Nils Oscar Imperial Stout

Brewed by Nils Oscar
Style: Foreign Stout
Nyköping, Sweden

Deep pitch black coloured body, completely opaque with a thin and fast dying tan head. Some brown transparency gets through on the side of the glass, but a bunch of bubbles rising from the sides are also noticeable - nice! Aroma of potent, deep, roasted malt, coffee, nuts and star anise. Some meaty and mushroomy scents also come out too - after the sweetness. Medium to Full-bodied; Strong assertive roasted malt up front fading to a complex meaty, spicey and nutty finish. Aftertaste is odd - effervescent then fading to a stillness, with more malt and coffee than anything else. Overall, this is an odd beer - I’m all for the Foreign style instead of the Imperial, but it just doesn’t work - it’s missing too much character, after the smell was so promising. Worth trying, I suppose - but I’d rather have pretty much any other Foreign over this one! I sampled this 33 cL bottle purchased from Knightly Spirits in Orlando, Florida on 15-February-2009, sampled at home in Washington on 23-March-2009.

Bottle. Black and pored with a small head. Slightly malty with some chocolate flavors.Well balanced and smooth.

Bottle (330ml). Courtesy of .... Reakt?. * Rating # 3500 * Looks like a stout - near opaque black with reddish edges, average frothy light tan lasting head. Smells like a solid stout (not an impy) - dry roast coffee bean, leafy bitterness, cocoa, a little cream, mint, wisp of licorice - not much alcohol at all. The taste is mild, lactic, bitter chocolate and acidic weak coffee, not much fruit but definite dry light herbal bitterness - very smooth and creamy, somewhat light bodied, mildly acidic and carbonated - quick malt finish, a little dry bitterness in the linger. Pleasant, not world-beating - definitely not "imperial."

Draught@Bishops Arms North Apperance: Black/brownish with a good lookiing, brown, head. Aroma: Roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, and licorice. Flavor: Dark caramel, Salt, Milkchocolate, Coffee. Palate: Initial sweetness followed by a dry bitterness. Nice stout from Nils Oscar. Quite drinkable!

Pitch black color, with a tan-coloredhead, sweet roasted, toasted malt, light smoky nose, with some cookie dough, mild mochaish, dark chocolatey, black coffee, cocoa accents, with a faint spicy licorice note in the aroma follows through a weak to medium-bodied palate for an imperial stout, with a mild roasted, toasted malt character, with some black coffee, roasted coffee bean, mochaish, espresso flavors, with some burnt fruity, raisin, date accents, with a nice licorice, vanilla spiciness, leading towards a roasty, chocolatey, lingering bitterness finish. Less strong than your usual imperial stout.

The pour reveals a pitch black color with a thin light brown head. Nice aroma of chocolate and roasted malt. Pretty good flavor of roasted malt, chocolate and hints of vanilla and licorice. The body is light to medium with a creamy texture and gentle carbonation. Not one of the best impy stouts out there, but quite satisying.

Dark brown with reddish highlights? Very reticent head, really had to force it out to get 1cm. Cool restrained aroma, dark malts, milk. Very restrained flavor, roast, but takes several seconds to become noticeable before lingering on in the aftertaste. For an impy, next to no alcohol presence, and now that I look, not surprising given only 7%abv, props to Nils Oscar. Medium body, dry. The bitterness in the finish is almost woodsy as opposed to straight roast. Very good drinking. To summarize, far from big and bold, this is a leaner more finessed take on the style, very well put together, and characterized by the subtleties of dark malts that typically gets lost in other examples. Now that I check on RB, it all makes sense now as a foreign stout. Very recommended. I’m a big fan now between this and the barley wine.

Draught (St Urho’s, Helsinki) - Very dark brown, almost black in colour. Chocolate and coffee in the aroma with light hops. Tasty hoppy and chocolatey taste wih coffee and a hoppy element in the finish. Very nice.