Wednesday 30 September 2015

Kernel, Imperial Brown Stout - Tormore and Port Dundas BA

Is this a blend? I'm assuming Tormore (single malt) and Port Dundas (now owned by Diageo apparently) are separate entities...

Served cold. Whiskey nose, big whiskey taste: scotch (banana) and some wood. Surprisingly sweet for a Kernel stout. Finish is a massive whiskey dryness well mixed with hop bitterness (signature Kernel impy).

Sambrooks, Imperial Stout

A relatively clear looking pour, low carbonation, minimal nose. Sweet taste: licorice (sp?), coffee. Even sweeter thereafter, but never cloyingly so. Medium to low bitterness which was a disappointment. A decent London impy, all the more so because it can be bought directly from the brewery (a stone's throw from Clapham Junction) for a fantastic £2.75.

Tap East, Imperial Coffee in the Morning

Light and fizzy. Dark ale rather than a stout? A different style of impy (as compared to oilier brews like Sadako and Kernel). Quite highly carbonated - see picture. No trace of booze, perhaps this could be a turbo Guinness (regular not nitro)? Standard version here.

Weird Beard Co, Sadako

Love a wax seal me! Mushrooms and coffe on the nose, medium to high carbonation, taste is sweet, coffee, some roast. Cream soda? Minimal hop profile. Medium bitterness in the finish, some honey also. Ardbeg BA version waiting.