Närke Stormaktsporter

Brewed by Närke Kulturbryggeri
Style: Imperial Stout
Örebro, Sweden

Black of color with a brown head. A lovely aroma of kold coffee, liqurice, sweet fruits and notes of smoke. A flavor of liqurice, some coffee, chocolate, sweet notes and hints of smoke.

Bottle. Black with beige head. Mature fruit, coffee and raisins. Flavour is sweet, candied sugar with notes of dark fruit. This beer is just so very, very good. Now I just gotta find my Kaggen notes and compare the two.

Bottle at the Bishops Arms, Avenyn, Göteborg, Sweden. Intense dark brown, medium creamy brown head. Intense roasted malt aroma, but still very soft and inviting, with a mix of coffee, chocolate, and dark fruits, and a hint of vanilla. Extremely smooth, with low carbonation. Very well balanced, where sweet- and bitterness interplays and the bitterness finally dominates. A superb Imperial Stout.

2005 Akkurat 25 cL. Still looking, charcoal black pour with a minimal tan ring. Very viscous in looks, oily, and it actually leaves legs on the glass. That gives you the portrait and a first excuse for its immense popularity. Upon smelling though, there may actually be some justification for that. First, it remains rather restrained with hops, so it’s really just a grand toasted malt undertaking. Rather boozy, extremely vinous nose, certainly quite heady, charred dark fruits I would say. Lots of plums and dates, stuck together with an agile woodiness that lets the port impression grow on you. Back to the hops, they are present, offering mostly earthy notions and serving a pure support matter in a diligent way. Minimal carbonation, thick, chewy, mealy texture. Vinous all the way down, including this very long, fruity finish coated by focused roastiness that is tame enough to feel toastier han anything. Intense and certainly well executed in every way. Enough to set it apart from its category. Justified top 50 I would say and, at the risk of repeating myself, this has such boastful fruitiness that it is indeed more interesting than all but a few stouts out there. A tannic fruity choco mousse with a touch of liqueur. I could bring myself up to rating this 4.5+ if it were just one of my favorite style. Very stylish imperial stout, there are many others in the top 50 who are far more banal than this.. and probably able to stand a few years of aging thanks to this marvellous fruit focus.

A Mes rate: Bottle from The Bishops. Perfect thick black body with a tan head that is very well behaved all the way down. Sumptuous just does not do it justice. Complex aroma of sweet barley, honey, red wine, chocolate and just a slight lick of beautiful creamy alcohol. Flavour is utterly sublime. Love that quote from FatPhil about your dark beer tasting life flashing before your eyes. It really does put everything in perspective. Palate is nothing less than perfection. Served at perfect temperature, straight from the shelf in the Bishops. To make the whole experience all the more perfect it was poured into an Old Tom tulip. I was so proud and couldnt be happier. Totally worthy of it’s legendary staus, clearly one of the best beers I will ever try. How I wish I could get hold of this.

Bottle (Pikkulintu, Helsinki, Svenska Dagar 2006). Supersweet aroma warns you of what’s coming - it’s going to be oily and strong. And when you taste it - BANG - your whole dark beer tasting life flashes before your eyes - you name it, it’s there! Everything from dark fruits to coffee, chocolate, and licorise, and more.

2/8/07. Poured out of 330 mL bottle, obtained in a trade with omhper on RateBeer 12/11/06. 2004 Vintage. Black-brown color with oily texture in the appearance and blood red outlines. Dark brown head fades fast-- though it is dense and uniform. Beautiful aroma of creamy vanilla and taffy with some bourbony oak character as well as a light chocolate and a wildflower (not hoppy) presence. Some toasty sweet ash. Nose also has slight acidity on outer edges, like burnt treacle. Flavor is actually probably even better-- including the same burnt treacle with a big dry chocolate component to match the stunning acidity. The sweetness that is there dries out in the finish exquisitely with some roasty molasses and tons of oxidized raisin character, which I happen to love. Still lots of black roasty-dry chocolate in a very long trail-- so long and complex that I don’t want to scare any of it away in the slightest. There’s a creamy/oily balance (full, slick body) in the texture with only light carbonation, but mouthfeel is terrific nonetheless-- oily, dense, balanced with alcohol and a light, itchy wood character. So good, damn near flawless-- more carbonation, and this stuff would be just sick. Thanks, Per!

Bottle, 2006 vintage. Very dark brown, almost black with a tiny tan head. Roasted with chocolate tones. Lots of coffee, dark chocolate and some licorice. Medium to full with a long, very complex aftertaste. A very good beer !