“Brewed in collaboration with Sixpence Coffee, Stubborn Russian 2016 is a coffee infused Russian Imperial Stout. A massively warming and luxurious beer for winter. Silky smooth, followed by bold coffee bitterness, and ending with a mix of dark fruits – 10.0% ALC/VOL”
Served in a snifter glass. Obsidian black in appearance with a finger of brown foam forming over the top. The head eventually reduces to a halo with a scarce lace trail being left behind.
The aroma is big, rich and menacing with a thick molasses sweetness dominating. A plethora of complex characters such as licorice, dark chocolate, burnt vanilla, leather, charred wood and mocha tantalize the olfactory’s. We can’t help but notice a slight scent of acetone as well. Although it’s only subtle we keep picking it up. Besides that we have an indulgent aroma here.
In the mouth it’s oily and intense as the 10% ABV lights up the palate. The body is medium and the Co2 is low as to be expected. Very aggressive and definitely not for the faint hearted.
The front palate cops a brutal bashing from the booze. Maybe even to the point where it can’t recover as the burn really seems to dictate terms. There’s flashes of molasses, oats and bitter espresso that creep in across the mid but the sharp alcohol returns to pair up with a burned wood-like note to finish it off. There’s even too much burn in the tail!
This is a strange one. We made sure we had it out of the fridge long enough to consume around the 9-10°C mark but the booze is still way too powerful. It’s unbalanced and slightly unpleasant to drink. Thank goodness for the aroma huh? A rare slip from this brilliant brewery.