Last night I hankered for a tankard but the beer fridge suds selection was somewhat slim with just stouts, sours and saisons on the shelves. Looks like it’s summer stout sampling season with a sip to survive stubby. Once again I had to enlist the support of the COMDB translation department, who are always on call, and never miss last call. They tell us that 妥協 Dakyou in Japanese means “compromise”.
Godspeed tell us that this brew is a marriage of two unique brews, and if there is one thing we COM know, is that marriage is compromise. One could say that being married puts you in a compromising position.*
This 10% solution super strong stout, a unique blend of barleywine and Imperial Coffee Stout, had me shaking in my proverbial boots. Our history with super strong stouts has been sketchy at best. From caustic, to less than fantastic, a super suds super strong sipping stout is a rarity in our books. Can this bull strong brew buck the trend?
Arrnold Schwarzenegger, meet Arnold Ziffel
As black a pour as could be expected, maybe blacker? I think the 10% alcohol evaporated any head on contact. Smells roasted malt and boozy, Arnold strong, and I’m talking about Arnold the Governor not Arnold the pig.** Yikes! What have I poured myself into!
First swig, wow, very strong full flavour, but it’s not a sip to survive, this one is a sip and savour. The barley wine kicks off a sweet boozy taste which morphs into a strong roast malt with some cocoa and an espresso finish. Every aspect of this brew kicks ass and yet it finishes smooth. Definitely a sipping stout and that’s the only way it works. Not for new stout drinkers although I doubt anyone who hasn’t had a stout before would opt for a 10% welcome to the genre pint. The initial barley wine intro fades leaving a strong roasted malt with some hints of cocoa and a full-on espresso bean grinding finish. Strong, almost too much, but not quite. Very good for an imperial stormtrooper stout. Enjoyed it, just glad it was a stubby!
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