Karneval
Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room

Interesting. Raspberries absolutely shine underneath a decent stout. Not overly "desserty" either which is apreciate. Its a fair stout but almost remarkable how much you taste actual raspberries with no artificial flavors.

Won't find much head on this puppy. Rich dark liquid though.
Smells and taste of chocolate covered raspberries and coffee. Pretty high on the sweetness scale. Most be why their website labels it a Desert Stout. Some tartness lingers on the palate from the raspberry.
Overall, Glad I have more than one on hand.

Pours a two finger tan head that fades slowly, leaving some lace. Black color, no highlights. Good carbonation and Medium-heavy bodied. Coffee, some caramel and coconut nose and flavor has some sweetness with hints of coffee. Higher ABV 10.9% is hidden. $5.49 for a 330ml bottle from Beverage Warehouse, Winooski, Vt.

Dark, opaque brown body; thin, light tan head. Nice aroma of dark roasted grains, light coffee tinge, dark esters. Earthy sweetness and bright berry fruit flavors; dark chocolate; vanilla and strawberry; subdued alcohol presence. Heavy body; rich and oily; generally sweet mouthfeel with a very, very subtle boozy dryness.

A nice, intriguing imperial stout loaded with flavors and aromas both easily identifiable and mysterious.

Pouring temperature: 52.3 ℉; bottling info: n/a
Source: local purchase (Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits)

 

 

 

Black body, minimal head. Smell is very rich! Chocolate, coconut, dark fruit, black licorice, and bourbon. Everything is huge here. In the mouth it’s just as big. Very sweet upfront, with vanilla, plum, cherry, and raspberry, almost tart. Then comes the dark chocolate, brown sugar, roasty notes, and coconut on the finish. Barrel aged bourbon notes throughout.
Feel is smooth and a bit sticky, though not as much as I expected.
Yeah, just like it says, this is a desert stout, and a good one at that. It’s very sweet, which might turn some off, but the raspberry-chocolate-coconut combo is really fantastic. Great beer.

Well it is Tuesday and it feels like it should be Friday. So, we have another beer!

As usual, this brewery gives us a very tasty beer! Pours a dark brown color with a brief brown head and some decent lacing. The beer fruit chocolate smell and taste. Dark berries and even some citrus. A pleasant fruity sweetness. Mocha background. Nice bitter finish. I look forward to more beer from this brewery!

Smells sort of like the fair and tastes of dark fruit/berries, smoked dark malts, there is fruity bitterness and chocolate cake with raspberries, nice smooth mouthfeel.

Great imperial with fruity tones. Fantastic

 

Traditions in brewing are alive and well. As Pohjala Brewery proves, the old school taste of tied and true Russian Imperial State keeps the estery, roasty and caramelized taste of the style thriving.

Very dark brown and only the slimmest shade from black, Karneval carries a short statured but lasting froth through the session. Roasty, toasty and chocked full of coffee, char and roasted fruit, the scent is robust and complex. Sweeter than expected, the early palate is a blend of caramel, honey and toffee with early introductions on the tongue.

As the ale extends to the middle palate, the roasted grains start to make a mark as the sweetness slowly subsides. French roast coffee, laced with cream bring a smooth but earthy roast with hints of burnt walnuts, burnt toast, dark chocolate and chicory spice. Strong fruit esters resemble cherry, plum, apple and dark berry; all in the grilled varieties, as the late palate carries a broad and woodsy bitterness through its finish.

Full bodied, sweet and slightly cloying, the Imperial Stout finishes with a strong cola presence and a continuance of fruit. A mild roast-derived astringency distracts the finish as a long after current of currant and grape linger onward.

11.2 ounce bottle into a snifter. Had 6/11/20.

Pours near black and opaque, oily looking, with a half inch foamy head and some light, slick lacing. Aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, smoke, some coconut and passion fruit, some vanilla. Similar flavors, with the introduction of some raspberry- also roasted malt, chocolate, some vanilla, light passion fruit, light coconut- mostly in the aftertaste. Smooth, a very good if thinner full body, appropriately carbonated but it drinks a little fizzy.

Solid stout. The add- ins contribute, although they are all fairly subtle. Well formulated and very enjoyable.

Got this one from the liquor store in Maarssen

From a bottle into a snifter
Imperial stout with raspberries, passionfruit and toasted coconut

APPEARANCE: Murky black pour yields a two finger, medium looking, fizzy tan head with good retention. Black body with higher levels of carbonation evident. Head eventually recedes to a splotchy wisp and solid ring.

SMELL: Bold nose is slightly tart with raspberries, passion fruit, coconut and vanilla aromas, milk chocolate and a slightly roasted character as well. Bold with a touch of alcohol.

TASTE: Lightly tart flavors with raspberries, passion fruit and some coconut sweetness up front, moving into a tart and sweet finish. Bold finish of lightly tart red fruits, vanilla cream, coconut, some milk chocolate sweetness and some hints of roasted chocolate bitterness linger on the palate. Flavorful.

PALATE: Medium body and slightly higher levels of carbonation. A touch creamy, though also a touch foamy, goes down fine and finishes somewhat mouth-coating. A bit of

OVERALL: Solid. Pohjala is usually outstanding but they’ve been rather hit-and-miss with their big stuff lately. I’ve got a few more bruisers in the basement so hopefully this one starts a bid to reclaim the throne. Solid look, and the fruit additions sit well with the roasted base stout. Nicely done and worth checking out if you’re a fan of fruity imperial stouts. The light tart character works well. Recommended.

 

Poured into a snifter, the appearance was a dark brown close to black color in the glass yielding to a quickly dissolving fizzy head. No left was left.
The aroma had the toasted coconut and some sweet whiffs of passion fruit sliding in underneath. Dark chocolate bitterness scrubs the sides of milk chocolate wafers and some dark toast. Some vanilla sweetness and then earthy dry sweetness.
The flavor blends all of the prior mentioned aromas together mostly in a sweet sort of way. Roastiness cuts in to balance some of the fruity tones nicely. Mellow aftertaste of roasted nuts, roasted coffee beans, dark chocolate, toasted coconut and an ever so slight touch of passion fruit.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Good carbonation. Plenty of dryness about it. Finishes strong with some dry sticky chocolate notes, subtle tropical fruity skin notes.
Overall, pretty good imperial stout portraying some fruity tones here and there. The raspberries seemed extremely faint if anything.

 

Pours an opaque brown-black, with a 1” of dark brown foam, active micro and large bubbles, mild hold, 1 minute. Aromas of ripe raspberries, dark roasted malts, dark chocolate, subtle coconut, and semi earthy hops. The taste is semi sweet, dark chocolate, mild tart red raspberry, subtle passion-fruit, dark malts, with a gentle touch of coconut flesh. Mouthfeel is slick, sticky, sweet, thin to medium body, low carbonation, sweet sticky finish, with lingering chocolate and tart berries. Overall flavor is sweet and fruity; taste is dark chocolate mixed with raspberry and a mild note of passion-fruit, very easy to drink, well masked ABV, well balanced ingredients, super yummy dessert stout.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some good amount of lacing. Aroma of huge sweet black chocolate notes with some nice fruity undertones is quite enticing. Taste is also a mix of sweet black chocolate notes with some well-balanced mix of fruity notes with subtle coconut notes also perceptible. Body is full with nice creamy texture and good carbonation with no real apparent alcohol notes. This is quite the dessert stout.