Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter

Bottle (Vintage 2006) at Bishops Arms, Avenyn, Göteborg, Sweden. Pours black with a slight red/brown edge and a tiny beige head. Strong cognac-like barrel notes first with wood and coconuts, thereafter roasted chocolate with notes of dark berries, and finally a mild touch of alcohol. Extremely smooth mouthfeel, and a perfect balance with a dry finish. 9/4/10/5/18 -> 4.6.

Vintage 2007 sampled at the EBF 2008. More pronounced oak aroma in this version (unfortunately), still very good though. 7/4/10/5/16 -> 4.2.

Vintage 2005 sampled together with 2006 & 2007 at SMÖF 08. Even better than the 2006 version, perhaps due to aging. My overall rating becomes 4.5

# 800. [Odense-tasting at Scheffel. A lot of thanks to Christian.]
Had some dreams to sample this wonderbrew in a few years, but it succeeded already now ......and what a brew. As cab mentioned, "It’s quite on the edge and it cannot be better." Anywhere you’ll improve it, it’ll fall. He gave it 5.0, but I’ll let a 0.1 left to the brewers of Örebro to make another superbrew. Notes of wood, vanilla, smooth roast, coffechocs, weak dried fruits, ingrediently and intense aroma of some port and oak also. Flavour needs concentration to note, caused by the complexity and I’m hoping for a refill one day!

Pours black, with a brown head. Aroma is bourbon, dark fruit, vanilla, coffee, wood, and vanilla. Flavor is bourbon, coffee, chocolate, dark fruit, and vanilla. Body is medium, thinner than I expected. A very good beer, very happy I got to try it. I wish the bottle was a little bigger, though. Thanks to Francois Mtl for trading me this one.

Bottle on sale at the molen in Bodegraven. Jet black in color almost like oil! Various flavors, chocolate, coffee, fruit. A lot going on!! A very complex beer. I did enjoy it but I preferred the Rasputin from the molen.

Rating nr. 1000. (2006 version) First of all. This beer is not overrated in any way. This beer has the excact same "amount" of complexity as Westvleteren 12. It pours pitch black with creamy brown head that lasts & drags a very handsome lacing. Roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, vanilla , wood/oak. So smooth (velvet-like) & soft. Palate is oily & thick. Everything is perfect! My god, this makes me go for another 1000 ratings!

Bottle @ ChristianScheffel tasting. [thank you sooooo much, Christian]
[my 1800th rating]
Well... perfection is a 5.0 rating, and this certainly is!
[2006 vintage]
Looks fantastic, completely pitch black oil look. There is a slight ring of foam on the top. Aroma assault me directly. Wood, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, prunes and raisins. Thick and oily mouthfeel. Flavour is so fantastic, I can’t even describe it. There are so many flavours and everything is perfectly balanced. Cap said it well: "this beer stands on every edge known, but never, ever, falls into the ravine".

The look: Black body with a tan ring of foam
The style: Woody barrel aged Imperial Stout
The stuff: Barrel harmoniously joined by bitter black chocolate and sweet milk chocolate. Barrel is apparent indeed, very woody. Roastiness level is somewhat low leaving room for the woody flavours. Dried raisins concentrate but never vinous. By the end the whole thing turns into a cake. Sweet yet dry. Great body. The carbonation is appropriately very active making the beer more drinkable than it ought to be. Initial opinion was a 4.3 but woke up the day after carving for more. So this is ratebeer current #1 beer. Hmmm… Amazing what rarity and a high price tag can do. I was hoping for something more from the beer on top of the mountain. I expected a new twist on the style, something different, something “out there”, you know, an experience. It’s a great beer no doubt but it doesn’t break new grounds and I can think of a few very similar and in some cases superior beers that are much cheaper and easier to find. Get drunk on that stuff and you’ll end-up as broke as the ten commandments.
The how: Back from Japan tasting at MartinT. Bottle from Rastacouere (a huge tank-you here)
The conclusion: One of the best barrel aged Imperial Stout I’ve had. Nothing new or original. A tad overrated. Current high price tag/rarity and affordable alternatives means I won’t even try to have it again.

2006 bottle. Almost black color, with dark brown foam. Creamy aroma with dark chocolate, ash and roast. Thick bodied, but dryer as expected. initial alcohol is attacked by a flavor bomb, consisting of cream, roasted malt, loads of dark chocolate, ash, oak, beechwood and pineapple. Alcohol burn in the endless aftertaste. Complex and delicious beer, seems heavier than its promised 10% ABV. 8 4 8 5 17 = 4.2 2007 version, tap @ EBF 2008. Flower honey in the delicious aroma, combined with some oak. Licorice, honey and roast in the flavor. Lusciously sweet but still a great complexity. Licorice in the aftertaste. Again: excellent!