Närke Stormaktsporter

Brewed by Närke Kulturbryggeri
Style: Imperial Stout
Örebro, Sweden

Bottled [2005]. Pitch black coloured with a brown creamy head. So very very well balanced. Roasted, malty, chocolate, coffee, dark fruits with a hoppy finish.

Bottle 25 cl. Bottled for Bishops Arms in Malmoe. Served slightly chilled (on ice for 15 minutes). Very dark and complex. Oily. Maybe a bit too much alcohol (liqour - cognac-feeling). Can’t find anything to compare it to.

Rating #900
250ml bottle, via rickgordon. Pours an extremely forbiddingly dark black colored body under a creamy tight bubbled dark brown head. Reminiscent of a freshly brewed cup of espresso in every way. Nice amount of yeast sediment in bottle. Aroma is robust and hearty. Thick roasted and burnt malts, coffee, bitter chocolate, licorice, chalk, caramel, tar, and alcohol. Really just writes the book for a Baltic Porter. A slight hint of acetone is the only detractor. Flavor is very roasty first off with a good dose of caramel. No overly burnt flavors or astringency. Finished with lots of espresso and a lightly chalky dryness. The alcohol is nowhere to be found, amazing for a 9.6% ABV beer. The mouthfeel is just about everything you could ask for. Walking the line between creamy and oily in texture, there’s a soft fullness that enrobes the tongue. Beautiful soft carbonation that can only come from being properly bottle conditioned. Was this the best beer I’ve ever had? Maybe not, but it’s up there. What I can say is that it’s by far the best Baltic Porter I’ve ever had to date. So much going on in the flavor that it’s hard to characterize it all. Thanks heavens that they didn’t filter the crap out of this too, as that would have severely cut down on the mouthfeel. Big thanks to rickgordon for the chance to try this one!

A firm beer with a satisfying richness and all the virtues you can expect in a beer of ths style.

Bottled, Svenska Dagar, Pikkulintu, Finland. 2005 edition. Sweet musty aroma with oak, juniper, cigar, anic, cognac... [fill in own personal favourite aroma here]. Completely black with small dark-brown head on the sides of the glass. Extremely strong taste. 1 minute after swallowing it still feels like it’s lingering in the mouth! Could be more alcohol in the finish though.

Bottled at the Bishops in Malmo, got very excited because the bartender told me it was the Kaggen version, although the label stated otherwise, oh well. The 2005 bottle is marked as brewed for the Bishops Arms. Pours a oily black with a very nice creamy brown head. Aroma of licorice, caramel, cocoa, damp wood, mulberries and light alcohol. Amazing body, warming, sweet but delicate. Main flavours are caramel, alcohol, forest fruits and rum/oak, the chocolate plays a supporting role but provides some roast bitterness. The finish is caramely, reasonably alcoholic. Best porter I have tried to date. Simply stunning.

Bottle at RBESG 2006. Just a hint of smokiness with some rich tobacco overtones. Chocolate is prominent and yummy.

Part of a bottle at Bishop Arms. A heavy, complex aroma. Sweet, with a taste of "vörtbröd". Vörtbröd is a bread eaten during christmas based on wort.. Ridiculus good beer! Maybe beeten by its "kaggen" version. Very dark liquid, with tastes of roasted rum ???