Imperial porter brewed at La Pirata in Barcelona, with the assistance of another familiar name in Spanish craft brewing, Laugar from the greater Bilbao region. Deep ruddy-hued mocha brown head (needing a bit of forcing to fully develop), very regular, creamy and medium sized, slowly dissipating and eventually vanishing altogether over a jet black beer, only revealing its one millimetre edge of mahogany haziness under bright light. Intense bouquet of hot chocolate sauce made with cognac, toffee, molasses, raisin bread, figs soaked in brandy, toasted walnuts, hints of cinnamon rolls, black cherries, pipe tobacco, latte macchiato, coffee powder on a dry cake, burnt blueberry crumble, peanuts, charred beef, touch gravy, dried rosemary, faint hint of 'blood'-like iron but feeling entirely natural in this case. Dense, 'candied' onset, candied cherry and candied fig, sweet but not overly so, with a balancing sourish undercurrent and a gravy-like umami accent; soft carbonation, very full, oily, viscous body. A thick mass of molasses-, toffee-, walnut bread- and eventually black chocolate-like maltiness glides heavily over the tongue, carrying the candied fruit and beefy umami tones along to a warming, eventually even somewhat hot finish, adding black tea- and peppercorn-like hop bitterness as well as a considerable glow of brandy-like alcohol, accentuating the spicy aspects; a coffeeish accent is certainly there, too, but any 'true' roasted bitterness remains well-contained so that the chocolatey character can fully unfold. Yet, remarkably, the 'inky' and bittersweet malt bill proves thick and solid enough to absorb most of the less desirable effects of the alcohol as well as the vague solventy effects that might have popped up more prominently otherwise. Long-lasting chocolatey bittersweetness with a faint dash of cappuccino and notes of toast, walnuts and pepper remain in the back of the mouth after swallowing. I had many a great Pirata beer and even greater Laugar beers in the past years, but this is one of those collabs where both players actually improve one another, which I think is rarely the case; this is imperial porter 'pur sang', with more emphasis on rounded, bittersweet chocolatey features than on roasted bitterness as a classically styled imperial stout would have, and moreover, one of the most enthralling embodiments of this vaguely defined style I had to date. Thick, intense, opulent, rich and 'fat', this would make a great accompaniment to, say, a selection of Spanish meats and cheeses, or could function on its own as a liquid dessert. All flavours remain focused and in direct communication with each other, everything falls into place here. Beautiful brew.

Non, il n'est pas aisé de faire vieillir une bière en fût, et cela peut même nuire à la base, soit par une aigreur qui peut accompagner ce vieillissement, soit par des arômes qui viennent couvrir ceux de la base au lieu de les magnifier. Sur cette Black Block on est ici dans ce deuxième cas avec des arômes de bourbon omni présents qui mettent en arrière-plan les qualités de l'Imperial Stout. Mais je présume que la barrique n'était pas complètement vide, car le titrage de notre bière passe tout de même de 11,2 % sur la version de base à 13 % ici. Donc il ne faut pas être surpris d'un tel écrasement du bourbon. Cet Imperial Stout n'en est pas mauvais pour autant, loin de là, mais il y avait mieux à faire. Le visuel reste sur un noir total sans mousse. Le nez se porte fortement sur le bourbon, accompagné de café et de chocolat. On retrouve le même équilibre de la base de l'Imperial Stout mais avec un bourbon très présent dès l'attaque avec café, chocolat, vanille et épices en sus. Mais c'est réellement sur la seconde bouche et en arrière-bouche que le bourbon est omni présent, c'est costaud en tout cas. Excellente corpulence alors que le final dénote, s'écrasant totalement. Parfait pour finir une soirée.