Bänger
Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room

 

 

 

Coal black, opaque body; thin brown head that shortly becomes a lasting ring inside the glass. Smell of dark, roasted grain and dark pitted fruits; touch of cocoa with a bit of chili heat tickling the nose hairs. Deep chocolate and vanilla notes greet the palate with slowly developing dark fruit notes; the habanero chili presence is fairly muted but does crawl out from the overall sweetness and brings a subtle pepper flavor offset. Heavy body; dense and chewy; velvety residual sugar feel with some subtle chili pepper heat adding depth.

As the beer warms to the brewery's recommend pouring temperature, the flavors and scents grow richer and fuller. Big, chewy, very flavorful.

Pouring temperature: 40 °F (recommended 54 - 60 °F); bottling info: BO 30092021 BB 30092024 N0313
Source: local purchase (Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits)

 

Pours a dark brown color with a minimal head that disappears quickly. Aroma of dark fruits and roasted malts. Taste is sweet dark fruits with a slight alcohol warmth. Interesting!

Draught: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown foamy head with light retention and minor lacing notes. Aroma of black chocolate notes with some vanilla and faint chiles notes. Taste is also a complex mix of black chocolate notes with some light prunes and vanilla notes with some mild heart from the chiles with a dry finish. Body is pretty full with oily texture and medium carbonation with no real apparent alcohol notes. Well balanced stout with just enough chiles.

From the 330ml bottle in a snifter. This solid little imperial pours a
coal black with a moderate head of khaki foam that sizzles to a thin ring,
thin dusty layer, and sports some faint lacing with nice legs. Nose of dark
chocolate, char, vanilla, faint pepper, toffee, and dates. Flavors follow the
nose with some exception. Dark cocoa and moderate char dance about a
dark coffee dashed with vanilla bean, and then a mellow pepper note that is
far from hot and nicely rounded out with fig and date touches. Of note, warmth
brings out vinous notes of sherry and cognac. Mouthfeel is full, smooth, rich,
coating, lightly slick, moderately chewy, and low carbonation with a bitter malt
finish.

Overall----an EXCELLENT imperial!

Cheers

Pours a small fizzy head cover with low retention, no lacing but good legs, jet black color

Nose dark roast, roasted malt and coffee, little char, rich vanilla, little dark chocolate, fruity date prune kinda thing, very faint pepper

Taste starts with more dark chocolate and cocoa powder, roasted malts and char, rich vanilla and a little candy bar sweetness, toffee, light prune date fruity thing, very light spice and pepper, some baking spices, long finish semi sweet, lingering cocoa vanilla

Mouth is full bod thick chewy, low carb, light warming alcohol and very light pepper heat

Overall not bad, wish the pepper was a bit more, not sure how there is so much cocoa either

L: Jet black inky pour from a 12oz bottle into a sniffer. No head risen on this nor a any daylight shining through this beer.
S: Getting notes of vanilla, dark fruits, dark brown sugar present.
T: Strong taste of the vanilla oakyness up front from the barrel followed by a middle sensation of dark fruits and dark fruit. a bit of a spicey after taste to it as well.
F: Heavy bodied, more on the acidic side due to the habanero spices brewed into this. Sippin' beer for sure.
O: This is an interesting beer. Stouts without much chocolate taste are in a different zone from what I usually go for but this one is more dark fruit forward/ brown sugar for me. It's a great beer but not an amazing one. Not bad for the price either and worth a try!

 

From an undated 330 ml. bottle sampled on November 12, 2022.

Attractive looking jet black pour with a modest and fading tan head. Little to no lacing.

Aroma of dark roasted malts, dark fruit, vanilla, char, and smoke. For 12.5% ABV, I do not get a boozy scent.

Full mouthfeel and creamy.

The taste is sweet and dark roasted malts, vanilla and here is where the peppery sensations burst forward. No chili on the nose but more notable in the taste. The booze is low profile too. A nicely done Stout.

 

11.2 oz bottle.

Pour is pitch black with a small, mocha head.

Aromas of dark chocolate, vanilla, dark malts, and chillies. There's a hint of dark fruits and caramel.

The flavor brings dark malts, dark chocolate fudge, vanilla, char, leather, prunes and molasses. The chilli character is subtle but starts to make more of an appearance as the beer warms.

Thick, sticky mouthfeel. Plenty of warmth from the booze and the chillies.

Overall, this is a great imperial stout that brings a ton of flavors but also a ton of balance. I love that the habanero chillies slowly creep up on you. Nice beer.

11.2 oz bottle. No dating information found.
Black colored body, with a thin, long lasting mocha colored head. Interesting that small spots and a following line of lacing is left on the drinking side of the glass.
Aroma of the dark roasted malt base, along with chilies and dark fruit. There is a light whiff of vanilla.
Taste has the dark fruit prunes accentuating the dark chocolate of the malts. Chilies are a flavor but light on burn. The vanilla adds a general lightness and sweetness to the brew. Aftertaste definitely includes the chilies with the dark chocolate.
Definitely more than medium mouth feel, with a steady smoothness. Chili burn is experienced but not lingering. Okay carbonation.
Well put together chili stout, with nothing out of balance. Well made brew from Estonia.

A - Black pour with thin, dense toffee colored lacing. Carbonation is on the low side.

S - Chocolate roast and chili peppers are the foremost part of the overall aroma.

T - Chocolate roast, chili peppers (along with some heat), vanilla, prunes / dark fruit, leather, toasted cocoa, light smoky char, and some cherry. Finishes on the sweeter side with lingering cocoa, chocolate, vanilla, and peppers with a definite heat back by some dark fruit sweetness, then some more heat.

M - Thick and viscous leaving a sticky sugar residue on the lips. The pepper heat coagulates the palate and leaves a very wet finish with some warming in the back of the throat.

O - I like the uniqueness of this beer and it totally works.

330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 12.5%. Pitch black colour, pours with a small brown head which dissipates instantly. Aroma of roast malts, heavy syrup, molasses, vanilla, prunes and chili. Rich and warming mouthfeel, moderate carbonation. Flavour of roast malts, chili, prunes, coffee, chocolate and vanilla.

12oz bottle into a goblet. Bottled 9/30/21, so 4-5 months old.

Looks pretty good in the glass, jet black body. Small tan head shrinks to a ring and faint covering, scattered lacing.

Not much on the nose, which surprised me considering the ingredients. Very, very faint vanilla.

On tasting, well, certainly doesn't follow the nose. Can actually taste the prunes before the peppers come charging in. Vanilla doesn't show up at all. Warming, slightly sweet, pleasing overall.

Mouth between medium and full, finish a duet of warming from the abv and chiles, with a hit of dark fruit.

Overall, really impressed by this beer. There were others on the shelf from this brewery. Might have to try some more

Look: Definitely runs under the category of stout that is equal to 5W30, it is impossible to see light out of. I had to put my ears up to the glass to listen to the sound of bubbles to let me know this was faintly carbonated.
Smell: Sweet prunes and some coffee notes come through upon first smells, then as it opens up notes of toasted malt.
Taste: Vanilla and prune on the immediate tongue, slightly chocolatey in taste after a few seconds. A slight habanero floral flavor comes and goes and upon swallow you are greeted with the spice and notes of coffee and slightly acrid malt.
Feel: A syrup equivalent to Log Cabin in viscosity, it also has a slight sting due to the minimal carbonation and the peppers.
Overall: It packs everything that it promises and rewards you with a high ABV. My two criticisms of this brew are as follows: The toasted barley for the stout portion is just a tad too acrid to want to drink more than a beers worth. Second, a slightly lower ABV would have given the habanero more room to breathe, for me the prunes add the feeling of more body so I personally didn't need more than 10% for the beer. Still worth the effort to drink if you can locate it, this brewery makes some of my favorite and most interesting beers.