Kate The Great RIS

It's only fitting that my first entry on my new beer blog be for the glorious Kate The Great Russian Imperial Stout from the Portsmouth Brewery in NH.

While I have been a fan of craft beer for a long time now, no one beer has ever engrained itself in my head like the Kate the Great. Not only is it the best stout I have ever tasted, it also shares my initials - KTG; could it be more perfect?

A few years back you used to be able to 'happen upon' Kate at the Portsmouth Brewery as I did in 2007. My wife and I were spending the weekend in Portsmouth and stopped by our favorite NH brewery for some dinner and drinks. Side note - the beer mussels are FANTASTIC. As it so happens, after dinner was finished the waiter asked if I'd like to try something a little more intense for dessert as I'd been drinking stouts (Black Cat) throughout the meal. Never shying away from a new beer, I accepted his challenge. What he brought out was a beautiful dark glass of ale...Kate the Great RIS. After the first sip, I was in love. It was a perfect blend of chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt...the lacing on the glass was so beautiful it was art!

Next came the perfect storm...according to the Portsmouth Brewery website, "Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout named #1 Beer in the USA & #2 on Planet Earth by the Beer Advocates in Beer Advocate Magazine's 2007 Beer Roundup". This was a game changer and KtG would now become a challenge to enjoy. I am a proud member and supporter of BeerAdvocate.com (member since 2006) so I was happy to see KtG receive some major support. But, what was to follow is simply unbelievable. 2008 was the first official Kate the Great day, 900 bottles sold out in 3 hours and the keg was kicked in 3 days. In 2009, 900 bottles sold out in 2 hours and the keg was kicked the same day. A buddy and I attended the 2009 KtG day and while we were unable to get a bottle (this was before the current lottery system was in place) we did enjoy 2 fantastic glasses while eating lunch at the Brewery...oh did I mention we waited in line from a little before 8am on a soggy cold Monday in March until about 1pm to get inside? It was worth it.

So to be clear - I still consider Kate the Great to be the best ale I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy. If you are able to go to a KtG day (typically on a Monday in March (March 5th this year)) you should...you will meet wonderful people in line and have an amazing beer.

You will see a vast variety of ales on this site and I hope that my 2 cents nudge you to try one (or all of them)!

Kev Rating: A+
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 8%-10% varying on the batch
Availability: Whale (very limited release)
Had: On tap
Region: Portsmouth, NH