XS Imperial Stout 2011 edition by Rogue brewing is a strong Russian style imperial stout at 11% ABV. One of the best things about this brewery (aside from their awesome Dead Guy Ale) is that they always tell you whats inside the bottle. No frills, no preservatives, just awesome awesome flavor of beer. Theres some minor hoppy fragrance in there. This beer is very creamy. Almost like drinking a thick cup of expresso with chocolate. Not too sweet but the dark chocolate. Made with that awesome pacman yeast with gives it a caramel bread taste to it. So basically like dark chocolate coffee cake. Pairs great with desserts and I am sure other good meals. Some raisin, plum and figs are noted in there which is one of the reasons is not too coffee bitter but just right. I have had a lot of different stouts but this one is not the average kind of stout and can hold its own greatly. Poured into a ceramic bottle for later storing or possibly aging. What does the XS in XS Imperial Stout mean? Not too sure but they sure did their homework with providing a push of extra ordinary flavors. How does this compare to Serpents stout? Well this one is more caramel bread tasting where the other one is more bourbon. Kinda hard to decide but I like Serpent’s stout for the extra kick while this one I like for the extra sweetness. By the way, good luck finding this… they had more XS Imperial IPAs than the stouts…maybe I will try the IPA one next 😛