Cellar Series: Taanilinn - Cognac Barrrel-Aged
Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room

330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 14%. Pitch black colour, moderate tan head. Aroma of malts, molasses, caramel, oak, cognac and vanilla, hints of chocolate and fusel alcohols. Warming mouthfeel. Rich and sweet flavour, with the same elements as the aroma, also notes of strong coffee and distinct bittering hops.

 

 

Had on tap. Hello cognac my old friend. It is omnipotent in this beer, but it brought friends to the party: caramel, fudge, coffee, dark cherries, and molasses. It is like my grandma, it hid the alcohol very well! Sure, you can taste the cognac, but no way I would have guessed it was 14% abv! Rich, smooth, boozy, and syrupy in the feel.

 

 

I'm really conflicted on this. I love cognac barrel-aged beers generally, I've heard great things about Pohjala generally, and the mouthfeel here is great; however, I don't know what the "best of liquors of Estonia" are, but I get a sense that I'm not a fan. They contribute a strong botanical, fernet-like flavor, to the extent that it partially numbs my tongue and lips after a few sips, reminiscent of pramoxine or other herbal anesthetics.

Weird, but otherwise a really positive experience! Your mileage may vary!

 

Poured to an Ora et Labora taster.

A: Body is pitch black and with some great density. Head is minimal having a beautiful coloration of brownish hues to an accent beige to yellow. Very good looking.
S: The aroma is powerful and also too alcoholic. Here, you can find toffee, roasted fresh coffee, sweet chocolate, molasses, there's cognac serving as base for all of this and in the end, a huge profile of alcohol that makes this aroma one step away from perfection.
T: Taste starts off with a tingly sweetness from some profile of vanilla and spices - which I can't really relate to, moving on the chocolate and coffee connecting these two profile in a very good way. After this, we jump to the end of the sip as there's really no mid-mouth flavour, to a bit roasty and toasty flavour of roastiness that connects perfectly with chocolate, coffee and cognac aging on a much subtle way than ever imagined. This is incredible. One of the best beers of the year I've had so far.
M: Body is high. Carbonation is perfect, wouldn't change a thing. Bitterness and sweetness are perfect, wouldn't change a thing. Alcohol content is way too big. If we could run this at 10%/11%, this could easily be one of the best orthodox (non pastry, non experimental) stouts of Europe for sure.
O: This beer is really near perfection. Only shows imperfections on the excessive amount of alcohol. Still, would love to have this again and again and again.

Potent and tasty brew, nice blend of bitter and sweet, I think the bitterness from the roasty malts of the base beer and the sweetness coming from the cognac barrels, which in my recent experience do great things for beer. Hooray for Estonia!

 

 

L - Pitch black with a thin beige head

S - Cognac and apple, chocolate, coffee, dark berries

T - Follow the smell plus raisins and prunes with some balance but very boozy with the big cognac presence

M - Quite thick

O - A good imperial stout but very boozy which makes it quite a sipper

33cl bottle. Pitch black with a medium height tan head. You can feel the cognac smell up front - probably the first cognac BA beer where I identify it clearly - followed by milk chocolate, macerated sour cherries, barrel sourness, cocoa and coffee. Taste notes include milk chocolate, instant coffee, cherries, burnt caramel and some hot spices in the aftertaste. Really well made imperial stout.

A 330ml waxed bottle with a best before date of 4th November 2018, poured into a snifter glass.

Appearance: It poured a pitch black colour with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly but left nice spotty lacing.

Aroma: Caramel, toffee, chocolate, vanilla, cognac, wood with a hint of dark fruit, plum and cherries.

Taste: Sweet. Its so sweet, but so good. Brown sugar, cherry, vanilla, oak and cognac with hints of bittersweet chocolate and espresso coffee.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth, mid to full bodied with low carbonation.

Overall: I usually do not enjoy sweet beers, but there are a few exceptions and this is definitely one of them. It starts very sweet, but the combination of oakiness and cognac helps to balance out this sweetness and keep it in check. It’s also surprisingly not full bodied. It’s almost there, but lacks just that little bit that you usually expect from a 14% ABV Imperial Stout. But, despite all that, in my opinion, this is right up there with the best Imperial Stouts, and is easily a must buy beer for me.

Totally Black night to look at with a brownish quite stabile head considering the high ABV. Nice smell of Rosted grain with a touch of English licorice. A big Full bodied taste of sweetness well balances with the heat of the high percentage of alcohol - certainly a powerful imperial stout of the sweet kind. In the taste there are notes of cinnamon from the oak barrel and hints of cognac. Very well balanced - have a sip for dessert:-)

 

Enjoyed this beer at Cigar City's Hunahpu's Day 2016 in Tampa, FL. This is one of the surprise breweries that I've never hear of before but I had two of their beers that really impressed. This imperial stout has a lot of barrel in the nose and taste which I love. Great beer!