Captian Black Strap

This is their 9% abv Russian Imperial Stout by People's Brewing Company. Not sure where the hops are, but they provide a solid balance without taking the spotlight.

The beer pours out super dark and oily. It is thick and heavy with a decadent mouth-feel, feels like luxury. There was basically no head, the little bit that is there goes away fast. No lacing. No nothing

The beer smells sweet with a little smokey profile.

Damn! This beer is sweet and delicious. So often I try and analyze ever reason why its good, and forget to say that this is just some really good beer. The malt comes out right up front with some chocolate and heavy caramel. The beer is brewed with molasses and it tastes great. I just did a molasses stout home brew and I was super disappointed. Thank God People's is way better at brewing than I am. The molasses flavor gave it a bit of a sweet and breakfast sort of flavor. It reminded me of a darker version of Founder's Breakfast Stout (which is one of my favorites). There was a hint of smokey malts behind all the sweetness of the beer, but not enough to overwhelm anything.

The hop profile is clean and finishes on the back-end of the beer. It still has a nice clean finish despite the huge malt flavor up front. As it heats up there is a little more booziness and the hops get a bit stronger, but it still holds up as an excellent beer. I was impressed at how little you taste the 9% abv.

This is probably the first seasonal / specialty beer I have had from People's and I am freaking impressed. Get your hands on this while you can. It is a strong contender for my top five beers of the year... but damn I just love a good RIS.

I give it a 4.5