Get Hammer'd!

Barrel Aged or not?  Like asking if you'd prefer Kiera Knightley or Natalie Portman.

Stouts are a beautiful thing.  Dark and malty, rich and hearty, and often emblazoned with a name to make lager-boys everywhere quiver in fear.  And standing mightiest above all other stouts are the Russian imperials, which take an existing and winning formula, then turbo charge it with more of everything and enhance the alcohol content enough to reduce you to an inebriated, belching mess after but a pint or two.

It should be no surprise, then, that when a brewery such as Phillips comes along and makes a new Russian imperial stout dubbed "The Hammer", one should take notice.  One would be wise to do as such.

The Hammer is, in a word, bliss.  It's one of the best Russian imperial stouts I've had in quite some time, boasting an incredibly chocolatey flavour with notes of coffee and malt, all of which manages to slide across your palate like butter on ice.  Really, this is a shockingly smooth and savoury stout, and is actually completely approachable by those not yet baptized in the holy suds of beer connoisseurship.  The taste is full and complex, without being harsh, and the aroma is intriguing and inviting, without being pungent.  It also surely doesn't hurt that this particular RIS weighs in at a not-to-be-trifled-with 8.3%.

So, it's local, it's delicious, it's got that wonderful name, and it'll get you drunker than an Irishman at an open bar. Surely at this point, I will demand that you go out and buy yourself a bottle or two immediately.  Right?

Unfortunately for you unlucky suckers out there, Phillips has ceased production of The Hammer.  Now, before you all label me as some sort of epic troll, my reasoning for this review is simple; it may come back.  Stouts are generally seasonal, so I'm not shocked to see many breweries putting theirs away for the upcoming spring and summer.  Besides which, I do like to acknowledge when a local brewery makes an exceptional beer.  Phillips has been on a roll lately with this, the Double Dragon imperial red ale and their mash-up Baltic porter.  They're a brewery to watch in the coming months.  And after all, isn't it nice...to be nice?

Stop!

Taste:  As if being struck by this beer's namesake, the ensuing torrent of taste will leave your 'buds dancing for more.  Like a slab of dark chocolate dipped in coffee, then peppered by malt and infused with a wallop of alcohol.

Aroma:  Not overwhelming, but most definitely defined.  Understated notes of chocolate and malt beg you to pour the sweet black nectar into your awaiting, puckered lips.

Aftertaste:  Smooth and refined, not a damn bit of revulsion in the slightest.  Complex, yes, but focused on the rich chocolate flavour. 

Recommended?:  Yes (Good luck finding one SUCKERS!)

Verdict:  Overall...one of the finest Russian imperial stouts in recent memory.  Combining the best of all these great dark and savoury bits of deliciousness into one bottle of fermented goodness.  This...this is what I look for in a stout.  To all you breweries out there; look to The Hammer and Phillips Brewery, because they have provided the bar to beat.

Score:  10 mugs out of 10.




For more on Phillips Brewery, cruise on over to their website:  http://phillipsbeer.com/