6.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle, 8.5%. Dark chocolate aroma. Black colour, seems clear. Big stable dark brown head. The flavour is roasted, and very oaky. Tastes a little smokey with woody notes and some acid. Does not taste barrelled, but more like new wood chips. Or perhaps whiskey barrels because of the smoke and acid notes, but not as compex or mellow as expected of a whiskey barrel. Still good, though.

7.4

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Donker bruin toto zwart bier me mooie schuimkraag. Smaak is bitterzoet met iets van rook en hout, wat koffie en bittere chocolade. Heel goed.

7.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Gedronken tijdens Brabantsbierfestival. Donkerbruin bier met beige schuimkraag. Aroma is houtig en rokerig. Smaak is licht houtig en zacht fruitig. Nasmaak is iets wrang.

7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

* Rating overgezet 2017 * Het is een diep donkerbruin tot zwart bier met een dun beige schuim. Het heeft een moutige wat dropachtige geur. De smaak van gebrande mout, zoethout, drop en hout.

7.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Ganz ordentliches Imperial Stout, hohe Drinkability, Schokolade, Zartbitter, hinten Espresso, cremig, passt.

6.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

33cl bottle from Beer Republic. Bbe 01/2022. Nice oakiness, vinous, hint of port like notes, roastedness. Dry, warming finish

6.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle. Black. malt, licorice and a hint of oak in the aroma and flavor. Sweet. Roast, caramel. Not unpleasant but lacks depth.

7

Blackberries, blueberries, oak, some black tea, more lightly smokey wood, light apple, some licorice. Surprisingly fruity. Thanks Edo!

6.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle. Color: Almost black, dense light brown head. Taste: Roasted malt, hints of licorice, smoke, coffee. Lightly hints of wood. Fairly light body for an imperial stout.Pretty short finish. Although it is a good drinkable beer, pretty low score for this beer style.

7.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Allegedly oak aged (though I suspect oak chips) version of a Pimpelmeesch ’impy’ which doesn’t seem to appear on the market in its basic form... Bottle from a Mitra shop in Lelystad, Flevoland. Thick and densely moussy, heavily ’paper’ lacing, stable, pale yellowish beige head crowning a black beer with hazy chestnut brown edges, only visible under bright light. Convincing, rich aroma of cold black coffee, bitter black chocolate, cappuccino, mocha ice cream, black olive, dry liquorice candy, fresh oak including something subtly vanilla-ish, candied cherries, burnt toast, dates, raisins, dry leather, very old cloves, toffee, brandy, hints of dried moss, caramel candy, sweet pipe tobacco, Kirsch, old cake, black pepper, blueberries. Fruity, juicy onset, lots of candied banana and dito fig sweetishness but not too sweet, balanced by a subtle undercurrent of dried blackberry sourishness and a touch of black olive- or dried bladderwort-like umami, softly carbonated, bit minerally here and there; thick and full, ’heavy’ mouthfeel, though perhaps not quite as viscous and oily as I was hoping for. In any case a world of dark maltiness ensues, very nutty at first, shifting to burnt toast-like bitterness but still retaining a caramelly, ’dry sweetish’ core as it were; leathery and subtly lingering dried fruit notes hover above. Leads to a dark, rich, warming finish, where coffeeish roasted malts appear (yet not overly so) and accentuate a spicy hop bitterness along with indeed a dash of oak, albeit limitedly so - confirming my belief that chips were used here rather than barrels. They still add a nice touch of drying, tannic woodiness though, matching well with the much more pronounced nuttiness and ’black coffeeness’. Ends fairly clean and to the point, no unexpected ’yeast dirtiness’ here, with a warming, bitterish, gin-like alcohol glow to accompany the roasted black barley bitterness and hops down the throat. Warming, rich, sufficiently complex and firm but elegant, this first encounter with the Pimpelmeesch village brewery in Chaam is a pleasant one indeed. Ticks all the boxes to qualify as an imperial stout, though a bit more viscosity and depth would not hurt - though this would probably increase the price significantly. In this form, this beer functions the way it should, no undesirable yeast effects here, no misplaced earthiness, no cutting down on the roasted barley - but ’oak aged’ is to be taken as a relatively subtle hint here, search for Molen instead if heavy barrel ageing is what you are looking for in ’impies’ in the Netherlands.