Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter

Brewed by Närke Kulturbryggeri
Style: Imperial Stout
Örebro, Sweden

2008 vintage, draught at Bishops Arms, Vasagatan where it was poured into a tall tulip glass and served at a comfortable drinking temperature. The genius thing about this brew is that it contains a bit of everything so well balanced that it is almost impossible to differentiate the taste profile. Thin, but lasting, yellowy fawn head covering a dark brown body with a deep ruby tint. Succulent aroma of dark fruits, like plums and raisin. Plentiful taste of chocolate, cocoa and vanilla, but never too sweet. Dried and dark fruits to the aftertaste, with notes of figs. Bitter berries and warming alcohol on the swallow. Full bodied, however, far from heavy to drink. Lingering all the way to Linköping. Complex and comprehensive. I paid 145sek for 180ml and it was well worth every krone. One of my very best so far (rating no.2900)(Stockholm, 05.02.2010).

2006. Thanks Tampa boys for saving this last drop for me. Inky black with wisps of a chestnut brown head.Nose shows graceful aging, molasses, chocolate, rich, some oxidation, roast, coffee, burnt sugar. Flavor is very rich, grainy, coffee, chocolate, some age, molasses, dark fruit. Palate is sweet and rich. Very nice, would have loved to try fresh.

Thanks to Jdubs for sharing! Vintage 2006. Dark pour with a thin chestnut colored head. Aroma consists of honey, and roasted malts. Full bodied & a creamy mouth-feel. Complex flavors Vanilla, Chocolate, roasted malts, coffee and dark fruits. Dry finish! Wow what a solid beer

I drank this 2008 version 250 ml bottle into my Rochefort chalice. The beer pours pitch black with a nice creamy dark tan head. Its very pretty and fluffy. The head rises about 2 fingers stays around a couple minutes and leaves a sopay head. The lacing is a little lighter than I would have hoped for. The aroma is medium in strength, pretty matly to start lots of sweet chocolate, some vanilla and light bourbon on the end. There is a tiny bit of oak. Overall, its pretty understated. The taste is super smooth its sweet up front with sweet chocolate, in the middle it brings some depth with some nice oak/bourbon than as the beer finishes you get a little more oak and vanilla. The feel is very nice, very viscous and a very lasting taste. The drinkability is nice, can’t really taste any of the alcohol. Overall, this is a very fine stout. Its the best RIS I’ve ever had, no. Top 5-10, yeah probably. I think its rarity helps the rating a bit. If the aroma is a little stronge and more complex, and the taste was a tad sweet on the front then this beer would be truly world class.

06 bottle thanks to the wonderful folks at the ratebeer tasting at Flossmoor. I only rated this beer on a single sip but I am still thankful to have tried it. Pours very deep near black with a small tan head. Aroma of dark fruit, black licorice, cocoa powder, woody and very rich and strong roasty caramel characters. Flavor is extremely chocolatey, lots of vanilla, roasted nuts, and dark fruits, berries being dominant there. Nice creaminess to the body even in a small sip. Almost no carbonation as the bottle had been sitting for awhile. Good stuff, would love to try more one day

Bottle at the Bishops Arms in Malmö. Business trips can be so nice! Dark beer with a very thin deep brown head. The aroma had first something smokey, afterwards dark fruit, coffee and chocolate came through. Thanks to the very low carbonation, the same flavours came in very strong. A kind of chocolate bitterness at the end. Excellent balance and for sure one of the best beers I ever drunk.

Rating #1500! 250ml bottle via trade, huge thanks to bierkoning. 2008 vintage, released in 2009. Shared at a very small tasting with a few guys from BA. This was really one of the defining moments in my beer drinking career. Tried this next to regular Stormaktsporter. This beer was everything I hoped it to be. Insanely flavorful and complex, yet also subtle. So from what I understand, "kaggen" is approximately Swedish for "barrel aged." So if I ever make it to Sweden and go to a beer bar there, I’ll have to tell them to give me something kaggen. I wonder what the Swedish equivalent of "-bal aged" is. Maybe "-kan" or something. Yeah that sounds right. Phenomenal appearance. Looks almost exactly the same as it’s non "-kan" brother - pours darkest brown, not quite black, with a creamy tan head that settles over time, eventually leaving smooth thin foam and swirls in the beer. So much going on in the aroma. Very complex and intense yet nothing overpowers. Roast, chocolate, caramel, anise, dark fruits, tobacco, and wildflower honey. Definitely some barrel notes as well: oak, vanilla, and whiskey. Flavor is similarly complex and amazing. Tastes even better than it smells. Just the perfect level of sweetness with caramel, chocolate, toffee, dark fruits (raisin, plum, date), vanilla, herbal and floral notes, tobacco, oak, leather, well-integrated whiskey, and maybe even some hops. Slight floral notes and a little smoke. It’s amazing how many flavors they pack into this beer. It’s subtle and balanced a la Kate the Great rather than in your face a la Black Tuesday. It’s on a whole other level from Kate though, really putting almost all competitors to shame. Very smooth and creamy on the mouthfeel with medium-full body and an incredibly long finish. Not at all cloying or syrupy or boozy. So this is called an imperial stout, but feels more like a baltic porter in my opinion. A really, really awesome baltic porter. Overall, just a flat-out amazing beer. The drinkability is insane for what it is, and it’s almost tragic how small of a bottle this comes in.

Wonderful taste and palate! The taste lingers on for minutes and changes charachter during this time! A great experience!