Monday 10 September 2012

St.-Ambroise Special Reserve


St.-Ambroise's 2011 Special Reserve Russian Imperial Stout is a big, bold beer. It's brewed by the excellent McAuslan Brewery out of Montreal. The handsome 341mL bottle comes in a flashy tube. The beer lurking within contains a potent 9.2% alcohol.

Special Reserve pours a totally opaque onyx colour.  It is topped with a thick reddish brown head. A rich aroma contains notes of chocolate and a dark roast coffee. The flavour has the molasses sweetness typical of a stout, but it's balanced against a substantial wall of hops. Notes of chocolate and a bit of tobacco are present, as is an undeniably formidable blast of boozy warmth.

This is definitely not an everyday beer. It's more of a special occasion sipper. If you plan on drinking more than one in a single go, you'd best clear your schedule. It's not what I would call an accessible beer--non-stout drinkers aren't apt to love this one.  Still, with its great blend of sweet and bitter, this is a glorious pint.

I thought about letting this beer age in an effort to heighten its flavour, but after a couple of months, I got impatient.  Lets face it--aging beer isn't really in my wheelhouse.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like a good one Ed. I know I love St. Ambroise's Oatmeal Stout.

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  2. Thanks for the review on St.-Ambroise's 2011 Special Reserve Russian Imperial Stout. One of those yet-to-try beers to put on my list. Recently, I have opened a can of Wellington Imperial Russian Stout for the first time and just love this brew. Luckily I bought a few more at the LCBO, since the closest that stocks it, is about an hour's return drive from my place.

    Graham

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  3. Woah! I've never even seen Wellington Imperial Stout. I'm going to have to keep my eyes peeled!

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