United Nations of Beer

Black Albert Russian Imperial Stout

by Chris M
(Watertown, WI)

Great Beer Shirts!

I just got off the plane from a business trip and headed to the Palm Tavern in Bay View.

This was my first visit. It was pretty crowded, I got the last seat at the bar, and all the tables were taken. I could see a very large sampling of people had the Belgian style glasses they were using to serve the Black Albert Russian Imperial Stout in.

Everyone was in a friendly mood and the bartender said it had been like that since they started the tapping at 7pm. Pretty brisk business. I ordered my glass and hey, it wasn't too outrageous, it was $10 for a glass. I paid more for a 1oz glass of Sam Adams Utopia from a bottle, so how can I complain? The service was excellent and the bartender knew his brews.

Appearance

Served in a great Belgian style beer glass (these are similar to iced tea glasses if you are unsure of what I mean) and filled about 3/4 with the beautiful rocky head that was about 1 1/2 fingers.

The beer in the dim lighting looked pitch black. Due to the lighting I couldn't get too much on the colors, but the foam appeared to be a light brown or chocolaty froth on top. The head dissipates after a few minutes to a nice rocky appearance with peaks and valleys leaving a great lacing down the glass. It is definitely saying: DRINK ME!

Aroma

It was served a bit on the cold side, so you had to let it warm up for a few minutes (I would say it took about seven minutes) before I started getting a nose from the brew. I could detect chocolate, a bit of coffee, and some roasted characteristics that one would expect from a stout.

Not one thing overpowered, but also being in a bar scene, your beer aroma is competing with other scents and odours, thus you may not get the full effect of the aroma. I think if I would have been able to drink this at home or in a different environment, I would have gotten more from the aroma.

As it warmed even more towards the end of the glass, you could definitely detect the chocolate, roasted malts and hints of coffee even more. I should probably has let it sit and warm even more before drinking (maybe 10-12 minutes).

Flavor

First sip, not so great. It was still too cold and I got an over abundance of alcohol. (For those of you who tasted my last stout before it mellowed, you may have some comparison).

After about five minutes, the flavors started coming through, the chocolate, the roasted malts, the coffee, but nothing overpowering, and the alcohol slid into an undertone of the flavors, almost amplifying them while giving a warm glow. This is when I started enjoying the beer.

Feeling

It was lighter than I expected, smooth, yet very warm, almost burning from the alcohol at first. After a few more sips, the alcohol was more of a mild warming glow and the beer got more balanced in the mouth with a smooth medium feeling.

I wouldn't say it was too light, but it was almost as watered down tasting as say a Guinness, at least to my palate.

Overall

Would I drink this again? Most definitely I would have a glass again. I think maybe I will wait until Uncle Mike's in Kenosha puts it on tap, he mentioned he wanted to let it cellar for a bit before serving it.

I think that would be a great idea for this particular stout. For those of you that are cost conscious I wouldn't recommend trying it. For those who love to try different beers and particularly are stout drinkers, you will enjoy this very good beer.

It wasn't what I thought it would be, but it was not bad at all. I think I was building expectations in my mind, and was hoping for something like Dark Lord or Darkness (which in my opinion are two of the best beers out there, along with Westy Apt 12). I still think Black Albert is a world class beer, but I was just a tad let down by my own expectations, which were tainted by many a people's reviews and comments on the subject.