Nils Oscar Imperial Stout

Brewed by Nils Oscar
Style: Foreign Stout
Nyköping, Sweden

Bottle. Solid foreign stout. Dark brown body. Big bubbles in a light tan head. The aroma reveals roasted malts, powdered cocoa and dark, unsweetened choclate and hints of coffee. The flavor is light to moderately sweet, moderately bitter and moderately acidic. The body is the texture of root beer — watery with lots of fizz. Chalky finish. Tasty.

11.2 ounce bottle: Deep brown pour with a sparse soap bubble head. The nose is dominated by dusty cocoa powder and unsweetened chocolates. The bitter chocolate follows through to the body - giving the beer a chalky texture. Grainy notes abound. Hints of stale smoke and bitter coffee join the mix on the back of the tongue. Interesting.

Bottle. Pours very dark brown/black with medium light brown head. Smoke, roasted malts and espresso in aroma. Bitter pleasant flavour with notes of smoke and coffee. Great stuff.

11.2 oz bottle, no date. Black with a small ran head, fading to a ring. Hazelnuts, milk chocolate, sweet caramel, with some underlying roasted grains and coffee. Flavor is not near as sweet--much more roasty and ashy, especially in the finish. That’s not to say it isn’t sweet, but the roast is a much larger component here. A bit raisiny as well. Seems like there’s even some lactose in here. Low carbonation with a creamy medium body. Pretty darn good.

From enjoyit via trade. Thank you Svend! The pour was a super dark brown with a thin tan head. Spotty bits of lacing appeared from time to time and hung on for dear life before retreating into the glob below. The aroma was chocolate, roasted malt, coffee and some light fruity hops. The flavor was nice if unremarkable. Roasted malt complimented quite well by chocolate, light tart fruit and some coffee. Mouthfeel was thin to medium in body and the finish wasn’t as sharp as I like.

Bottle. Head is initially small, frothy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is dark brown to black. Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain/husks, coffee, chocolate). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter, slightly husky. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Fairly simple and a bit grainy. Not very "Imperial", to be honest. Nothing special.

2006 Vintage: Very light for style, both in terms of palate weight and abv. Light milk chocolate and quite a bit of fizz in the mouth. Solid enough but doesn’t stand out for me.

33cl Bottle $5.69 West Lakeview Another (fairly) newly imported scandanavian brewery. Nils Oscar’s Imperial Stout produces a one finger tan head on an aggressive pour that fades rather quickly to a skimming with a thick ring. Leaves some respectable lacing on its way down. The head formed on top of a coal black body with faint mahogany highlights when directly backlit. The smell right upfront is a nice deep roastiness. This lays down the foundation for an alcohol spiciness and a lactic quality. I’m not sure what type of hops were used but I seem to pick up a touc hof pine toward the back. Smells good but a little on the faint side. Seems more along the lines of a few foreign stouts sampled in the past. Flavor follows in stride with the aroma. Things start off with a rich roastiness that, although fades, is with you through the remainder. Mid-palate mild coffee with cream take hold and things end with a welcomed sweetness from the lactic quality. Again, the flavor is more reminiscent of foreign stouts sample in the past than most RIS’s I’ve drank. The mouthfeel is particularly nice. The body has some heft but isn’t too big, which fits the smaler size of this beer. Smooth and slick with a creamy finish. This is an easily approachable RIS that also keeps it easy drinking. The lower abv, for style, allows you to drink a couple in a sitting. Another good Imperial Stout from Scandanavia. The flavors present and lower abv still bring to mind a foreign style stout but this is definately an enjoyable brew. I’m anxious to try others from Nils Oscar. 1/5/08