Cellar Series: Pime Öö - Islay Barrel-Aged
Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room

 

Look: It pours very dark brown with a brown head. Head retention is very low.

Smell: It has strong alcohol aromas with bourbon and sweet malts. There are some smoky elements to it with roast.

Taste: It is sweet up front with smoke and some toffee. There are some licorice notes with dark fruits. It has a bit of an absinthe taste as it warms a bit.

Feel: There is strong alcohol warming, but nothing hot which is surprising at 14% ABV.

Overall, a very unique flavor palate to the beer.

Look: black with a thin brown head

Smell: strong barrel on the front, little bit of malt and hops, slight note of dark fruit

Taste: strong barrel with a fair amount of peat, not as balanced as I like, a bit of malt and dark fruit at the end

Feel: nice and smooth

 

Difficult to open. Whatever plastic they used to seal the cap (and was that really necessary?) was particularly hard to peel off.

Nose: scotchy scotch scotch.

Taste: scotch syrup, with a distinct note of peanut butter in the early part of the finish.

Mouthfeel: barely carbonated. Smooth, palate-coating on account of the high sugar content.

Overall: syrupy treacle with a smoky scotch note that pretends to add complexity. Eh.

 

 

Wow. Interesting. I don’t drink Scotch so I can’t speak authoritatively, but it has unique aroma and flavor profiles. I’ve had a Central Waters Scotch BA. This is nothing like that. This has a mossy, streamy, cliff smell…yeah, I know that makes no sense. The flavor is equally weird to describe. It’s not that “peat” kind of flavor I usually associate with a Scotch ale. It’s kind of smokey but not really. I don’t have the palate or the words to describe it well. IDK. I’m kind of stumped. It’s excellent all around. The 14%….pfffft. Forget about it. There’s no bite, no warming, just flavor. Not a lot of barrel, unless the flavors I can’t describe are somehow unique tonIskY Scotch barrels…if anyone knows, feel free to share.

very sweet

Black with very little
brown foam. Bouquet with rich toasting, smoked wood, peat. On the palate it has a lot of sweetness, caramel, honey, brown sugar and red fruit, all wrapped in a marked smoking that gives suggestions of ash and tobacco. Alcoholic warmth that grows as the beer warms up without being too bulky. Despite great peaty notes and high abv, the drink is too sweet. Full body and low carbonation.

 

L: Pitch motor oil black, brown/beige head which dissipates rather quickly, very minimal amount of lacing

S: Peat, smoke, bandai - like islay scotch (Lagavulin, Ardberg etc..). Some chocolate, black bread, honey.

T: Malty, oaky, smokey, tobaccoy, .., .. most notes from above. Also get some fava bean in the aftertaste??

F: High body, quite sweet, medium bitterness, alcohol greets on the way down, low carb, peaty sweet aftertaste

O: Really enjoyable, something between an islay scotch and a beer.

Got this one from my neighbor for my 40th birthday. Cheers!

From a bottle into a snifter
Best before 20 July 2020
Imperial stout aged in scotch whisky barrels from Islay

APPEARANCE: Black pour yields a 1 finger, thicker looking, slightly bubbly tan head with great retention. Black body with lots of carbonation evident. Head recedes to a full, creamy cap. A swirly, splotchy wisp remains leaving touches of lacing down the glass. Thicker and bubblier head than the others, but the rest of the look is good stuff.

SMELL: Huge Islay barrels. Scotch all over this one, with peated aromas, milk chocolate and light vanilla notes, oak, and lots of earthy tones. This is a scotch lover’s dream. Bold for sure.

TASTE: Lots of scotch barrel up front, with plenty of earthy flavors and alcohol as well. A big, boozy swallow leads to a bold and lingering finish of peaty scotch, oak, milk chocolate, some sweet vanilla cream, a touch of bitter chocolate and hints of coffee, as well as a good dose of alcohol. This is delicious bruiser, and the scotch Islay barrels lay a peaty and earthy layer of booze on it all.

PALATE: Fuller body with slightly lower levels of carbonation. Slightly creamy and smooth on the palate, enough weight, goes down silky with a bit of a burn at the swallow and finishes sticky on the palate. Some heat lingers. A little less creamy than the original.

OVERALL: This is a peat lover’s paradise. Lots of scotch and earthy qualities on this one, with a huge nose and a flavor profile that is up to the task. I will admit that peated scotch barrels are not my first choice when it comes to spirit BA stouts, but this is basically as good as it gets. The base stout on this one is so good that it lends more than enough character to stand up to the overbearing scotch barrels. Well worth checking out if you’re a fan of this type of barrel aging. Well worth it. Cheers!

 

 

Pours a pitch black coloration with a small, fizzy head that soon dissipates. Smells of roasted, caramel malt, with strong notes of smoked peat, charcoal and hints of chocolate, vanilla, licorice and tobacco. Taste follows the nose, being dominated by smokey peat, charcoal and tobacco, with additional notes of roasted, caramel malt, molasses, chocolate, vanilla, oak and hints of licorice, coffee and a certain musty/earthy note as well. Finishes quite bittersweet, with a light bitterness and sweet caramel and smokey peat notes lingering in the aftertaste. Thick mouthfeel with a rich body and light carbonation.

This captures that peated Islay character quite well, but is a also a little too sweet for my personal taste. The overlall balance is still quite good for such a complex brew, but suffers slightly from too much sweetness. ABV is quite well hidden though.

The beer pours a Pitch Black with a thin khaki head. It has low carbonation. The beer smells of savory pork, smoke, charcoal, licorice, and scotch. It tastes of savory pork, smoke, charcoal, licorice, and scotch. The feel is medium and complex. A very interesting beer, it tastes like smoked bbq. I’ve never had a beer like this.

Poured from 0.33 l bottle into snifter.
L: pitch black with a tan foam head.
S: red berries, smokey.
T: raisin, smokey, prunes.
F: oily body and low carbonation.
O: incredible taste with a smokey flavour.