Rating number 1000. December 2006 25cl bottle. Pitch black with a thick, creamy and long lasting light brown head. Intense aroma, oak above all, with much vanilla character. Plums, dates and figs. Some alcohol gives it some bourbon after a while, and portwine is also in play. The flavour has all that barrel character plus the full blown impy stout richness. Rather sweet but balanced by some hops, the dark malt bitterness and some alcohol. As it enters the mouth, oak and vanilla dominates, then comes some fruityness along with warming alcohol, and perfection is reached with the long lasting black aftertaste of espresso, charcoal, licorice and dark chocolate that sits in the mouth for a long time. Hyped beers demand extra concentration when drinking, which in turn may give a great beer an even better rating because I pick up all of its complexity - my first Westvleteren 12 took an hour to drink, and this will also last. But they are hyped because of their qualities in the first place, and this beer is worth all the attention.

Very attractieve looking beer, deep black with intens brown edges and with a thick whipped mocca like creamy head on top. Aroma is delicate and very fine. It has great aromas of mocca, black chocolate, sping flowers and orange boosems. All these fine hints are working well with the touches of honey, vanilla pods, fine toasted oak and delicate fruity sensations. The smell of fresh torrified coffee beans is not far away, it works so well with the caracteristics of the best roasted barley and some soft cara-malts. The taste is like the smell suggests, very intens and super elegant at the same time. The smooth mouthfeel is so refined and not heavey at all. Lots of fine coffee hints, black chocolate, vanilla, soft toasted oak, wild flowers, cammomille, honey, maple sirup, lots of cerials burnd raisins like in the baked crust of raisin bread. The beer has a great balance and a medium body with a super refined lingering afthertaste of hops and elegant and tasty bitters. I think this beer deserves to be the Nr 1 in the world. By giving this beer full marks I feel like Iconoclasting St Sixtus, but with the afthertaste of this outstanding Kaggen Stormaktsporter in my mouth I had no other option.

Bottle, 2006 batch, GBBF 2007. Black with a big brown head. Strong on malts, but not overly so, balanced with liquorice, coffee, chocolate coming through. Some hint at its strength, but not offensively. Mouth is excellent, very upfront on the roasted maltiness, balanced with strong dark liquorice tones. Finishes silky and very well balanced, some dryness, complemented on the back of the palate with this wonderful oaky chocolate tone. I hovered over the gravity of giving this a 5 but then thought f*ck it, this is divine. Perfect in every way.

Bottle &#64; ChristianScheffel tasting. <b>[thank you sooooo much, Christian]</b><br /> <b><i>[my 1800th rating]</i></b><br /> Well... perfection is a 5.0 rating, and this certainly is!<br />[2006 vintage]<br /> 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".

Sat down with the brewers from Närke on Friday October 24, 2008 at the SMÖF 2008 festival. We teamed up the 05 vs 06 vs 07. Didn’t take notes, but it was truly special&#033;<br /><br />Had this again now on Christmas Eve, shared a bottle with my wife just because I had the chance, did it at The Rover, Göteborg.<br />Excellent nice dark black color. Rich nose and taste, close to perfect&#033;<br /><br />First and second ratings.<br />Draught, sampled at the brewery. It’s like their ’’’’Stormaktsporter’’’’ but bigger and better. More body, more taste, more powerful. Vanilla and oak in the scent and taste, as well as coffee. Pitch black look to it. Very nice, but something you might not drink too much of I guess, due to the high alcohol level.<br /><br />Also tried as bottle on RBESG 2006, aged some, still great.<br />8/5/8/5/17=4.3<br /><br />Third rating.<br />&#40;25 cl bottle at The Rover, Göteborg&#41;<br />Bought a bottle for myself, I wanted to re-rate and really enjoy this one. Screw the price&#033;<br />Black look with a thick brown head. No transparency at all&#033; Totally pitch black and gourgeous.<br />Sweet oily thick scent. Alcohol, some vanilla and bourbon whiskey smell as well. The vanilla and bourbon scent becomes more intense when the glass becomes emptier and the brew is warmed up and oxygenized. Smooth velvet mouthfeel. Smooth initial taste, transforming via tar and smoke towards rubber and warming alcohol. Taste is also chocolate and coffee when warmer, mostly chocolate though. Medium high bitterness. Long nice lasting aftertaste.<br />Extremely smooth, nice and friendly, too bad it’s fairly expensive and rare...<br />It’s worth it to buy a bottle to enjoy yourself though.<br />9/5/9/5/19=4.7<br /><br />Fifth or so sample.<br />Shared a bottle with a friend at The Rover, Göteborg.<br />Pitch black color, rich brown head. Sweet rich raissin and coffee scent. Also scome alcohol, still very soft and very nice. Smell is also a touch of smoke and rubber, mixed with vanilla. I spent roughly 3 minutes looking at the beer and perhaps 10 smelling it before I even let the glass near my mouth, it’s just amazing, fantastic and all the big words together&#033; Extremely big, large, huge, all of it, full rich palate, smooth and oily, best ever&#033; Long chocolate and smoke aftertaste. Sweet sirupy taste, coffee and chocolate, smoke and rubber, also vanilla taste. This beer grows even better every time I drink it, and I can honestly say it’s the best beer I’ve ever had. I don’t like the use of 5.0 for a beer, what happens when you try something better? re-rate? But this one is truly worth it&#033; A shame it’s almost gone. Luckily the new one is coming...<br />10/5/10/5/20=5.0<br /><br />Last&#40;?&#41; rating: <br />I had a bottle stored at The Rover in Göteborg, waiting for a special occasion. Then my favourite ice hockey team won gold in the Swedish Championships about 2 weeks back, so now the bottle is gone. I was quite sober though, only high on adrenalin, so it didn’t go to waste, I fully enjoyed every last drop of it. <br /><br /><br />First rating of the 2006 version<br />&#40;Bottle at The Rover, Göteborg&#41;<br />10%<br />Pitch black color, big brown head, lovely&#033; Oak and vanilla scent, also some salt and the northern Swedish ocean/Baltic sea at fall smell. Smell is also sweet, grains and alcohol. Honey and heather in there as well, though the oak is rather dominant. Chocolate, roasted, sweet malt, melted vnilla ice-cream, coffee taste. Roasted, sweet coffee aftertaste. Thick, oily, smooth mouthfeel, medium high bitterness. Very, very nice, though I want it to age perhaps 6 months or so to mellow out and improve even more. Close to perfection&#033;<br />9/5/10/5/19=4.8<br /><br />Tried this the other day at the brewery, 2006 version.<br />Serious vanilla/oak nose to begin with, more than I have sensed before.<br />Nice long chocolate finish after it has warmed for a while.<br />I think it’s lovely just to sit down and enjoy it&#033;<br /><br /><br />New rating, 2006 version from a pub in Göteborg<br />Pitch black color, brown head. Vanilla and oak, alcohol and grains, sweet and raissin scent. Chocolate, oak, raissins, figs, some spices, alcohol, sweet taste. Wood as well. Smooth silk like mouthfeel laced with alcohol. Medium bitterness.<br />9/5/10/5/19=4.8<br /><br />Rerate<br />Draught at EBF 2008, on Saturday September 13<br />2007 version<br />Black color, brown head. Sweet malty, very vanilla, big oak scent. Lots of oak and vanilla, mixed with alcohol, taste. Smooth full mouthfeel, medium high bitterness. Might need to lay down a bit, not as smooth and wonderful as 2005 version.<br />8/4/8/5/18=4.3