Laitilan Imperiaali
Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas

a very cool beer, nordic and wintery for sure, my first from these guys, in an understated little bottle with a pull top, thick as fudge and the color of pavement sealant, seriously this looks like motor oil in the glass, with high viscosity and shine. it smells slightly oxidized, past roasted to charred or even burnt on the dark malt, rightly boozy, and with notes of burning tobacco and licorice. its got a ton of flavor, all from the grain, concentrated and as black as it gets, lots of specialty dark malts, faint smoke, past chocolate or coffee thats usually in these, just straight to the darkest of the dark, high carbon and charcoal sort of thing, a little molasses kind of sweetness in the middle extending it and giving it some balance and density. warming alcohol, light wood, a little sticky, and the kind of oxidation i like in a barleywine or an old ale. some yeast character here too, familiar but hard to place specifically. overall quite solid, best suited to the coldest of winter nights and even in a small bottle probably a good one to share...

As "Kievari Imperiaali." Reviewed from notes taken in Summer 2014 in Helsinki.

9.20% ABV. 2013 vintage. Stout / imperial stout per the label. EBU 82.

33cl brown glass bottle purchased at Oluthuone Kaisla in Helsinki and served into a stem snifter. Best before: 27 02 2017.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: Half a finger in height. Mocha-tan colour. Lovely creaminess and thickness. Leaves some limited lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes. Retention is poor - ~1 minute - but that's acceptable at this high an ABV.

BODY: Opaque solid jet black. No yeast/lees/sediment is visible within.

Appears adequately carbonated. Looks pretty good for an imperial stout. There are no egregious flaws.

AROMA: Cream, chocolate malts, dark malts/schwarz malt sweetness, a kiss of fennel, and some raisin.

It's very inviting, and has the deep bold sweetness it should without suffering from any concomitant cloying characteristics.

Alcohol definitely lurks behind the malts. It's quite a malt bomb, but it does have a kiss of piney character from the hops. I think I find a hint of sticky dark fruit as well? It's a decadent and fairly intimidating aroma of mild aromatic intensity.

I detect no overt yeasty notes or off-notes.

TASTE: Not as sweet as anticipated given the aroma. Has a dark/schwarz malt core with some lovely hints of fruit buried in there - chocolate covered cherry, raisin, maybe plum.

Unfortunately, some fennel does sneak in, which doesn't work in this build. Some faint piney character from hops.

I hoped for more complexity/intricacy to the build, but it ends up being an imbalanced imperial stout without much going on. There is some nice subtlety (the pine, the fruit), though.

Average flavour duration and intensity. Average depth of flavour. Lacks adequate cohesion; it's certainly not a gestalt or harmonious build.

TEXTURE: The beer is crippled by some unbecoming dryness and coarseness without any accompanying roasty flavours in the late third act and on the finish. It's a bit rough or even stale there. Really dries out the palate. Ugh.

Well-carbonated, though, and aptly full-bodied. Unfortunately, overall presence on the palate is quite poor, and this mouthfeel drags the beer down.

OVERALL: A promising brew ruined by its sloppily executed texture. I wouldn't buy it again, but its potential makes it all the more disappointing. With revisions in future batches, this could be superb. I'll finish the bottle, but this was far from worth its 9.90 euro pricetag (not that price ever affects my ratings).

C+ (3.15) / ABOVE AVERAGE

 

 

Black, with a light brown colored foam, quite good.
Strong and intense smell, full, toasted malts, burned caramel, light rhubarb.
At the taste again strong and intense, roast notes, almost liquerish, strong bitterness, rhubarb, almost liquorice inthe back.
82 EBU.
Full but not tiring body, a very long aftertaste bitterness, with liquorice and again intense hoppiness.
Good.