Named after the year when hard root beers soared in popularity with Colonial drinkers, the brew features ingredients such as blackstrap molasses, sassafras root bark, dried wintergreen and licorice. Cloudy, reddish colored brew with coppery amber hues around the edges. Massive, minty nose, with soft sassafras, vanilla, a wet and earthy root character and gingery suggestions.

A lively carbonation fills the mouth with creaminess.

Medium-bodied, smooth and even. Very spicy with cracked black pepper all over the place, almost gingery at times. Rich and robust molasses tanginess and deep sweetness blends well with delicious notes of licorice and subtle vanilla, while a raw and intensely herbal sassafras dominates. Wet root or green twig notes. Touch of sourness and some lemon-like character blends with the sweetness. An Asian sweet-and-sour sauce comes to mind. Suggestions of fresh wet tobacco, with a big, fresh, minty, leafy character sticks into the finish and lingers long. Raw, floral honey notes pull through as the beer warms. Finish is a bit rough and raw. The experience is intense and complex and truly brings your sense and mind back to another era of elixir enjoyment. However, it’s not an easy brew to get down your neck.

Smells spicy and fruity, with faint white peppercorns and dried apricots, fruity esters and a sweet caramel-cake-like maltiness in the back of the nose. Full-bodied, with a slow creamy smoothness and crispness that rolls over the palate. At first, it seems like a malt bomb with a quick tidal wave of sugary malt flavor, but then a thick hop oil flavor and a gentle bitterness start to break apart the malt. Herbal bite in the middle. Waves of more fruity esters; spicy herbal hop; and an underlying nutty, biscuity malt. Phenols and lingering esters finish this beer out with a semi-sweet end.

Decanted into a wide-bowled tulip glass, the contents of this 750 ml corked and caged brown magnum pour a hazy, bright peach color topped with an extremely tight white foam head, followed by impressive lacing and glass stickage. Aromas are soft and clean, zesty orange peel, wheat husks and barnyard hay, sugar, background ginger notes and an enticing dash of pepper set the pace. A lively carbonation fills the mouth with creaminess.

A lively carbonation fills the mouth with creaminess.

This Russian Imperial Stout is dedicated to Georgy Zhukov, arguably one of the finest generals of World War II. Opaque black in color, with notes of espresso, chocolate, dark toffee and hints of backstrap molasses. The English hop varietals provide a subtle herbal dryness, and finishes with a hearty slap of roasty espresso. Pair Marshal Zhukov’s with Mushroom Solyanka, dark chocolate, cherries and ground wars in Russia. We brew and release Zhukov’s in the summer knowing that a beer of this heft reaches its full potential a few months after release. So save a bottle for the cold winter!