Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter

Bottle RBESG 07. Pitch black beer. Lots of liquorice, an amazing imperial stout. Molasses and fruit - prunes and raisins. A tone of port/sherry, too.

Bottle at Blackfriars GBBF. Pours devine. a deep Ebony colour swirls in my glass topped of by a thick creamy tan brown head lingering at the mouth of my glass.its complexity is amazing. With such a complex bee ri find it difficult to write down all the aromas and flavours exuding my glass as every sip explores new flavours and smells. All i can say is this beer definetely gets the thumbs up from me with lashings of rich sillky expresso coffee, chocolate and smokey liquorice followed by a warm buzz of strong liquer goodness. Its chewy and tar like body slides slowly down the throat giving a fabulous bitter finish. tHIS IS WHAT STOUTS R ABOUT!

180mL bottle, 2005 vintage, generously shared by kramer17801. Thanks Jason!
Appearance is deep black, no apparent light passing through the edges of my glass. A deep brown head sites on top, and when swirled the brown, thick lacing clings to the sides of the glass and slowly crawls back down. Very attractive splotchy lacing. First impression of the nose is rich dark chocolate and a slighty hot aroma of whiskey with faint charred wood as well. For sure the whiskey is not overpowering, and I’d probably say it’s one of the few beers that used whiskey barrel aging is a truly complimentary role. The (faint) char, rich (but not heavy) smoke, and malty scotch notes work together really, really well. First taste is rich chocolate and sharp whiskey, again, complimentary rather than dominating, with oak barrel and delicate, toasted chocolate malts coating the mouth. Over the back it’s slightly warming, very mellow and smooth, leaving a rich toffee, amaretto and resinous whiskey coating on the tongue. A few times I even pick up some nice, moist tobacco as well. One of the better barrel aged imperial stouts I’ve had.

Rating number 1000. December 2006 25cl bottle. Pitch black with a thick, creamy and long lasting light brown head. Intense aroma, oak above all, with much vanilla character. Plums, dates and figs. Some alcohol gives it some bourbon after a while, and portwine is also in play. The flavour has all that barrel character plus the full blown impy stout richness. Rather sweet but balanced by some hops, the dark malt bitterness and some alcohol. As it enters the mouth, oak and vanilla dominates, then comes some fruityness along with warming alcohol, and perfection is reached with the long lasting black aftertaste of espresso, charcoal, licorice and dark chocolate that sits in the mouth for a long time. Hyped beers demand extra concentration when drinking, which in turn may give a great beer an even better rating because I pick up all of its complexity - my first Westvleteren 12 took an hour to drink, and this will also last. But they are hyped because of their qualities in the first place, and this beer is worth all the attention.

Tiny little 180mL bottle, 2005 vintage, via rickgordon, shared with mj and lilannie. First, I must say that I traded for and recieved this bottle almost one year ago, 9/21/06 to be exact, long before the rest of the world knew about "The Mighty Kaggen!" that became the #1 beer on RB. Just a matter of asking the right person at the right time more than anything. I’ve been saving this for an occasion, and having the chance to share it with another RBer was good enough occasion for me! The pour was a very dark black, completely opaque under a small dense espresso crema like head that retained as a thin film for the duration, rousing with a gentle swirl to a full covering, then fading to a thin film again. The nose is most definately bourbon dominated, but in a fairly integrated way with the roast, charred oak, vanilla, tar, smoke, moderate alcohol, slight soy and molasses, and bakers chocolate. The flavor is pretty intense, yet it’s really blended well between the roast, barrel influence and alcohol. Can’t say that I really got a whole lot of honey in there, but there was a little risidual molasses and dark fruit like sweetness that lingered on the finish mixing with a deep tobacco note. A little alcoholic maybe, but it seemed to work with this one. Mouthfeel was actually a little bit thinner than the regular version, but I couldn’t decide if that was just because of the mental association with bourbon or if it had thinned some with the time it spent in the barrel. Nice soft but engaging carbonation. This was pretty damn amazing, I suppose that if there’s gotta be a "best beer in the world" that this is as good of a candidate as any. A slight edge personally goes to the regular Stormaktsporter, but mainly because of the mouthfeel more than anything else. Both were quite a delicious treat.

I have to keep my benefactor under wraps, per their request, but suffice to say it’s a them and I thank them profusely and promise to show my thanks very soon. This bottle is a 2006 vintage. <P> The aroma is beef bouillon, soy, dark chocolate, burnt and roasted malts and marshmallows with faint porto notes. The beer pours a gloppy black and settles with a thinnish mocha head, but initially the head is finger thickness and creamy looking. <P> The first sip is fairly boozy and the barrel aging is immediate and unmistakeable imparting vanilla, pineapple and coconut notes. I also get some nutty Maderia notes and gobs of dark chocolate. Fairly hot on the swallow with a cream and chocolate chaser. It almost tastes like a dark chocolate liqueur. The finish makes me think of a vanilla liqueur with faint nutty and chocolate notes that invoke german chocolate cake. A very enjoyable beer that is definitely not a product of hype or hysteria. Now, if they could brew this en masse for a larger market I would be truly amazed....and an exceedingly loyal buyer.

Colour: dark brown with a light brown head. Overwhelmingly complex and very distinct aroma of chocolate, sweet tart, campfire roasted marshmellows. Flavours of chocolate, coffee, wood, sweet tart, some dried fruits, cognac and port. Alcohol is well hidden. Exceptional. Rerate: bottled, thx to caesar. Incredible long, smooth and balanced aftertaste of dark chocolate and dried fruits. Very happy to be able to sample this one again.

Yes!!! Bottle 2006. Rating #1900. Aroma of chocolate, wood, earth, cake, prunes, cognac. Very special and unique aroma. Opaque, black coloured with a thin, brown head. Taste is sweet with some coffee bitterness. Woods, lots of chocolate, some prunes appear in the taste. More cognac than port taste. Very lingering palate. Alcohol is noticeable (duh... 10%) but it gives the beer a nice warming character. Great stuff this is. I hope I can get it more often.