Stone Russian Imperial Stout - 2007 VS. 2008
'07 on the right, '08 on the left.
Both definatly pass our Stout Hole test.
Both excellent beers, I would have a hard time telling them apart, but I did like the '07 better. It smelled syrupier and the extra time the flavors had to blend added to the already excellent taste. I liked the body of the '07 better, slightly smoother and thicker. The head on the '07 was not quite as developed as the '08, but they both stuck around for most of the glass and both had a nice tan tinge. Carbonation was about the same between the two, on the low to moderate side like a good thick stout should be. I was kind of surprised the differences between the "standard" and "vintage" were not as pronounced as our test of '06 VS. '07 Double Bastard.
Now for the disclaimer...High alcohol content (over 10%) coupled with an affinity for stouts probably skewed the results, if we were really trying to be scientifice we would have used smaller "fun size" samplings. But really, who came up with the "fun size" crap anyway?
Bottom line - great stouts, get yourself some and try this experiment for yourself.
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