We’ve been lucky enough to be friends with Colin and Vik Stronge for many years through different members of the team here at Polly’s. Whether it’s as far back as being part of the legendary original brew team at Marble, through our very own Lally’s association with Magic Rock before arriving at Polly’s, to the present day, we’ve always maintained a strong friendship with one of the OG craft brewers. When we heard that they were venturing into the unknown and launching their own brewery we couldn’t help but extend an invitation to them to take part in our annual seventh birthday releases to shine a spotlight on their burgeoning brewery. There was no messing around from either party during the planning process of this beer - an imperial stout was discussed and decided on pretty early, and we think the strengths of both breweries shine through on this incredible beer. Letting the malt do the talking on this one, we’ve added - take a deep breath - Chocolate Malt, Crushed Chocolate, Brown Malt, Milled DRC, Crystal Dark, Black Malt, and Amber Malt alongside our usual base Pale and Wheat, to up the grist bill on this beer to over a tonne to bring all the intense flavour we need from this beer. Offset against a hot side addition of Simcoe for a whisper of bitterness, this is a no-frills, no-artery thinning adjuncts, straight up impy. Let those roasted coffee, dark chocolate, caramel, and tobacco notes swirl as we reminisce on the old school!