I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
BramBrass in Heestert, West Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪
Stout - Imperial Regular|
Score
7.38
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Another variant in a string of – usually excellent – West-Flemish stouts I cannot even begin to follow one by one, this one aged on tequila barrels, always an interesting premise. Bottle from Stacks Sint-Andries (Bruges). Medium sized, pale yellowish beige, opening and thinning head on a pitch black robe. Aroma of black chocolate in a pure form, indeed noticeably ‘spicy’ tequila, chocolate crisps, toffee, nougat, lots of oaky vanilla, raw green bell pepper or even celery (the tequila speaking), hazelnut, orange peel, wet clay, pecan nut pie, ancho peppers (tequila!), rum, coffee powder, vague smoky touch. Dense, sweet, concentrated onset, blackberry coulis and golden raisin sensations, hint of ripe pear even, with a very light soy sauce-like umami edge and moderate carbonation; very full, seriously oily mouthfeel as befits the intended style, bringing thick slabs of dark chocolate, toffee, roasted hazelnut and coffee cream – roasty, but also sugary with the perfect balance of bitter and sweet for a postmodern American style imperial stout. The raw green pepper effects of the tequila pierce through in the finish, surprisingly almost as I was not expecting them anymore at that stage – but matching well with the light astringent effects of the wood and the nuttiness and ‘chocolateness’ of the malts. Warming alcohol, evidently tequila-coloured, only helps to highlight the flavours of what just passed by in the mouth. The tequila does not blend into the whole, but adds a surprising twist to it, plays with it, but eventually lets the sheer volume, richness and voluptuousness of the malts speak. A truly great tequila B.A. stout – this could have come from any established U.S. style craft brewery. I have the impression that Bram, the creator of this delicious series, is still getting better and better at these imperial stouts… 'World class' begins to lurk around the corner.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle at the Brugge Beer Festival 2024, Brugge, Belgium. A very dark brown coloured pour with a thinnish beige head on top. Sweet, roasty, malty, chocolate, barrel action. It's a decent imperial stout from Brambrass.