to be $9.95, and given that RIS is by no means my favorite style, AND I am really...
Thanks to Hoppymeal for the trade. Ink black pour with a similar viscosity. Tiny ring of head around the outer extremeties, virtually no lace. It sits there looking menacing! Alcohol, roasted malts and chocolate in the nose. A high density RIS with...
Green's, Ponce, Atlatna, GA, USA. Batch #74, bottled May '07, Best Before May '11. Poured into the Urthel stemmed goblet in small portions, this is black pour but does have a few dark brown notes too. Mocha head with a coffee feel. Head is spotty...
This was described to me by a fellow BA as a RIS wannabe. I largely agree. Thanks to BA SilentSabre for this sample. Nice color (jet black) with some head (very small), well formed but pretty short lived. Some lacing. This may be advertised as a...
Billed as "Big Poppa Cherry Stout" at the Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA. $6.00 for small sevring - still very good value. Let me start by saying a couple of things. I didn't think I would like this a great deal and at the same time, one of these is...
Pictured July 2025, cellared can Original Notes 01/16/07 On tap, The Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA. $6.00 The beer arrived in a thistle type glass, as black as night and with about a quarter of an inch of dark, mocha colored, highly pitted, dense...
Photo is from 06/27/17 at (now closed) The Lodge on Hilton Head, SC, USA of the 2008 - 2010 vintages. Original notes 12/24/06 Review #1000, December 24th 2006. 22 oz bomber, 2006 vintage, gold wax dipped neck. Poured into the Duvel Goblet. Thanks...
Thanks go out to BeerBeing and SilentSabre for this. 12oz bottle poured into the Koningshoeven small chalice. Pour is black with a nice brown head. Little lacing. Film on the surface of the body. Some serious chocolate alcohol aromas - fantastic...
22 oz Bomber with the distinctive Lagunitas label. Dark brown rather than black pour and plenty of red highlights. Small head with not much lacing. A lot of sweetness in the nose. OK, on to the crucial stuff. This beer is going to sit badly with...
$6.75 on tap at Taco Mac, East West Connector, Atlanta, GA, USA. Jet black pour - opaque. Smallish head, but nice lace lacing and a ying-yang symbol forms in light brown bubbles on the surface of the beer. Silky milk chocolate mouthfeel with a hint...
Poured into the Gouden Carolus mini-chalice. Black coffee colored with a head that disappears very quickly to leave no lacing or head. Sugary mouthfeel, but without the viscous feel. Liquorice taste with a dark burned, smoked malt background....
750 mL, XS packaged, black "ceramic", swing-top bottle. 2006 vintage. Opaque black - jet black with a fast receding, coffee colored, fine bubbled head. Some lacing but not very extensive. Motor oil is a good descriptor. Aroma is dark, burned sugar...
Another really nice offering from St. George. Part of their mixed sixer, the Dragon Pack. Not much to say about the pour, except that it qualifies as a RIS. Viscous and a small (1/8th of an inch) head forms and recedes to give a classic spotty...
Appearance lacks the deep black opaque nature that one would expect from the style, and in fact there are red and brown highlights and a rather thin mouthfeel considering the RIS moniker. Thin spotty head, and a lack of lacing. Very strong alcohol...
Delicious. A lighter version of the massive American versions of this beer for sure (the very phrase RIS conjours up thoughts of mind blowing excess), but of course the pay-off is that you get subtleties and grace that a massive smack you in the...
The pour is certainly very, very dark brown if not quite black in hue. Quite a few ruby red highlights, but not quite a jet-black as I was anticipating. Aroma is really quite sweet with a little roastiness. Taste is very smooth and sweet, with the...
Very solid example of the style. Jet black appearance with some red highlights when held up to an intense light. Obviously very little head unless poured from some height into the glass. Whatever foam that creates, is gone quickly and doesn't...
Genuine, thick black appearance with a small tan head, and a little lacing - not much, but some. Alcohol and toasted malts make up the majority of the aroma. I was pleased to find that this wasn't mega-complex. That may sound strange to some, but I...
Oak-aged to add vanilla notes? Well, vanilla is too subtle a flavor to pick up in this massive beer, and to be frank, I don't see much difference between this and the regular Yeti. Classic opaque pour with a small head (I assume because of the ABV)...
Jet black (some very small ruby red highlights) with very little head at all. A little lacing, this is a bit short on looks apart from the deeply opaque body. Slight smokiness, with alcohol and small chocolate overtones make up the nose. Mouthfeel...
Pictured 07/13/23 Original notes 02/27/05 A definite viscosity in the pour, that, coupled with the opaque blackness, lets you know that you are in for something of genuine quality. Pour is classic, black stout black, with a small, bubbly head that...
Dark, Porter like appearance, with a very strong alcohol taste. No head, a flat coca-cola like appearance. The aroma is all alcohol and so are the initial tastes. I found this fairly abrasive with no smoothing out of the alcohol and as a result it...
Additional notes 05/18/24 Spring 2006 Vintage, 18 years old. Pictured. Surprisingly good carbonation - not a lot but still decent - very sweet, no sign of oxidation, some solventy alcohol. The alcohol saves the beer for me, and makes it really...
Inky blackness characterizes this stout and it comes with that classic coffee colored head. It's very "coffeeish" with the usual coating in the mouth and sweetness associated with a stout of this quality. I had absolutely NO idea that the ABV was...
Well it’s been a while since I had this beer fresh. Here it is in 2025 (pictured). It’s a little more bitter up front than I remember. The nose is muted, but that’s likely a function of the temperature it was served at. There’s very little solvent...
Excellent value and if you can find it on notro you should definitely try it. Nitro definitely adds to the experience here. A beer that I have grown to enjoy more over the years. Pours with a jet black appearance and an impressive head that fades...