An Imperial Stout
Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, New York, USA 10.0% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11727. 19.90 SEK (335ml bottle)
You'd be hard pressed to find a better looking stout than this one. Engine oil black body with a huge fluffy dark tan head. It looks like a milkshake for grown-ups. The head melts largely away but stubbornly refuses to surrender completely, clinging to the sides of the glass until the bitter end.
Considering the name it's not surprising that dark chocolate is the signature smell, supported by liquorice, estery notes of dried plums, burnt wood and a lot of raw booze. Sniffing it reminded me of standing too close to the petrol pump when filling up the car. Boozy woozy!
This beer hits you hard and just keeps on hitting, assaulting your palate with flavours of dark bitter chocolate, dry charred malts, vanilla oak and coffee. There's also a shot of bourbon in there too. The 10% of alcohol definitely makes itself known at the back end.
Imperial stouts are huge beers both in terms of flavour and ABV and therefore need dishes with bold flavours to avoid dominating completely. Chocolate desserts are a classic match (the sweeter the chocolate dessert the better the match with imperial stouts).
Nerd note
Catherine the Great of Russia fell in love with stouts while visiting England in the 18th Century. When she got home she ordered some stout to be sent over (she normally got what she wanted) but it turned stale on the long sea voyage. An enterprising British brewery produced a more robust stout that arrived at the Russian court in tip-top condition. Brooklyn's spin on Imperial stout is very bitter, dry and laced with spirit. Despite the name there is no actual chocolate added to the beer. The cocoa tones come from the use of six different kinds of black, chocolate and roasted US malts. At under 20 SEK a bottle it's a steal!
Rating
4.0 of 5
