#249: Imperial Brew Ceremony

Eight Degrees did good work with their Back to Black series last winter, and this year they have done something similar; a trio of strong beers just in time for Christmas, under the moniker of A Very Imperial Winter.

The first of the three I had was the Belgian Dubbel. As far as I can remember, this is the first time the Mitchelstown outfit has made a fist of one of the classic Belgian styles that are so well suited to this time of year. It pours a clear, dark red with a cream head, and was described to me at least a couple of times as Christmas pudding in a glass. This isn't immediately apparent to the nose however; it gives plenty of yeasty, fruity stuff you'd expect from the style, with a good dollop of red and green apple syrup, raisins, cherries and, rather conspicuously, soft over-ripe banana and clove. There are flashes of Chimay, but no more than that. The taste is almost exactly as the above, although it is dominated by sweet, estery banana and clove elements that remove it too far from the warming dark Belgian sphere and too close to the lighter Belgian and Bavarian Venn diagram of flavours. Still, it remains enjoyable most of the way down, before the tangy sweetness becomes a bit more work than a warming, smooth Dubbel should be. 

I got a better response from the Double Irish, presumably the Full Irish but doubled up, which is fine by me. The aroma is juicy, bold and sharply bitter, belying some aggressive hopping. Lots of grapefruit and orange marmalade make up the guts of it, with darker mandarin and tangerine stuff hiding in the folds of the sweet fruit, along with mango, a hint of pine and just a smidgen of Starbursts. The citrus fruit explosion keeps exploding on the palate, and it is bitter. Again it's all orange and mandarin, with more oily pithy skins suggesting orange essential oil, along with grapefruit and all the other usual suspects delivered with aplomb. Like the Full Irish upon which it's based, the malt backing is recessive, though at this ABV there are some guest appearances from caramel and toffee roundness, but nothing to seriously upset the hopheads. 

Excellent beer.

Finally we have a Russian Imperial Stout, a style they brewed convincingly enough last year as part of the aforementioned Back to Black series. This one makes all the right impressions from the off; it is ridiculously good looking with a pitch black body and a dark and dense brown head. As we know, however, there is more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking, and this beer evokes that with its deep chocolate,chewy toffee, brown sugar, and a tickle of fresh ground coffee beans; all warm, subtle, complexity. There’s not a touch of the 9% alcohol either here or on the palate, where it’s rich and chocolatey again, with more caramel and brown sugar than you can shake a stick at, as well as a touch of raisiny goodness at the finish. 

Like last year’s version, it isn’t the boldest or brashest of imperial stouts you’ll have, but it’s certainly a satisfying winter warmer.

Three well worth trying this Christmas, with at least one big winner.

#198: Back to Black

With college over for Christmas, it's time for me to finally transcribe notes on some of the beer I've been enjoying over the past week or two. This trio of 'Back to Black' beers was a generous donation from Eight Degrees, along with a second bottle of each for, you know, rigorous quality control. Thanks Eight Degrees!

On the first day I started with Zeus, the black IPA. The aroma is gorgeous to begin with, with a rather potent and pungent tropical fruit and lemon peel nose, suggesting a plenty hoppy flavour. However, the palate begins in a different manner; roasty coffee and a touch hot, it does let some bitter citrus fruit stuff through the gaps, but not much. It's nice, but not half as nice as it smells. Maybe it's a good iteration of the style, but I wouldn't really know. My opinion of the Black IPA as a style is indifferent at best, with no examples ever hitting the spot like a good IPA or a good porter, and Zeus isn't doing anything to change my mind.

On to the Russian Imperial Stout at 9% ABV. The most eminent aroma characteristic here is coffee, followed by caramel chocolate and some dark fruits, before taking a brown sugar turn after some time. Promising. The taste delivers sticky malts, toffee chocolate and bitter dark roasted coffee flavours on a thick and full body. While it may not quite reach the heights of, say Black Chocolate, it's a much smoother and more drinkable imperial stout. Kindred Spirit was supposed to be Irish stout reborn, but this has blown that out of the water.

The following day I was very excited to be popping open the Aztec Stout, a beer that's seen the intervention of cocoa nibs, vanilla pods and chipotle chillies. Despite the interesting additions, the aroma is more subdued than I'd expected, with milk chocolate and - you guessed it - coffee making up the bulk of it, with perhaps a hint of chilli somewhere in the background. The taste is roasty and chocolatey and this time there's no mistaking the spicy heat of chilli on the back of the throat after each swallow. Interesting to say the least, but I found the body wanting, especially compared (however unfairly) to the Imperial stout the night before.

A commendable effort that gives us two decent beers and one really good one. A good, Irish imperial stout is perfectly timed for Christmas too.