Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter

Brewed by Närke Kulturbryggeri
Style: Imperial Stout
Örebro, Sweden

A really good beer... but not the best. I tasted this before it was bottled and it’s a wham-bam-thank-you-mam-beer.

Bottle from the Bieres Sans Frontieres at the GBBF, so another thanks to Andy for getting this rare drop to England. (I met a guy from Sweden while I was at the bar who said he lived 30 miles from Närke Kulturbryggeri, and apart from one bottle at a beer bar, BSF was the only place he’d seen Kaggen for sale.) And after all the anticipation, a pour for me, a pour for Traci, and we begin: Brown-highlighted black, lovely rusty crema-like foam. Aroma begins with a bright dose of dried fruit: raisins, moves to dates, then figs. Now a touch of muscovado sugar, now vanilla, bananas, cardamom. Underlying all that, a building dark chocolate awareness that several sniffs in takes charge. Then eventually is replaces by rum cake. Deep sustained high-cocoa content chocolate flavor--someone playing a "chocolate" note on a grand piano and holding down the pedal. Even a minute after a sip the chocolate coats in sticky bitterness. Vanilla sweetness that is tentatively present from the beginning begins to grow, but the iodine bitterness keeps if from getting sticky. This is such an interesting beer to beer to be #1. It’s certainly a big beer, but it’s one of the most subtle, refined Imperial Stouts I’ve tasted. It doesn’t surprise me at all that this is a recipe grown out of years and years of homebrewing—it tastes like every flavor has been subtly tweaked to exactly how the brewers wish.

Bottle. 2006. Dark black color with a average, frothy to creamy, excellent lacing, fully lasting, brown head. Aroma is moderate malty, dark chocolate, licorice, light vanilla, amazing look and smell. Flavor is just amazing, very complex and intensive, with a very good balance, moderate sweet and biiter long duration. Body is full, texture is creamy, carbonation is lively to soft. Very very nice beer ;o))

Bottle, RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. Pitch black colour, creamy brown head. Very nice aroma of chocolate and roasted malts, hints of oak. Intensely rich and complex flavour: oaky, vinous, roasty, chocolate, liquorice. An excellent beer, but so is the "ordinary" 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.