Alvinne Podge Belgian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Picobrouwerij Alvinne
Style: Imperial Stout
Heule, Belgium

Flaske. Denne øl er jeg forelsket i. Langt mere balance end de fleste andre impys med en del brændte og bitre toner men aldrig for meget. Diskret kaffe og en lille smule chokolade gør at alkoholen er helt gemt væk. Fantastisk øl.

11.2oz bottle. Thick, murky, brown color. Big, foamy head which isn’t going anywhere fast. Perfect spice and brown sugar aroma. Rich and full of flavor, but not that syrupy sweet thickness that dominates most. Rich and yeasty. Sweet and bitter. This one is all over the place. Sourness, cocoa, and candi collide. What a beer, possibly the Belgian Stout I’ve had, albeit none to stouty. Super recommended, this one’s a classic.

Very dark and dense. Aroma of milk chocolate and roasted coffee. Balanced malt and hops with a lightly bitter smoky finish. Subtle and superb.

Pours a very dark brown, almost purplish black with a nice beige head. Malty aroma of chocolate, dark fruits, coffee and sugar. Beautiful balance of maltiness, sweetness and alcohol. Malty chocolate, raisin, plum, dark berries and sweet alcohol. The high ABV is very well masked. Excellent beer!

Deep super dark brown coloured body with tints of black and tan at the same time, all with a huge and perfectly lacing, structured and even luminescent (when the light hits the head right, it makes crystalline effects - very neat). Probably the best looking imperial stout i’ve seen, and this one even comes from Belgium. Aroma of great roasted malt, raisins, pit fruits, cherries, whiskey, scotch, vanilla and oak - very nice indeed! Medium to Full-bodied; Super effervescent taste up front with a lot of alcohol, a lot of pit fruits and a tonne of sweet caramel following behind. Aftertaste shows plentiful sweetness and a nice twang of scotch, vanilla and the nuances of oak. Overall, this is probably one of the best imperial stouts i’ve had. Without a doubt, blindfolded - you’d know this is a ’foreign’ imperial stout. It’s got signature qualities of a foreign, but the characteristics make it one of the best that I’ve had! I’d definitely recommend this to everyone, since you can find it here in the states! I sampled this 33 cL bottle purchased from West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, Illinois, sampled on 02-October-2008.

Mistakenly delivered by the bartended at Delerium Café, but oh, what a mistake! Deep black beer with a thick tan head. Fantastic aroma, molasses, milk chocolate, toasted malt and a dark plumminess that blends nicely with the chocolate. Heavy roast and a light tropical fruitiness that works very well together. Lots of fruit, pineapple, cherry and raspberry with a soft earthiness on the back. Well-balanced. Low carbonation and a great rich oily texture. Awesome.

Poured out of a small 33cl bottle, october 2006 vintage, with a white-on-black label unlike the bottle in the ratebeer-picture with the black-on-white label.

Impressive look, with a very dark, almost black, opaque body and a huge brownish/beige rocky head, very nice. An aroma with a great malt profile; liqourice, dark sugars, bourbon, dough, blueberry, coffee, alcohol, raisins and chocolate notes. Overall sweet flavor but with enough roasty dryness to balance it out. Huge complexity, very impressive. The mouthfeel is heavy, thick and lush. This is a very good imperial stout.

***Drinking this beer is a total crapshoot. I’ve had bottles that were incredibly lush (akin to my description above), and I’ve had all sort of problems with this beer, ranging from leaking bottle-caps, to excessive gushing, to totally flat beer with a strong soy-sauce flavor, to promising-looking beer with the most horrible infected sour Blue Stilton taste. I always used to pick up a bottle if my beerstore got a new shipment in, but I think I’ll stop bothering after the latest dud (which fell into the ’Blue Stilton’ catagory). But when it’s good, it’s damn good.

Bottle, 33 cl. Rated again 30 june ’07. Deep dark brown, low head and ordinary lacing. Aroma sweet and choc roasted malts. Medium to full body. Sweet spiritous choc malt flavours. Good lingering choc malt and tangy finish. Very good. But not my favoritee off Alvinne.