Ivan the Terrible Stout

Well christmas was recently upon us, so as per usual I dug in to my collection of rarities to celebrate the holiday season. The particular beer I'm talking about today I had never tried before, partly because it's rare, and also newer brew to the scene. Out of the 9 people who I poured this out to try (it comes in an extra large bottle ie. wine) 8 were blown away by the taste. It was that good, and the one who didn't like it was not only an IPA junkie, but also a beer salter yuck! When most people think of Big Sky Brewing, they think of Moose Drool, Powder Hound, Scapegoat, etc. Recently the brewery has taken a little different tact, and began making limited edition specialized beers. The one I had is called Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout. All the great parts of a stout are there, the chocolate taste, the thick dark froth that can only come from an imperial stout. There were so many flavors hitting the palette it was unreal. The Imperial Stout is another brew aged in bourbon barrels, which gives it a wonderful finish complete with all the malty/caramel flavors that are the essence of the bourbon production. Another suprise was after it sits in your mouth for a couple of seconds you get the slight taste of honey accompanying the flavor. I've personally never had an Imperial Stout with this kind of flavor added, but I'm a definite fan. The sweet sugary flavor of the honey was a great complement to the chocolate, fruit, and bourbon flavors already spiraling around this wonderful beer. I may get flack from all the Deschutes fans for this, but I like this more than the Abyss which is always a top rated imperial stout by just about every magazine and beer fan out there. There are only 3000 of these out there, and they are also a little pricey (about 18.99 a bottle), but I definitely say pick one up if you find it. Another wonderful tidbit I loved about this beer was it's raw unfiltered state, in the foam and at the bottom you'll not only taste but see several leftover chunks of ingrediants added in the production of this wonderful ale. After most of the beer was gone you can see just how dense the foam and material are, it's wonderfully thick, just right for these long cold months. I think 99 bottles has some left, but probably not much so if you're interested hit'em up quick. Well hope whoever wants one gets one, your mouth is gonna melt from all the flavor!