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Imperial Stout

straightforward

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It’s back to my stouts, just in time for days to be less sweltering. It even gets just a bit uncomfortable to be uncovered at night now. Somehow it seems fitting to pick up this particular stout, a collab between dear Arpus and Blackout of Romania. Catch that? Blackout? See what…yeah, anyway. As usual, Arpus does not put an ear catching name on their beer, merely describing what you can expect. In this case, it’s Chocolate Cinnamon Chilli Imperial Stout. That’s a mouthful, in a couple of ways. The can makes a lot of promises about the pleasures within, and I have a certain degree of trust in Arpus, but these stouts don’t always deliver on all the details. Time to dive in.

Delightfully dark pouring out with a darkish beige topper of foam. The head bubbles away like a mess of Poprocks – revisit glass cleaning? It’s certainly chocolatey, a dark hot chocolate aroma wafts up, with a touch of cherry. Maybe even cherry liquor. The first thing one notices on drinking is the feel. It’s thick and heavy while being smooth and unbelligerent. I keep waiting for the chilli to make its appearance, and it takes some time. Eventually it does start a slow and controlled burn (something that several areas of the country would be wishing for right now), but there’s no explosion of spice or pepper. Fruit is also present in the taste, possibly the blend of cinnamon and chocolate produces the feeling. A little gastronomic placebo. A surprising ingredient is Tabasco sauce. That’s actually where the heat comes from, and I’m impressed that that bit of vinegar is smoothly covered over. The impression is of a rich chocolate cake, possibly filled with some kind of jelly or nougat. Unlike some other chilli stouts, the spice remains low and only a mild tickle. It’s almost disappointing, but at the same time it’s the kind of stout that can be picked up any day at any time, not one you have to plan around with other drinks and food. A splendid result for this collaboration.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €8.50

the floor is

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I’m still on my European tour, now in Poland! I feel like I may have had Funky Fluid before, but if I have I wasn’t blogging it. I’m pretty certain whatever I had was not Lava. A 12% peated imperial stout. That will leave you burning for sure. Apparently, it’s also sold as a barrel-aged version, but for some reason that one was not on the shelf. Well, I can probably guess the reason. So, a stout does not need to be exceptionally cold to be palatable, and even benefits from being more flavorful, so the shitty fridge will be just fine.

Again, head fizzes away in seconds. I really have to do something with my glass. Otherwise, it’s a fine looking beer, a nice dark brown and only a touch of smoke in the aroma. There’s a hint of chocolate swimming around in there too, so it’s not as much like the fire from a few days ago and more like a boiling pot of hot chocolate. The taste though, wow! It reminds me of bacon chocolate bonbons, with that meaty flavor all wrapped up in sweetness. Most bacon candy isn’t smoked as far as I know, so that’s a difference. It isn’t a delicate beer at all, although it doesn’t look very heavy being poured, it packs quite a punch. There’s some residue that you have hanging around the back of your tongue for a while, which might be good at preventing you from drinking this one too fast. There isn’t much aftertaste and the memory of the sweetness lingers more than the smoke. I would appreciate some food with this beer, as smoked beers aren’t really my favorite, although the snacks would have to be subtly flavored themselves to not start a fight.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €7.99

rolling along

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There was one more choice from La Buena Cerveza that was right in line with my tastes, even with a little extra coconut. Scanning the shelves for those stouts I found Prizm’s Strange Casualties, a coconut imperial stout which almost sounds mundane at this point. Weirdly, temperatures have gone down after a big freaking fire some few kilometers away from me, but it is still hotter than I am especially happy with. Winter will be here in no time, and I’m sure I’ll have complaints about that, and probably there won’t be enough dark beers to keep me happy. Or maybe there will, since the few beer stores that remain will all be open again after August. Keep hopes high? Gotta stay optimistic.

It pours nicely, but there is an immediate headpocalypse. Maybe I didn’t get all that sour out of there? There is a strong coconut aroma, a little bit of sunscreen too. And lurking in the background something cakey. It has an interesting blend of heavy stout bitter and coconut flavored sweet, kind of like some kind of filled pastry. Digging into it, there’s a little soapy taste, which might also indicate less than optimal rinsing. It leaves an odd energy behind after you swallow, like something electric. It doesn’t have any disagreeable aftertaste or stickiness, just a weird kind of buzz. It’s a perfectly fine imperial stout, with its coconut addition, although not quite as crazy as some other recent things I’ve dumped into my glass.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €8.30

full o’ beans

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It’s weirdly cloudy outside, but it hasn’t gotten any cooler. Do gray skies give me an excuse for a dark beer? You bet! And this one is a northern one, so maybe fitting. If we got a good rain, which we won’t, it might evoke some seafaring fantasies. Or forests, dark and foreboding. Actually, that sounds a little more like Laugar, threatening images on the label, and what we have today is Lervig. Not only that, but there’s something light and silly about a three bean stout. You can only imagine the symphony later.

It doesn’t look especially thick as a liquid, but the head certainly has a whipped-up appearance. It’s a very dark beige and only diminishes slowly. More than any kind of beans, I’m getting cinnamon from the aroma, with a touch of gingerbread. It’s thick, smooth and rich on the tongue, liquid gingerbread in fact. Is there vanilla and cacao? Vanilla for sure, cacao probably, but I can’t identify tonka as a distinct flavor. When I have had it, in stouts, it’s been more of a variety of cacao than something uniquely its own. The whole blend is very Christmasy, and it’s too bad I didn’t pull this out for Beermas. Well, maybe I can make an exception with repeats. It is almost a whole dessert in itself, I think any kind of baked good or pastry would just be too much. A nice simple ice cream might be ok, even something like strawberry. It does calm you right down, almost giving you a gauzy curtain to shield yourself from reality, and I expect it has to do with the strength. But for the life of me I can’t find the ABV on the can. It does seem to recommend splitting this little 330ml can into several servings, though. Should have been a warning.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €6.50

what’s his story anyway?

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Hoo boy, it’s really summer now! Not my favorite season, really, even though I am blessed with A/C at the moment. Maybe it’s my aversion to beaches that turns me off of the season. Also, the dearth of dark beers in the past. This year there are a few more stouts around than other years, which certainly warms my heart, and you’ve already seen some evidence of my enjoyment. This is the last one from La Mundial, a Lervig Imperial Stout with a name that makes me thing there ought to be a story – Konrad’s Stout. Can’t find a story in a quick Google search, but maybe that’s a Google problem. We’re having more and more of those.

Beer float worthy head, thick and bubbly, and a little nest of tiny bubbles at the bottom. It’s slightly cakey in aroma, but only a mild whiff. It smells fresh and bready, almost perky. Tastewise, it is a full-fledged stout, bitter and toasty warm. It warns of coffee or licorice, but doesn’t quite go there, staying strong in its stouty identity. It doesn’t quite feel as strong as its 10%, but it definitely has presence. It’s also fairly clean going down, not a whole lot of afterfeel, although there is a little bit of film on the back of the tongue reminding you that you have had a drink. In a way it’s good, since you don’t have the desire to just chug the thing. As usual, it might be too heavy for some given the weather, but I have no problems sitting in a shady place and enjoying a fine northern stout.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €5.20

moonlighting

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We are past the longest day of the year, and in Madrid the changes are actually easily noticeable from week to week. Still, it isn’t quite time for drinks outside under the moon. I mean, you could wait until night and moon are fully in force, but the atmosphere can be a bit oppressive on the ears. Much better to have your favorite style at home and at your leisure. Oh yes, the favorite style, you know what’s coming now. This time it’s a German-US collab, so that ought to be fun. It certainly has an intriguing label, this Dead Moon Cove. It looks a little like a classic Halloween movie poster. Will Third Moon Brewing and Sudden Death Brewing give us something so good it’s scary? Or just a horror?

It pours out thick and oily, barely letting any head build up at all. It smells like a bakery. Pretty much that’s it, a bakery. One that never burns the product and uses the best chocolate and vanilla. It’s another thick one, almost like a melted milkshake, but really it’s thicker than that. It’s almost like drinking chocolate syrup, except there’s an extra level of flavor besides the chocolate part. The alcohol sits boldly in the middle with a halo of decadent sweeteners around it, like the most extravagant 18th-century dessert. I’m saying 18th-century because after all my video watching, my impression is that they just didn’t overload their taste buds the way we do, although they did like a little, quality, spice like vanilla and cinnamon. Oh yeah, some cinnamon wanders out too. The glass is positively covered with a sticky film after the beer has been there, something they say about stronger alcohol sometimes. It’s not a beer that I would identify merely as imperial stout, although it does have strength and majesty about it, but one of the better crafted pastry stouts. The rich bakery sensations are there, as is an exceptionally weighty mouthfeel, but it’s restrained and refined, not punch you in the dental work sweet. Highly enjoyable, any day of the year for me, maybe with some ice cream just out the freezer for the rest. They say stouts are having a moment this year, but I think this one might be stronger than most people want at poolside. Missing out, I say!

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €9.90

sneaky sophistication

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Back to the black stuff, it’s just a black hole for me, drawing me back in. Not that I fight at all, and sometimes I even get a running start. I collected quite a few examples for the next couple of weeks from Labirratorium, which seems to have piled in a few more stouts than the last time I was there. I feel like I have run across Redneck Brewing before, possibly when out and there’s nothing interesting on tap, but this is an Imperial Pastry Stout, so I can’t ignore it. It’s not the most alcoholic of pastry stouts that I’ve seen, but if you’re not careful Teniente Dan-Up could leave you legless.

Plummy, liquory aroma, and heavy appearance. Not a lot of head, though. It looks like a thick but slick liquid, although at 8.5% it might have quite a bit of heft to it. There is body indeed, although it’s not too prickly, but there’s more wood and toast than I was expecting. It takes a couple of sips before some of the expected pastry starts to come out, very fruity and earthy-berry tasting. The plum scent comes through on the tongue eventually, and the overall impression is of jelly donut filling. At first, I thought the whole donut was coming out of that bottle, with the roasted grain being very noticeable, but when it starts getting fruity the grain and bread back off. It rounds out in the end, gaining a little bit of roughage in the mouth and mild grain undertones to the fruitiness, but it’s more of a fruit tart than anything else. It might not be sweet enough for some, or thick enough for others, but it’s good enough for my Saturday night.

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €3.45

dark dreams

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It’s unseasonably warm right now, although cooler temps should be on the horizon. That’s what usually happens around Easter anyway. Still, how do you say no to a stout? You know very well that I don’t! And this is a special one too, Drunken Bros Black Maiden Imperial Mocha Stout. It’s from the Nightmare series, with a touch of oak conditioning that ought to add some strength and body.

It’s magic radiating off the can, that’s why it’s blurry, that’s the ticket!

It pours thickly, but silky smooth, and settles like some sci-fi B movie monster in the glass. It’s black enough to pull your soul out through your tongue, and even the head vanishes in minutes, unable to contain the power. It is one of the heavier beers I’ve had for a while, like a barely melted shake. It plays on the mocha angle heavily too, with a dark roasted coffee coming on strong at the end of the sip. It has a very toasted grain flavor, with a mild chocolate undertone. While not excessively sweet or coffee bitter, it’s not the easiest beer to drink. It has a robust body and a little bit of crinkly texture that keeps your attention, but doesn’t exactly whip down the hatch like a whisper of wind. I happen to have some white chocolate on hand, and since it isn’t an extra sweet stout, it might be a good little helper….Well, it does cut through the body a little, but it lends a more sour quality to the flavor. Was not the best outcome. Oh well, there’s still beer in the can and more chocolate for another day.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €6.95

opening the door to shadows

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Yes, Halloween and Day of the Dead have passed, but daylight is still winding down, and the darkness is more present every day. Might as well have a beer to go with it, right? Any excuse for me! I’m always slightly perturbed that stouts are not more prevalent in the winter (or ever), but maybe that makes the discovery more pleasing. Espiga has been more familiar to me for pale ales and the like, but I cannot resist a stout from anybody. If those ales were good, the stout will be too, I trust. It’s also a pastry stout, so the addition of that sugary shock just brings you right out of November Saturday doldrums. I wonder if Magic Cookie would play nice with Ben ‘n’ Jerry’s Cookie Dough, or if they would battle to the death.

It’s absolutely oozing with liquory aroma, vanilla, rum and cookie dough. While not exceptionally heady, there are quite a few bubbles collecting at the top. The initial taste is a deep dark…void, really. There’s a whisper of bitter and smoke, but once you swallow a punch of sweet bakery goodies covers your tongue. You might expect it to start getting syrupy quickly, but there’s a stronger bitter in the aftertaste than at the first sip and it balances the cookie part really well. The flavor starts to develop more of a planty element, reminding me of horchata. It’s actually not as rich and drippy as I thought it was going to be given the luxurious scent, but it is a scrappy and flavorful brew. Perhaps not as smooth as some people would like. There’s even some wood lurking around like it’s a barrel aged stout on top of everything. I’m not unhappy with it at all. Out of the shadows with you, Magic Cookie!

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €5.80

wake up

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It’s as summery as you want and I will insist on a stout. Pastry stout! It’s almost more refreshing to have a pastry stout than a normal one, since that sugar kicks in. And this particular stout by Malandar is not only sugary, it’s chocolatey and coffee…-y. Some might be put off by the name – Donkaccino – but those people probably shouldn’t be drinking exotic liquids anyway.

Appealing color, but not very heady, even with an abundance of bubbles. There’s a good whiff of chocolate and vanilla, although with a touch of licorice. All come through in the flavor, although there’s also a good bit of toastiness, almost to the point of burned toast. The smokiness of charred bread hangs around in the aftertaste, well after everything else floats away. It starts off smooth and silky, every easy to get down, but the stickiness rises over time and after a few sips starts to leave a little residue along with flame-based aftertaste. Towards the end a woody flavor develops, reminiscent of barrel aged stouts, but maybe it’s just some absolutely sucked-dry coffee beans.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €7.90

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