Pink Elephant Imperious Rushin Stowt

Brewed by Pink Elephant
Style: Imperial Stout
Blenheim, Malborough, New Zealand

Black with a tiny dark beige head. Aroma had tar, cigars, leather and burned malt. Smoked flavour with burned malt, tar, sour berries, leather and tobacco. Good stuff.

An interesting one. Nose was huge kind of raspberry. In the mouth it had a lot going on but was quite hot. The alcohol wasn’t well hidden. Sweet and almost resinous. A big beer definetely and with a bit of tweaking could be world class. Cheers Nate

This beauty has the darkest head I’ve ever seen. Pretty much a deep, red hue. Gorgeous. Also the darkest beer I’ve encountered. Nose fills with bubblegum, clove, chocolate, licorice and smoke, to name a few! (quite complex...). A fruity, pilsner-like hop shows through with some citrus notes... unusual. Tastes of a sugary licorice, mollasses and some yeast. Beautiful. Extreme roast malt, with coffee at the very end. Burnt and smoky, yet sweet and fruity. Awesome! Thank you so much, Donfardz64

Pours deep, dark & oily black with a rusty brown coloured head, looks menacing! Nose has a lot of sweetness but also a heap of smoke and tar that isn’t hugely common in Oz & NZ beers. Palate has some sweetness early before dark roasted malts bring tar and ash. Finishes with a slight tang from the dark malts, which is a tad undesirable. I’d say this needs time. Still very interesting, but would surely benefit from at least a year.

2006 - OK, when I first had this, it lacked depth and character. I’m so glad I cellared some. It’s tasting fantastic right now. Aromas of burnt toast, mud, and those toffee sweets you get at funfairs. The flavour is so complex it’s hard to break down the components. Again, there’s that funfair toffee-on-a-stick flavour, there’s some marmitey autolysed flavour, some milky sweetness, some bitter coffee grounds, and some darkest of the dark chocolate. The finish is bitter and warming. Damn it’s good.

2008 Vintage. Looked good in my snifter, deep black body with a dark brown head. Taste was in your face at first but it grew quickly on me. Aroma is liquorice, a touch of smoke and burnt tar whilst the taste also has some dark fruit notes. As I said before this grew on me and would love have two or three in a row but also woud like to cellar a few to see how they age.

Bottle from Regionals, Wellington. Vintage 2008. Bottled shared with Stew & Chris. Pours pitch black with a creamy dark brown head. Looks great in the glass. Roasted malt, dark bitter chocolate, caramel, prunes, licorice and a hint of smoke. Smooth mouthfeel and more chocolaty maltiness in the finish. Miles ahead of the bottle I had earlier in the year. This one has great aging potential...will keep a bottle for this very reason.

Bottle, 2007 vintage. I approached this with modest expectations, and was completely blown away! This beer pours a thick, heavy motor oil black. Initially it appears still, then after a second or two, a dark red-brown head ominously roils its way to the surface and forms a dense crown. It looks perfect. Rich complex aromas and flavours flood the senses: figs, plums, sour cherries, leather, dark bitter chocolate, and pipe tobacco, along with more minor notes of coffee, charred wood, and anise are complimented by a heavy velour mouthfeel and a slightly tart acidity. Absolutely fantastic! Among the best of the impies I’ve had for sheer complexity and character. This isn’t just a head-on collision with high alcohol and bitter coffee roast, which tend to form the foundation of many imperial stouts. It is much more than that, and sublimely enjoyable in my opinion! The best kiwi beer that I have yet tried (and that is just shy of 100 at this point).