Kaggen! Stormaktsporter
(has 10 batches)

10 years ago, I proudly sampled a 2009 version, back when this was an ultimate whale, being the most expensive beer I ever bought, € to cl , at the time. I hoped to one day try it more fresh, as age was very present in the sample, but also more 'on it's own' rather than during a big bottleshare. So, here we are ! full bottle by myself, but un?) fortunately 2018 version, which means the bottle I currently have, is 1 year older on the drinking date, than the one I had before.
Having had an enourmous let-down with the konjaks! variant recently, I truly hope this'll be better, but at least I didn't even pay close to what I had back in 2015. So, here we go !

Pours black, with a tanned, medium small head. Scent is quite roasty, rather soy like... And indeed showing some age, again. a deep woodyness (enhanced by the age) like taking a deep sniff in an old barrel - which had good aspects, but also a quite oxidated one. Taste is surprisingly thick. Roasty, coffee and very pure chocolate. The age factor is much, much milder. It's got a unique feature I can't quite put my finger on... Licorice comes to mind but doesn't exactly specify what I mean. It feels more complex, more refined than your 'average' hyped stout, and it doesn't rely on adjunct or special barrels (yes I know this is barrel aged, but it's not the dominant feature here) to do so. A quite damn nice imperial stout. Is it the absolute best ? Well.... not to my taste. But I can certainly see the appeal it had, and still has, being one of (no longer thé) highest rated beer. I wouldn't agree though, not even in only Imperial stouts, but just like westvleteren, I guess it's fair since this will be a very, very nice stout for anyone that loves stouts, whilst being hard enough to obtain not to get to much ratings from people who don't like stouts, whilst being not só specific it's an absolute favorite for some, but less to the liking of the many. This beer has got all it's cards right, and in this day and age, it's much easier to come by. At modern price points and availability, this surely is worth seeking out indeed.

now, for my third time, I hope to be able to drink it quite fresh ;) Who knows, 2035 ?