A remarkable collaboration of famed Danish To Øl with Portuguese Mean Sardine: an imperial stout flavoured with dried prunes and aged on madera barrels (nice way of introducing a Portuguese element to a now-international style). Thanks Johan! Pale greyish beige, bit irregular, open ‘ring’ for a head with some flat islands in the middle, black robe with hazy burgundy edges. Aroma of lots of black bitter (unsugared) chocolate, indeed madera but of a drier kind, beef stock cubes, coffee grounds, wet wood, whisky, Polish dried prunes indeed especially becoming prominent when warming up, bayleaf, dry caramel, soy sauce, grape seeds. Sweetish onset but restrainedly so, raisin and fig aspects but strong dried plum sweetishness dominating, alongside a quite pronounced umami element (beef stock); soft carb, full and vinous, creamy-oily body. Dry caramelly and walnutty maltiness, toasted bread- and eventually black coffee-like bitterness but remaining relatively gentle; woody tannins, however, are very strong here and effectuate a strongly drying effect in the finish. Spicy accents (primarily of a hoppy nature) linger along with a peppery, boozy alcohol effect, reminiscent more of brandy than of madera actually, but pleasantly warming and actually accentuating the roasty bitterness of the malts. In all, dry from beginning to end, complex and rich, so a very, very well-executed idea for sure.

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