Northern Irish imperial stout from one of several new microbreweries there, bottle from Geers. Thick and creamy, pale greyish beige, lightly lacing, moussy head, jet black robe with misty mahogany edges only visible under bright light for about one millimetre off the edge. Aroma of strong beef broth, ‘fond’ and gravy, ‘lait russe’, burnt pork, salmiak, bitter chocolate, graphite from a pencil, cigar ashes, dried prunes, coffee drab, mocha powder, nutmeg, dry tea beags, cappuccino. Sweetish, creamy onset, raisins, very thin sourishness, soft carb, strong – as suggested by the nose – ‘beefy’ umami effect, gravy-ish, very rounded and soft toffeeish body, malt sweet with increasing coffee aspect from roasted malts, the combination of which with the outspoken creaminess of this beer again leads to a ‘cold lait russe’-like character; more roastedness in the end, a tad rooty and ashy with some tea-ish herbal hop bitterness to it as well – stronger even than the roasted bitter aspect. Lingering meat juice-like protein effect as well as a soothing afterglow of otherwise well-hidden, whisky-like alcohol. Bit unusual interpretation of the style, I guess they’re still trying out like most young craft brewers do, but tasty and rich enough, even if it took me a brief while to get used to it.

330 ml. bottle. BBF Dec 2020. Black, disappearing head, too active bottle, head rising from the bottle. Nose is thin grain, coffee grounds & oddly bit sour. Thin, herbal, coffee grounds, medicinal spices, bark, thin almost but not really sour, weak for sure.

Draught @ Beerfly, 🇬🇧 45 St Cuthberts Street, MK40 3JG Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.

[ As Boundary Gift ].
ABV: 10.0%. Clear dark black brown colour with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, roasted, chocolate, dark malt, light coffee. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration, roasted, chocolate, dark malt, chocolate - coffee, alcohol, coffee. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is warming and light alcoholic. [20180731]
8-3-8-3-16

Keg tap from Beerfly, Bedford. Dark brown - very dark brown actually - with a tiny ring of khaki head and lots of lacing. Smells of marshmallow, tar liquorice, forest fruits. Sambuca and rubber in the taste. Sweet turning acrid with sweetness rising again out of the ash. Liquorice and blackberry in the aftertaste. Carbonation very present but not overpowering. Slick body. Masterful.

Bottle, 9.4%. Black with small beige head. Aroma is roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, liquorice and salt liquorice. Flavour is roasted malts, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, liquorice, sweet, hop and a medium bitter.

Bottle at home. Black with tan head. Sweet deep roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, yirgacheffe, fruity, cherry, bit moldy and wet earthy, truffles. Big sweet and bitter, full body and soft carbonation.

A bit of aniseed, but that isn’t a flavour option apparently.

Draught @ Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Smooth, heavy with licorice and mild roastiness, hints of chocolate and coffee. Okay.

8 4 8 3 16Draft at Kompaan brewpub. Black with a small tan head. Aroma of coco powder, chocolate, coffee, light roast, caramel and dark malts. Flavour is above moderate sweet and moderate bitter. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.