Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter

Brewed by Närke Kulturbryggeri
Style: Imperial Stout
Örebro, Sweden

Tap @ 1ste Borefts. A black colored beer, with a thick dark beige head. The aroma of dark roasted malts, some hints of wood. There are fruits and chocolate. The taste of chocolate with notes of wood. A little sweet with bitterness. Flavors of coffee. A touch of alcohol in the back. The aftertaste of dark chocolate with a nice bitterness. A very great beer.

Tasting shared graciously by cgarvieuk at DLD ’09 (Munster, IN). Wow, is all I can say. I never thought I would ever get to try this brew. Poured a very black pour, with small brownish head that clings to the glass. Pitch black, opaque. Aromas hit me like a ton of bricks, chocolate and caramel dance with some creaminess and vanilla that smooths it out, a touch of wood as this brew starts to get out of control. Initial is a wonderful mix, alcohol comes in more potent as a wave of chocolate and espresso soak up on the palate. Caramel and vanilla come into play, a touch of pit fruits, and the barrel becomes clearly evident further into the body. My only qualm would be a little thin on the palate, but that would just be nitpicking. Finish leaves a good bitterness, oak, and roasted flavors. Top notch brew. Thanks again, Craig!

Aroma has definite vanilla and bourbon notes up front. That gives way to some deep vinuous notes and bakers chocolate if you take your time. An incredible aroma for sure. The appearance is black with a deep brown head. The palate is medium to full with carbonation that is just bordering on being too high. The taste is deep chocolate, very thick roasted (almost burnt) malt. Bitter chocolate and burnt coffee in the aftertaste. Earthy and tobacco flavors throughout. Just a bit of alcohol in the flavor, but not nearly what you would expect for 10%. Very strong flavor profile.

Bottle shared with extreme generosity by jjpm74. Poured dark brown with light ruby highlites and a small creamy brown head. Already much lighter than what I expected from what was purported to be an imperial stout. Rich sweet aroma of dark bittersweet chocolate, butterscotch, and brown sugar. Taste is sweet chocolate, a bit of woodiness, and some floral essences in alcohol, finishing more towards roasted coffee. Although the alcohol is present, this does not taste like a 10% beer at all, as the flavors and the body almost have a delicate feel to them. Very nice combination of bitter and sweet leads me to think that this would be an excellent dessert beer. What Dark Lord gets right in being big, this beer does in being refined. Though I could not call it a stout, I would say it is arguably the finest porter I’ve ever tasted.
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Westy’s better though...

Bottled (2006). One of my most wanted beers and totally unexpectedly I stumbled across a bottle of this during my Euro trip. Big props n !respekt! to my friend Manuele. Where to begin...pours a beautiful pitch black with a creamy brown head that lingers. Intensely amazing aroma of rich chocolate, vanilla, oak, raisins, plums, honey wow there is so much going on here and extremely complex. It took me a while and then some to get around to actually tasting this. The first sip is dominated by chocolate, vanilla and oak. More chocolate and dark fruit and even some whiskey and smoked flavours are introduced. I wish I had a greater vocabulary to describe this. Has it been mentioned before that is an extraordinarily complex beer. Now I’m just rambling on. I’ve never had a beer this smooth, it’s ridiculous. An oily silky smooth mouthfeel. Warm finish and brilliantly balanced. Perfection.

With picnic tables full of incredible beer, Craig stand up from the table and exclaims, "you’ll want to follow me". I agreed, and without hesitation we were off. The bottle wasn’t half way out of the bag and I could not believe my eyes. The pour was black and sticks to the glass. A small tan head was visible, but I am interested in how this smells and tastes. The aroma was worth the wait: chocolate, dark fruits, vanilla, coffee, molasses, and licorice. Can the flavor back up the nose? Yes, Kaggen was an awesome complex brew that lived up to the hype. Dark chocolate, caramel, vanilla, coffee, molasses, dark fruits, subtle wood hints, licorice, and well integrated alcohol. Full bodied, chewy, and smooth. Thanks to Craig (cgarvieuk) for sharing this incredible beer.

Bottle generously shared by Sparky27...thank you so much ERIC!!! 2007 bottle poured squid ink that stained the glass and produced a milky latte-colored 1/8 inch head. Raisin, prune, rich cocoa, vanilla and molasses fill the nose. Flavor is sublime. Light soy saltiness, caramel, dark chocolate, ash, and roasted coffee beans. Amazingly creamy with a slight alcohol finish that accentuates rather than distracts. Great beer.

[Bottle at RBESG 06] Big chocolatey nose, some roasted notes, cherry, blackcurrant, vinous, woody, raisin, soem vanilla. Really complex, full body, sweet upfront, dry, earthy finish.