De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis

De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis

Style: Imperial Stout

Alcohol Content: 10%

From: Bodegraven, Netherlands

Purchased from: Beer Geek, Prague, Czech Republic

http://brouwerijdemolen.nl/

Brouwerij De Molen is a small craft brewery, distillery and restaurant located in Bodegraven, the Netherlands.The brewery, whose name means "The Mill", is located inside a historic windmill building called De Arkduif, which was built in 1697. Having started out as a homebrewer, and after stints at several small breweries, head brewer Menno Olivier worked professionally at Stadtsbrouwerij De Pelgrim in Rotterdam prior to founding De Molen in 2004. The capacity of the brewing system is 500 liters per batch, with annual production averaging a total of 500 hectoliters.The subject of this review is their Imperial Stout, aptly named Hel & Verdoemenis (Hell and Damnation). Lets hope I survive to tell the tale. 

Colour: Pours a thick, oily black topped beautifully by a thin layer of tan coloured foam. Once settled, this foam soon disappears into the murky depths below. 

Aroma: Most imperial stouts ozees notes of dark chocolate and bitter dark chocolate. Whilst the dark chocolate notes are definitely present, Hel & Verdoemenis presents not one single note of coffee. This surprises me greatly as I love the blending of those two elements in an imperial stout. Oh well you can't have it all! After a few minutes in the glass, the chocolate notes begin to fade and hints of smoky peat and sweet molasses begin to appear. This drink smells divine! I can not wait to jump in and try this beer!   

Body: As you would expect, this Hel & Verdoemenis is extremely viscous. It's almost like drinking a pint of silky chocolate sauce. This thickness encourages you to drink this stout very slowly and ensures you savor every last sip.

Taste: Well, this has to be the most rounded Imperial stout that I have ever drunk. The nose translates into the taste with the dark chocolate notes blending perfectly with hints of rich, sweet molasses. Here the coffee notes finally make an appearance, offering a mellow bitterness to help cut through the sweetness slightly. The aftertaste reminds me slightly of oak aged Bourbon as its quite warming on the tongue. That being said, the high ABV is very well hidden and it could be quite deadly given the size of the bottle (750ml). Perhaps I should of shared this bottle with Emma (or perhaps not as its far too nice to share). A lovely drink that I will return to again and again.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/harveys-imperial-extra-double-stout.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/camden-town-brewery-indian-hells-lager.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery

Harvey's Imperial Extra Double Stout

Harvey's Imperial Extra Double Stout
Style: Imperial Stout

Alcohol Content: 9%

From: Lewes, East Sussex, United Kingdom 

Purchased From: Corbetts Real Ale Shop, Dorking, Surrey

http://www.harveys.org.uk/

This beer is a re-creation of a classic 19th century beer. During the Victorian era, London became well known for brewing stouts. London's hard water was perfect for brewing these pints of happiness and as the centre of commerce, these beers began to be exported world wide. One of these happy customers were the old Russian Empire. As a developing economy, Russia soon grew very envious of the British position as an economic powerhouse. In order to "keep up with the Jones", Russia began to import vast quantities of strong stout (typically above the  five percent sold in the UK). Sensing a unique business opportunity, Albert Le Coq began shipping beer to Russia directly from London in 1820s. His export business was initially very successful, however, by 1904 the business was faced with a number of challenges. High custom levies and frequent forging forced Le Coq's company to search for a new home inside the Russian Empire. A site at Tartu in modern day Estonia was eventually selected and the brewery went from strength to strength up until the fall of the Romanov dynasty in 1917. The new Bolshevik soon began to nationalise all the breweries in the USSR and this beer was slowly phased out of production.

It wasn't until the mid the late 1980's until this beer would reappear again. Lewes based brewer Harvey's began negotiating with the descents of Albert Le Coq to acquire the original recipe. Soon very limited numbers of this beer began to appear for sale directly from the brewery and staying true to its legacy the Imperial Stout was awarded Gold at the International Beer Challenge 2012 and Gold in the Stouts and Porters Category at the International Beer Challenge 2013. Hopefully this beer lives up to its sky high reputation and history.
     

Colour: Pouring a dark, jet black complete with a small tan coloured head, Harvey Imperial Double stout just encourages you to delve into its murky depths. The head will dissipate very quickly once in the glass, which disappoints me slightly as I really love a dense head on my stouts.

Aroma: As soon as I opened the bottle I smelt the acidic stench of vinegar. My first thought was perhaps the bottle was out of date or spoiled. I have been burnt by this before and I can remember the bitter disappointment of pouring the beer down sink. Seriously worried, I visited the Harvey's website in order to locate some tasting notes. Needless to say I was delighted to read that this vinegar aroma was indeed part of the nose of this beer. Thank God! Soon this sensation slowly lifts to give way to hints of dark chocolate and liquorice. Yum!

Body: This stout was actually a lot thinner than I was expecting, but I guess with this level of alcohol, it's hard for any beer feel dense. Perhaps my lusting after a bottle of Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout has some what skewed my vision of what a perfect stout should be, but this drink is very, very different to this ideal. Without a hint of carbonation to speak, this beer feels like thick oil greasing every crevasse of your mouth. As it slowly sips down your throat, the alcohol will release a slight burn. This is definitely a slow drink to enjoy over the course of an evening.

Taste: As eluded to earlier, the first sip can be rather abrasive. The sour vinegar mixed with burnt coffee and bitter dark chocolate is certainly not to everyone's tastes. As the drink warms, the flavours begin to mellow. The vinegar notes become similar to that of sour dark cherries. The whole drink begins to taste like a divine slice of black Forrest cake with a subtle hint of soy sauce. Interesting combination hey? I personally really enjoyed this beer but be warned, this is not a beer for beginners! A beer with these qualities need to be worked up to, otherwise you will be put off for life and you will never get to enjoy this beautiful complex drink in all its glory. Sip it and serve at room temperature.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/kernel-brewery-london-1890-export-stout.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/windsor-and-eton-brewery-canberra.html

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Sierra Nevada Brewing Narwhal Imperial Stout

Sierra Nevada Brewing Narwhal Imperial Stout

Style: Imperial Stout

Alcohol Content: 10.2%

From: Chico, California, USA

Purchased From: Beer Boutique, Putney
http://www.sierranevada.com/ 

Located in Chico, California, Sierra Nevada Brewing is one of the top craft breweries currently operating in the United States. Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best-selling craft beer in the United States, behind the Boston Beer Company Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It is currently the sixth-largest brewing company in the United States.The brewery produced 786,000 barrels of beer in 2010.

The brewery was named "Green Business of the Year" by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2010 for its practices in sustainability.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was founded in 1979, with founders Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi expanding their homebrewing hobby into a brewery in Chico, California. Along with the brewery's location, Grossman claims the company's name comes from his love of hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.With $50,000 in loans from friends and family, Grossman & Camusi rented a 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) warehouse and pieced together discarded dairy equipment and scrap yard metal to create their brewing equipment.They later were able to acquire second-hand copper brewing kettles from Germany before moving to their larger, current brewing facility in 1989.

Colour: Pours a jet fuel black with a densely packed, tan coloured foam. It looks so thick in the glass you could mistake it for tar. The head will slowly die away after a few minutes in the glass but what's left will cling to the glass as if it's life depends on it. So far, so good.

Aroma: Rich, dark cocoa notes present themselves as soon as you pop the cap. Subtle notes of yeast or beefy marmite are also present and add a real sense of depth to the aroma profile. You certainly will love or hate the perfume that's for sure.

Body: As I eluded to in my above colour description, this drink is as thick as Paris Hilton. As soon as you take a gulp, your mouth will be flooded like an oil slick. Every crevasse of your palate will be covered like a bird near the Exxon oil slip. Luckily, this sensation is surprisingly brief as due to the lack of bitterness and lack of any clogging sensation at all. Very smooth and a true pleasure to drink.

Taste: Subtlety is the name of the game with this beer. There are no big, bold flavours in this beer, just a subtle yet complex set of tastes that have been blended perfectly together. A real melting pot of coffee, dark chocolate, liquorice and marmite are all present. The ABV is masked beautifully by both these flavours and a pleasant sweetness I have yet to come across in an imperial stout. For me, this is one of the best imperial stouts I have ever tasted. A true sipper without a hint of bitterness in the aftertaste. Well worth a repeat visit.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/anderson-valley-barney-flats-oatmeal.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/nogne-o-blonde.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery

Thornbridge Halcyon

Thornbridge Halcyon

Style: Imperial IPA

Alcohol Content: 7.4%

From: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, UK

Purchased from: Beer Boutique, Putney
http://www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk/

The subject of this review is Thronbridge's Halcyon which first came to my attention via twitter earlier this year. Two beery twitter characters i follow,(@femtobrewster and @natedawg27) recently purchased a case direct from Thornbridge and raved about it for days. So to my shame i decided to jump on the bandwagon and try some for myself. Upon my visit to the Beer Boutique last week, i snapped up a bottle quicker that you can say "I love IPA". Its see if all the fuss was justified shall we.

The Thornbridge Brewery is an independent brewery formerly situated in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall near Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. Its first beers went on sale in February 2005. Thornbridge's beers were originally brewed by Martin Dickie, a graduate of the International Center for Distilling and Brewing at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, and Stefano Cossi, a graduate in Food Science and Technology at Udine University, Italy. In 2007, Dickie left to start Brew Dog however the brewery has not suffered from this loss.

More than 130 awards have been won by Thornbridge's brews since its opening, including the Silver Medal (Strong Ales) at the Great British Beer Festival (August 2006) for Jaipur IPA (and for Kipling in August 2009), the Gold Medal in August 2008 in the same category, and a Bronze Medal in the Bitters category in August 2009 also.

Colour: Pours a very, very pale yellow which is more reminiscent of a larger than an IPA. A thick brilliant white head tops this beer off perfectly and will stay with you throughout your drinking experience. A very sexy looking pint I must say.

Aroma: Like all good IPAs, this beer is heavily hopped which helps to produce an incredibly deep and complex nose. Big bold notes of tropical pineapple and mango are blended perfectly against a backdrop of oily, bitter orange hop aromas. Very inviting and in courageous you to sip more and more.

Body: Just like the colour, this drink is extremely light to drink which is incredible given the high ABV. This drink goes down a treat with a slight sweet clogging on the back of the throat.

Taste: A rich sweetness awaits you on every sip. Beautiful hints of sweet mango will fill your palate which will then give way to an unique blend of caramel and dry biscuit or hobnob. The finish is very long and complex. The high ABV warms the palate slowly melting the hop bitterness away to help return the original mango flavour rolled in juicy malt. A remarkable beer from one of the UK's leading craft breweries. I now understand what the fuss is all about, so if you see this beer for sale, buy it! Twitter will guide the way!! Follow the birdy.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/partizan-brewing-ipa-bobek-amarillo.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/flying-dog-gonzo-porter.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery