Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter

Bottle, 25 cl at GFW68 Sthlm. Vintage 2006, one year old at sampling. Initial impressions are average for an imperial stout, served way too cold and I wait for the beer to warm up. As it warms, intense aromas of chocolate and booze, some red fruit. But mainly hot alcohol. Taste and palate is sweet, chocolate, no roastiness, very little, if any hops. Some vanilla and wood I imagine. Perhaps this was still a bit young, but with a beer this rare, who can afford to wait.. (seeing how it’s only available in pubs in Sweden). So.. best beer in the world? No way. Really good -yes! This beer however, is very malt dominated, there’s not much else going on here.. Maybe I’m blasphemeing.. but I think anyone can make this beer. Severly hyped because it’s so rare. I certainly wont fork out the 24 euro to try this again. Still.. must compliment HG on a damn fine beer!

Bottle at Toms Ultimate Glasgow Tasting: Poured a deep dark brown with a tan color head. The aroma is fruit and roastedness with slight liquorish. The taste is roasted coffee with a liquorish finish.

Bouteille. Glenfiddich Warehouse 68, Stockholm. Mousse brune-crème qui s’estompe pour laisser place à un anneau de dentelle collante et quelques nuages épars à la surface. Couleur brune opaque avec reflets ambrés à la lumière. Arôme de fruits confits/ noix/ vanille douce/ subtile note de café/ léger houblon floral. Goût richement malté, alcool chaleureux, amertume légère mais persistante, notes de tanins de chênes. Grande complexité, bière époustouflante, mais peut-être l’alcool est-il un peu trop prononcé, masquant des saveurs qui mériteraient davantage d’épanouissement! Tout de même, un pur plaisir sensoriel!

Bottle. Super dark with a beige foam. Aromas are sweet coffee with soy sauce. Sweet, spicy and salty. Flavours are rich malts with chocolate and mollasses. Smoky with soy, liquorice and salt. Quite viscous. Powerful.

Bottle tasted at Copenhagen Beerfestival 2007. (Vintage 2005) Black colour with a nice head. Nice port aroma with notes of roastedness oily and sweet chocolate. Wonderfull tasty and smooth flavour of chocolate, port-like, roastedness and hints of oak and little alcohol. Very nice endeed. I also tasted version 2006, but I prefer 2005.

Bottle. Black beer with a light head. The aroma is quite malty and the flavour is very strongly malty. Overall a nice strongly malty beer.

25cL bottle, 2006 vintage, courtesy of omhper. Thanks a ton, Per! Pours a dark, oily blackish-brown color; thin, dark tan head with patchy lacing. Intensely sweet, syrupy aroma: tons of nougat and dark chocolate and a hint of licorice; the barrel presence is just enough: slightly tart, toasty bourbon and well-roasted; nothing harsh. Very woody, toasted oak and cedar upfront; excellent bourbon character: mildest sour-mash quality (if at all) with loads of nougat and milk and dark chocolate; slightest roughness from the bourbon, but otherwise a generous, layered BA impy stout; the barrel itself seems to be the highlight here, and it would be interesting to try this alongside the regular Stormaktsporter. The beer underneath seems to lack the density of something like BA Speedway or BA Blackout, and that’s the only setup for this beer; the barreling itself is beautifully done. Lengthy, milk chocolate and bourbon-tinged finish; well-integrated and balanced end.

2006 bottle version. Opaque black, almost like engine oil with a small fading brown head. I had my doubts about this one, thaught it was overrated but after tasting it I must agree with the most of the raters here. The aroma and flavor develop during the tasting and you can almost say you’re tasting a different beer in the end than in the beginning. Sweet aroma of raisins, prunes etc. A deep flavor of caramel malts and even some rancid fruit taste but in a good way. Also chocolate and honey come out in the flavor. Very malty finish and palate, even some yeasts coming thru. Simply a great beer that you would like to drink more often!