Brewdog: Chris From Stone’s Stout (Scotland: Imperial Stout: 10.2%ABV)
Visual: Dark brown to black. Shimmer of toffee froth around the edges but no head.
Nose: Raisins and brandy cream. Buttery shortbread. An understated liquorice touch. Fruitcake. Pumpkin seeds. A very faint sour touch.
Body: Lots of raisins. Light citrus – grapefruit? Vinous but insanely smooth. Barley and toffee. Light charring and milky chocolate behind the main fruity body. The bitterness slowly grows mid body.
Finish: Pineapple. Raisins. Light hop trace but very unobtrusive. Light coffee and a small amount of bitterness.
Conclusion: This beer’s over ten percent? No way. This things sips smooth as can be. Fruity and spirit styled, but without any of the burn, it manages to be very light and graceful. There is no harshness and for an Imperial Stout it plays surprisingly subtle with the chocolate and coffee notes.
It’s pretty much pure on the sweetness and very appetising raisins on first touch; it takes a while before the subtle bitterness reveals itself. It mainly comes out on the finish as a counterpoint but is not completely absent from the main body.
Now the flavour is not the most forceful for an Imperial Stout, the fruitiness is very much there but everything else works on a much more restrained model. It also uses a light citrus touch near the end to offset the main flavour and make more refreshing. A trick seen before on BBF’s chocolate stout and appreciated here.
I don’t think there exists a style called Fruitcake stout but there should be just for this. Kind of ESB Stout mix. Very enjoyable as this lovely beer, and puts me in mind of Port Brewing’s Older Viscosity in its smoothness and subtlety of flavour. If I have to push flaws the then beer could do with just bit more kick to the flavours. Frankly I’m being picky and messing with the balance could negatively impact its careful sipping yet high alcohol balance. Therefore it may be a bad idea to mess with it much as I’d like the extra flavour.
Well worth a trip to London to try if you are near, a great fruit ESB Stout hybrid.
Background: Found in Brewdog Camden. This is an Imperial Stout brewed with Raisins. Apparently this was made when Chris from Stone Brewing was visiting during a brewers exchange. I’m a huge Brewdog fan (and not and unbiased actor on them) and a huge fan of Stone Brewing so this was a must try. With the insane abv I decided to limit myself to just a third of a pint. Had a delicious burger from the menu, but waited until I had finished the beer before sampling it.
