Beer Bad Shepherd Alkonost Russian Imperial Stout

In Russian mythology, an Alkonost is a bird with the head of a woman, that – like the sirens of Homer’s Iliad - is said to make someone forget all else and desire nothing else. It’s this seductive approach that Bad Shepherd have taken for this Russian Imperial Stout, which could hardly be more appropriate for a big beer from a brewery with the motto “Leading you into temptation.”

Pouring opaque with a tan head, a peated smokiness is the clearest flavour, followed by a rich caramel sweetness. As it warms up, the beer's lighter side comes to the fore too in the shape of dried fruit and plum.

Will Ziebell