Tasting Notes: Emperor: Arbor: Jabba The Nutt

Emperor: Arbor: Jabba The Nutt (England: Imperial Stout: 10% ABV)

Visual: Black and still body. Thin brown head that quickly vanishes.

Nose: Walnuts. Vanilla. Dry roasted peanuts. Coca. Crushed bourbon biscuits.

Body: Smooth and creamy. Vanilla fudge. Slight alcohol warmth. Dry fudge. Riesen chocolate chews. Good thickness. Slightly milky.

Finish: Chocolate cake. Bourbon soaked sponge. Bitter cocoa. Watered down blended whisky. Slight crushed peanuts. Riesen chocolate chews. Walnut.

Conclusion: Ok, one, this is really good. Two, this is far less nutty than I expected. There is some influence there but the barrel ageing (At a guess bourbon barrels but it doesn’t say) has a lot more influence here with lots of vanilla and toffee notes. Thus I am torn between the fact that I am definitely enjoying this, and the fact that it doesn’t stand out in a distinct way in the big stouts stakes.

It is remarkably well made, and I am definitely grabbing another can, but it doesn’t have that spark that makes it stand out so much I say “This is a top imperial stout and a must have”. However it is smooth but with enough texture that it feels creamy and so has good weight. Similarly there is some bitter cocoa but generally leaning towards the sweeter end of the imperial stout scale and that mix makes for a noticeably nuanced and rounded beer.

Lots of chocolate cake, that aforementioned cocoa, but you know what I am not getting much of? Nuts. Which is off for a Walnut Whip Imperial Stout. There are kind of nuts here and there but not heavily so – more from the toffee and vanilla notes as mentioned – It is still remarkably solid in all the main elements, maybe more nut influence would have shoved it up there as a special one, but as is it is very good but doesn’t quite stand out.

So a polished, super well crafted base of a beer that just needs some small tweak to stand out.

Background: Emperor are a very well regarded small brewery that is dedicated to making the best Imperial Stouts they can. They are mainly seen in collaborations, but I have managed to get my hands on a few cans of their self made stuff over the years. They don’t always meet their ambitions but they tend to be good enough that I check them out whenever I can. Arbor are a very solid brewery which I have had many a good time with over the years, so was hoping for a good beer here. Also the name made me snigger so much because I am childish. Go figure. This is described as a “Walnut Whip Imperial Stout” made with wheat, oats and lactose on top of the normal ingredients and is aged in 15 oak barrels of an unstated style for a year. No actual nuts listed, again, go figure. I still have no idea how Disney have not sued Emperor’s brewing shitless, but glad they have not. Went with Typo O Negative: October Rust for dark backing music for a dark heavy beer. This was another beer grabbed from Independent Spirit.

Tasting Notes: Surly: Barrel Aged Darkness

Surly: Barrel Aged Darkness (USA: Imperial Stout: 12% ABV)

Visual: Black. Still. Moderate sized browned head that leaves suds.

Nose: Vanilla. Shortbread. Milky coffee. Liquorice.

Body: Thick. Treacle. Boozy. Vanilla fudge. Sticky toffee pudding. Bitter cocoa. Spirity bourbon character.

Finish:Treacle to treacle toffee. Vanilla. Massive bourbon taste. Vanilla cheesecake. Vanilla fudge. White chocolate. Bitter cocoa.

Conclusion: Ok, Surly Darkness was amazing. This is the barrel aged variant of that beer. The super special version. Does that take the amazing beer and give it the little push it needed to become top of the mountain, amazing, one of my all time favourite beers, top of the Imperial Stout battle?

Simple answer. No.

What this feels like, is a slightly less polished Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, covered in Surly Darkness clothing. Which is no bad thing, but a major step down from standard Surly Darkness.

And for context I have not tried Goose Island Bourbon County Stout for a while now so have no idea if they have run it into the ground since it was bought out. This is based on back when it was definitely good.

I’ve mentioned many a time where barrel ageing has overwhelmed a base beer and unfortunately this is one of those times. This has massive bourbon influence, oh and sure some Surly Darkness. Very spirity, very raw bourbon character rather than the more subtle barrel influences.

Not a bad beer, lots of bourbon influences as said but there is also a lot of the vanilla the barrel brings in everything from vanilla toffee to vanilla cheesecake and everything in-between, but as time goes on the more vanilla elements get less and less and the raw bourbon character gets more and more overloading it. Even worse, from the very start all the delicious cinnamon notes from base Darkness are lost completely.

Having had Deschutes’ The Abyss recently I am kind of wishing there was a version of Surly Darkness treated with all the clever subtlety that used for its barrel ageing. While I kind of preferred base Surly Darkness to that beer, it was a masterclass in how to use barrel ageing and I think that ethos used here would create an amazing beer.

This as is, is enjoyable but base Surly Darkness is far superior – showing so much more skill and subtlety. This is big but one note – fun but if you have to pick one, pick standard Surly Darkness. Trust me you will not regret it.

Background: So, I return to a Surly Darkness, this time not one in ratebeer’s top 50. I had spotted this in Tanakaya Liquor Store when I was in Tokyo, but I had gone for the standard Darkness instead. Since I had enjoyed that so darn much, on my final day in Tokyo, just before the flight back I popped my head back in and grabbed this barrel aged version to take home with me to drink. Which is what I have now done. For a big beer I wanted big music so went with the classic Iron Maiden: Powerslave!

Tasting Notes: Deschutes: The Abyss

Deschutes: The Abyss (USA: Imperial Stout: 11.5% ABV)

Visual: Black. Still. Frothy brown coffee froth coloured head.

Nose: Cinnamon. Coffee beans. Quality rich coffee. Vanilla. Creme brulee. Mocha. Cocoa dust. Liquorice. Light spirity vodka character. Cherry pocked biscuits.

Body: Creamy, bitter cocoa. Milky rich coffee. Coffee cake. Liquorice. Cinnamon. Treacle. Molasses. Custard. Bourbon.

Finish: Coffee cake. Alcohol air. Cocoa dust. Coffee ice cream. Bourbon. Bitter cocoa. Treacle.

Conclusion: A restrained take on a big beer is the best way I can describe this. For a barrel aged beer the actual barrel flavours are comparatively subtle. Though that is not an insult and they do build up over time. Initially the base beer completely pushes through those barrel aged notes. Considering how many beers are overwhelmed by their ageing, especially as of late, I approve of this more restrained method.

Initially it booms with rich coffee – from coffee cake in the body, rich coffee throughout to more chocolate touched mocha. So much coffee. Considering I don’t see coffee beans listed as an ingredient this has an impressive range of coffee flavours from the malt alone.

Around that is a sweet cinnamon spice and vanilla notes that makes it seem more dessert like, while a bitter cocoa keeps to that dessert imagery which keeps the sweetness reigned in with delicious bitter chocolate styling. Beyond that a light touch of liquorice similarly helps keep it grounded against the sweetness.

As time goes on and it warms the beer becomes bigger and more treacly, here the barrel ageing rises above showing itself as just vanilla notes and spirit hints to a more powerful weight while still letting the actual beer side do the main work.

Overall the coffee cake and cinnamon still dominates, the barrel ageing now a rousing second, and a wealth of other notes to examine coming in a far third. Only very slightly boozy feeling, very restrained for such a big beer but with a LOT of flavour there.

It doesn’t have the spark to make it to the very top of the beer mountain for me, but is instead an ultra polished, robust and rewarding beer that is just below that high line. It is exceptional, just fighting in the most crowded of fields – despite that it does all that it does brilliantly though. No flaws, unless you find it being just a touch boozy a flaw, me I like the reminder of what I am drinking.

Excellent, just against even higher competition for the very top – definitely drink it if you get the chance, you will not regret it.

Background: Well, this was a lucky find. The last bottle of this in the shop! Yes I grabbed it as soon as I saw it and did not let it go until I bought it. Deschutes – The Abyss, like Surly Darkness is a beer that has been in ratebeer’s top 50 for years. I remember missing a chance to get it in the Great British Beer Festival something like a decade ago – it sold out so fast. Anyway, so in Tanakaya Liquor Store, at the same time I found Surly: Darkness I also found this. Two previously untried Top 50 beers in one place at one time. I was spoiled. Again at a decent price of less than ten pounds, which I you remember what this used to be flipped for is an amazing price. This is barrel aged, from back in the day when that wasn’t as common as it is these days. Going by the bottle it looks like this was about a year old by the time I drank it – even better! Frankly there were probably so many other great finds at that store, but with only so much carry space I had to go with what I could carry.

Tasting Notes: Surly: Darkness 2022

Surly: Darkness 2022 (USA: Imperial Stout: 12% ABV)

Visual: Black. Still. Very large creamy coffee froth brown head.

Nose: Treacle. Cinnamon. Liquorice. Roasted nuts. Coffee. Vanilla. Sour dough. Toffee.

Body: Treacle. Chocolate liqueur. Sticky toffee pudding. Chocolate cake sponge. Cinnamon. Molasses.

Finish: Molasses. Liquorice. Sticky toffee pudding. Charring and slight charcoal like bitterness. Crushed walnuts. Cinnamon. Mulled wine. Bitter black coffee to slightly sweeter mocha.

Conclusion: Oh this is a big, sticky beer. It feels like a throwback to the mid 2K heavy duty thick imperial stouts, and made me realise how much I missed those unbalanced monsters.

This treacle thick and sweet but with a stodgy, cloying sticky toffee pudding weight layered on it as well. Just heavy thick sweetness layered over heavy thick sweetness. Frankly, too much for the (American) pint you get in the can if you looking for ideal serving side. It would work better in smaller measures. However, I will (oh my) have to make myself enjoy the whole can, and taken as a beer to share it is hard to fault, and a small fault at that.

There are other flavours – it is not just that thick treacle and toffee style, though most are still sweet. Lots of cinnamon dusted over it for example, gives hints of a kind of dark Christmas drink feel.

There are some counterpoints to that real sweet, dessert like character. There is a mild charred bitterness, some bitter coffee and roasted nuts notes. Not too much mid body, but they grow in the finish to underline the experience and contrast the sweetness of the main body.

As time goes on it even becomes almost, but not quite, balanced. And that teetering on the edge, just about unbalanced , over the top character is what gives it its charm. There are technically more proficient and with it better balanced beers, but this manages to go one step beyond what should work and still manages to be excellent while snubbing the need for restraint.

It doesn’t quite unseat my top few favourite imperial stouts, but that is just because it is such a hard fought scene. It is still absolutely incredible. Probably would be not in my top 50 beers, but only just, and I can see how it holds that place for many people – it is definitely one of my favourite beers of recent years.

This is a wild ride, a callback to the more adventurous days of brewing and an exceptional beer. Definitely try if you can, just be warned this is sticky, sweet, strong and pulls no punches, but it makes that work!

Background: Ok I was very excited when I found this. I was In the always amazing Tanakaya Liquor Store in Tokyo, prying through this selection when I saw this – one of ratebeers listed top 50 beers in the world. Now ratebeer as always does have its biases, towards imperial stouts like this for one, but finding an untried one of their top 50 is always exciting – and for not too bad price. The few times I have seen versions of this in the EU it has been flipped for silly money. This worked out at about 13-15 pounds after conversion from the yen, which is not bad at all for such a big beer. While beers drop in and out of the top 50, so how many I have tried at any time varied, at the moment this will be the 16^th I have tried from the current line up. As shown this is the 2022 release so at a guess about six months to a year since release. Looks like it is easier to get hold of than it used to be – bottles are still done exclusively on “Darkness Day” but a can like this seems to have a more general release. Also darn looking at their site they do a lot of different variant releases of Darkness now. Any which way, was super happy to get my hands on it.

Tasting Notes: Vault City:Neon Raptor: DDF M*rs Bar Monumental Imperial Stout

Vault City:Neon Raptor: DDF M*rs Bar Monumental Imperial Stout (Scotland: Imperial Stout: 15.5% ABV)

Visual: Black, fizzy initially then still. Thin brown dash of a head.

Nose: Nutty. Tempura batter. Butter. Crushed peanuts. Milk.

Body: Thick and viscous. Chocolate liqueur. Peanuts. Strawberry crème. Buttery. Vanilla cream.

Finish: Oily sheen. Chocolate liqueur. Peanut butter. Buttery. Whipped cream. White sugar. Nougat.

Conclusion: Ok, first up, we have to examine how exactly does this emulate a double deep fried Mars bar? I am asking the big questions here. Don’t lie, we all know that is the part you were wondering about as well.

It mostly seems to work by making it more buttery in feel and flavour, or so it seems to me. This has big buttery energy that feels like it comes through more as lighter tempura batter than the thick batter you would expect, but, you know, close enough, right?

Its also milky, but more importantly very sugary sweet – which isn’t in any batter that I know and yet seems to hang around in the more batter and milk side rather than the more Mars bars side, tying it very close together which is a tad odd so thought best to mention it.

So, apart from that, you have heavy chocolate liqueur notes and lots of nutty character, peanuts especially – slightly oily with a very viscous character that makes it almost sickly sweet – so, yeah Mars bar, but even sweeter if you can imagine that.

So, that is kind of it – it has big flavours but not big range. It does very well in emulate its inspiration in being a terrible idea, and yet one I am glad to have tried, and will never try again. The only unusual element that does not match the theme is a slight strawberry crème mid body, unexpected, not a huge element buts pops out of the sweetness now and again.

The odd mix of buttery notes over the very sweet chocolate and nutty notes make for a cloying mouthfeel and flavour, probably works best as half the can, as after that the thick buttery flavours get sweeter and overpower everything else.

Does exactly what the can describes, for better or worse.

Background: Ok, I admit, I bought this as it is trying to replicate the Scottish “delicacy” of double deep fried Mars bars as an Imperial Stout. That sounds such a terrible idea I just had to try it, despite the fact this was quite the expensive one. The description is quite the item, so to quote directly

“We wanted to create a true representation of Scotland, away from the tired cliches and usual tropes you might see on TV. A bold and unique idea was needed to showcase Scottish culture in all its glory…

Then we thought, screw that, let’s brew a double deep-fried m*rs bar imperial stout and make it 15.5%.

Deep fried m*rs bars are as synonymous with our country as haggis or Iron Brew, and we wanted to bring this dessert to life in a beer. With Neon Raptor’s help we packed it to the brim with chocolate malt, cacao nibs and an authentic deep-fried taste from adding battered m*rs bars right into the mash tun.”

I mean that is an utterly terrible idea, no? So yes here I am drinking it. Another one from Independent Spirit, drunk while listening to the Celeste OST for some chilled tunes to help mellow out the high abv beer.

Tasting Notes: Bereta: BBC Maple Syrup, Toasted Pecans, Cloves Imperial Stout

Bereta: BBC Maple Syrup, Toasted Pecans, Cloves Imperial Stout (Collab with Cristi Tiuca) (Romania: Imperial Stout: 10.5% ABV)

Visual: Black. Still. Thin brown dash of a head.

Nose: Cinnamon. Cloves. Cream. Vanilla. Walnuts. Maple syrup.

Body: Smooth chocolate liqueur. Thick texture. Cinnamon. Mulled wine. Orange zest. Walnuts. Nutty coffee.

Finish: Mulled wine. Cinnamon especially. Vanilla to vanilla custard. Chocolate liqueur. Sherry trifle touch.

Conclusion: Ok, so this is one of those beers where if you have read the name you have a pretty good idea of how it will taste. Mainly because it lists all its special ingredients in the name. Innovative naming this does not have. This clarity of flavour is both a blessing and a curse but I really can’t claim this beer does false advertising.

There is the chocolate liqueur like base imperial stout – it is thick of body and yet slick of feel – nothing out of the ordinary but solid and well made. Over that, oddly, the first impact is an unexpected cinnamon character, it has a huge, kind of Crunchie chocolate bar taste as it mixed with the base chocolate flavour in the stout. Ok, I am aware this undercuts my point that all the flavours are in the beer’s name, but stick with me here.

Then after that introduction the more Christmas mulled wine like cloves notes come it, lightly on the nose, moderate in the body they very full mulled wine in the finish. Then, revealing more layers, the nuttiness comes out. To me it felt more walnut to nutty coffee flavours, but I will take their word it is, in fact, toasted pecan. The maple syrup is the least evident element. It is there but in general the sweetness is more chocolate, vanilla or cream like.

Overall, bar the cinnamon character, it does exactly what it says on the tin. The nuttiness works as a lovely savoury backdrop to what could otherwise have been an overly sweet beer. The Christmas spice is well balanced and not overpowering, which can easily be an issue with clove like flavours. The only real flaw I can see is there is not really much to examine outside the unusual ingredients. There is a touch or orange zest, lots of vanilla, but the special ingredients do the heavy lifting – I generally prefer to be able to examine the base beer more.

Still super enjoyable despite those minor quibbles.

Background: Ok, most of the information for this is already in the name really. It is an imperial stout made with the ingredients listed. The specific ingredient list on the can is not in English so I’m not 100% but it looks right at a quick reference. It is also, as listed, a home-brewer collaboration with Cristi Tiuca. Here I will have to admit I know nothing really about Bereta or Cristi Tiuca, so this section isn’t adding much this time. This was picked up from Independent Spirit as I felt it was time for some big Imperial Stout fun and this looked like it may do the job. Also always a sucker for a new brewery. Went with Slipknots new album “The End So Far” when drinking. Not grabbing me as much as their last album that got me back into Slipknot, but it is growing on me.

Tasting Notes: Vault City: Emperor: From A Gaelic Sea Far, Far Away

Vault City: Emperor: From A Gaelic Sea Far, Far Away (Scotland: Imperial Stout: 10% ABV)

Visual: Black. Still. Thin brown dash of a head. Opaque main body.

Nose: Caramel. Clean medicinal air. Clotted cream and strawberry jam. Dry peat. Crushed custard cream biscuits. Vanilla custard slices. Touch of tarry nature.

Body: Oily. Sweet. Jam. Chocolate liqueur. Liquorice touch. Honey. Oily peat. Praline. Lightly medicinal. Salt touch. Riesen chocolate chews. Heather.

Finish: Praline. Pecans. Medicinal mixed with vanilla. Custard. Riesen chocolate chews. Smooth, oily medicinal sheen. Vanilla toffee. Marshmallows.

Conclusion: The thing with heather honey, and with Islay barrel ageing for that matter, is that they can easily utterly dominate a beer. I’ve had so many ash tray and iodine beers, or so sickly sweet that they lost that imperial stout that is meant to be the base.

This beer manages to somehow balance those two very strong flavours and a huge base imperial stout and somehow keep it all balanced, and as a result have turned out something very special.

The base stout is chocolate liqueur like and yet on the aroma you could swear there is clotted cream and jam notes floating around in there. From the ingredients I can guess what causes the cream like notes, but I have no idea where the jam comes from.

The honey is sweet but against a more oily character that gives a more savoury touch so it doesn’t get cloying. Similarly the oily character makes the medicinal and peat note much more flavoursome than harsh and so enhances the beer greatly.

It is sweet still, with marshmallow like fluffiness, toffee around the base and praline high notes, but the Islay character of peat smoke and oil, as well as those medicinal notes just ooze throughout it – everything matches the other elements so well.

A masterpiece of an Imperial Stout – sweet, medicinal, big and yet measured in all the right ways.

Lovely.

Background: I’ve mentioned Emperor brewing a few times here, basically a brewer trying to turn out the best Imperial Stouts they can, and have a huuuuuggeee reputation. I don’t think they ever do solo beers, or at least any I have seen, they always seem to be collaborations. Vault City are another big name, better known for doing odd and experimental sour beers, but they turn out the odd big stout as well, of which this is one. It is made with …. **deep breath** Heather honey, vanilla, lactose, oats and wheat and was aged in an Islay whisky cask. Lot of stuff going on there. Grabbed this from Independent Spirit, I went with History Of Guns: Forever Dying In Your Eyes as backing music. First new HoG album for years and years so was happy to slap on in the background.

Tasting Notes: Fallen Acorn: Emperor: Brandy BA Simple Tricks and Nonsense

Fallen Acorn: Emperor: Brandy BA Simple Tricks and Nonsense (England: Imperial Stout: 15.4% ABV)

Visual: Black. Utterly still. No head.

Nose: Brandy soaked sponge. Sherry cream. Sherry soaked raisins. Fig rolls. Caramel and milky chocolate, also biscuity which together gives a Twix Bar image. Mild licorice. Nougat.

Body: Very smooth, into a cake sponge feel. Nougat. Brandy soaked raisins and brandy sponge. Chocolate cake sponge. Chocolate liqueur. Liqueur filled chocolate sweets. Trifle sponge. Chocolate flapjacks. Cognac touch.

Finish: Rum sponge. Chocolate cake sponge. Liqueur filled chocolate sweets. Chocolate flapjacks. Golden syrup touch.

Conclusion: Ohhh, it has been a long time since I have had an imperial stout like this. This is very big, but oh so very smooth. Like, a 15% and up abv beer should not have this smooth a texture. Early on it just slides down your throat. It is not that it is thin, but it is nothing like what you would expect. An utterly still beer on pour and utterly slick on swallow. It does quickly move on from that to a chocolate sponge fluffy feel and flavour, but that fluffy character is still lighter than you would expect from the abv. It feels very influenced by the super smooth take that was common in the USA in roughly the middle 2K era.

I haven’t had the unaged beer, but I’m guessing is was probably pretty smooth and not too carbonated to begin with, but if so, the ageing has really emphasised both point until this feels like a smooth chocolate liqueur, sans some of the alcohol fire. (Again, impressive considering the absurd abv this has).

On top of that this is laden with the barrel aged flavour – not that I would haver recognised the barrel correctly and guessed brandy sight unseen. Yes, this has tons of brandy soaked cake sponge flavours, and a kind of raisins element, but there are so many odd spirit flavours that seem to come out of the beer and barrel interaction that I would have been hard pressed to guess a specific one. It tastes like shoving a mouthful of varied liqueur filled chocolates in your gob at once and washing it down with an imperial stout.

It results in a beer that I respect for brewing quality and enjoy for bursting spirit flavour, it is very good, but I will admit I prefer my imperial stouts a bit more chewy in feel. I mean, this is recognisably strong despite its slickness and smoothness – mainly from those spirity flavours and , while smooth, still a noticeable alcohol character. I still would have preferred a touch bigger thickness in mouthfeel. Oddly this actually ties into the one big flaw of the beer, don’t let it warm to room temperature. Normally I quite like letting my stouts warm, but this becomes very boozy and noticeably alcohol touched when at room temperature. It doesn’t gain the thicker mouthfeel I wanted, just become very more obvious in its alcohol feel which does not benefit the beer. Still, slightly chilled this is lovely.

Still, despite those quibbles, overall this is very well done. It is a huge wave of spirity flavour and very well made base imperial stout. However, at 25 quid odd a pop I have to be critical about it for the little flaws as for that money you should demand excellence. It is very good indeed, but not 25 quid a go good.

Background: Emperor brewing have a massive reputation for making imperial stouts. I have encountered them in on collaboration before and found it pretty darn nice. So, a short while back I was discussing them at a Mill’s beer tasting at indie spirit, and one of the other people there mentioned that Fallen Acorn had done a collaboration with them and, shockingly, was still in stock on their store. You had to buy them in a set of three different barrel ageing, so it was a tad expensive, but I bit the bullet and grabbed them. Many thanks to the guy who mentioned it to me, if you ever read this! Since then looks like they sell them individually now, but ah well, no complaints. This is meant to emulate German chocolate cake in style, and was made with lactose and aged in Brandy barrels. Due to being a large bottle and huuuge abv I saved some of this for another day, stopping up the bottle. I am not as young as I once was. Music wise i went with Bloodywood – Rakshak. Yep they finally have their first album out and it is amazing!

Tasting Notes: Elusive: Emperor: Imperial Morrisman – Double Chocolate Dry Imperial Stout

Elusive: Emperor: Imperial Morrisman – Double Chocolate Dry Imperial Stout (England: Imperial Stout: 11% ABV)

Visual: Black, still and opaque. Thin brown head.

Nose: Cocoa dust. Dry roasted peanuts. Sour cream. Crushed bourbon biscuits. Brown bread.

Body: Smooth. Chocolate cream to chocolate ice cream. Dry roasted peanuts. Light strawberry. Quite thick texture. Light alcohol presence. Choc peanut butter. Sour cream.

Finish: Chocolate ice cream. Dry roasted peanuts. Choc peanut butter. Strawberry crème. Belgian black chocolate.

Conclusion: Ok, a few things first – all linked to the abv. For such a high abv this sticks to a surprisingly simple set of notes and flavours. A lot of high abv beers really pile on the layers, showing off what the extra abv can do with complex flavours – which this does not. Similarly, for the abv there is remarkable little boozy presence or alcohol burn. It has a smooth, dry thickness and some subtle alcohol tells in the weight and air, but in general is very good at hiding the abv.

So, with that dryness of character the sweetness from the mass of chocolate used to make it is actually very restrained – dry one might say. Though despite the restrained sweetness the chocolate is still very evident in a bitter cocoa character, and occasionally a sweeter chocolate ice cream flavour comes out to play for a while. There is a kind of sour cream backing, generally savoury but with that just slight sour twist. So overall the beer is heavy with flavour, and despite the chocolate, never really that sweet.

This then merges with the dry roasted peanut character to slowly transform into a choco-peanut butter big imperial stout. A simple note, well delivered for a consistent quality, very well made beer. Even now it is slightly dry in how the flavours come out, but smooth with it.

Now, early on there were some sweeter notes, even if they were never the most present items, and with it there was an unusual strawberry touch. None of these sweeter notes survive as that peanut butter choco character builds up a head of steam and just takes over the beer.

While comparatively simple for an imperial stout this big, it is brewed to perfection. The style is packed with utter classics, which is the only reason this isn’t getting a “My favourites” entry. It doesn’t quite match the current top set, but it is undeniably great.

Background: Emperor’s Brewery – a brewery I only know by reputation from people mentioning it at Independent Spirit – apparently very hard to get, and they concentrate on making amazing stouts and porters. Which explains why they collaborated with Elusive Brewing to make this. Since I am unlikely to find any of their own beers, this may be the closest I get to trying their stuff for a while. This is a brewed up version of a previous Elusive beer Morrisman, now made with even more chocolate. Or to go by the can, cocoa, chocolate, oats, wheat and vanilla. I went back to Killswitch Engage: Alive or Just Breathing for backing music, something big to go with a big beer.

Tasting Notes: Black Iris: I Push My Fingers Into My Pies

Black Iris: I Push My Fingers Into My Pies (England: Imperial Stout: 10.5% ABV)

Visual: Black. Still. Thick brown dash of a head.

Nose: Apple strudel. Caramel. Marzipan. Toffee apples. Cherry bakewells. Liquorice touch. Strawberry yogurt.

Body: Thick. Slight bitter chocolate. Liquorice touch. Cherry bakewells. Golden syrup, Apple pies. Vanilla toffee. Toffee apple. Slight milk. Black cherry.

Finish: Sour dough. Crushed bourbon biscuits. Apples. Icing sugar. Strawberry cream. Bitter cocoa. Slightly bitter. Brown bread. Bitter coffee. Almond slices.

Conclusion: This is odd, in so many ways. Which, looking at the ingredient list, you may be thinking that this should not surprise me. However, even knowing what went into this it manages to express itself in unusual and unexpected ways over and over again.

The base stout is stodgy, with a kind of bitter cocoa but in a muted way. It is slightly bready in heaviness, slightly milky in the creaminess of the texture, so with these combined it is definitely a thick, chewy stout. Which makes it even odder that the elements of the base stout are so oddly muted. It is definitely present, definitely weighty but in a fairly bready nondescript way with bitter chocolate and coffee there but slightly lost.

So, with all that in mind, back to the oddness of this beer. I feel like the base described above is muted in a deliberate move to make room for the unusual ingredients and give those flavours room to roam. The thing is that while this has cherry and strawberry (and vanilla and almonds) in it, those are not the most evident flavours. So what does stand out? What is the first super evident note? Apple strudel. Yeah I didn’t see that one coming either. There is a super sticky apple filling style, sticky toffee, and every combination in-between. Nice, but deeply unexpected.

Now, I will admit, nestled away in the midst of this muted imperial stout of toffee apple strudel is , in fact, a 100% recognisable cherry bakewell set of notes. It is like there is a calm at the eye of the stout tornado and there the bakewell nestles. It is still slightly muted, not super sweet, but absolutely there are recognisable as the dessert they were going for.

So, I would say it is not great because of feeling slightly muted in a lot of elements, but it is far from bad. It is a lot, and I mean a LOT, a lot of often clashing elements but it is fair fascinating if not best set up. The base feels like it is muted, but the strudel and everything with it feels sickly. I’d say don’t grab if your main interest is the bakewell gimmick, as that is but a small part of this.

To be a really good beer it probably would either need a bigger use of the base Imperial Stout flavours, or more dedication to the bakewell gimmick – right now if feels just slightly underwhelming if interesting. So, not really one I would recommend but it is an enjoyable mess.

Background: I grabbed this one for a few reasons, but the main one being that it is a cherry bakewell imperial stout and the contrast between an imperial stout and a bakewell being combined in one thing intrigued me. To try and achieve this goal they used cherry and strawberry puree, vanilla pods, lactose and almonds. Another reason was the artwork which has a nicely spooky look in striking black and white. That cool design led to me picking some heavier music for drinking – Noctule’s Wretched Abyss – some Skyrim inspired black metal which went along perfectly. This is another one grabbed from Independent Spirit.