Mudcake Bänger
Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room

 

 

 

De tercertiempocervezas. En copa Teku. Con almendrucos. Jugando a Inner Wind - The Wind Monk. Perfil chocolatoso en el que el alcohol toma bastante protagonismo, más del deseable aunque sin llegar a estropearla. Sin embargo, no tiene la presencia pastry que esperaba

Blind-tasted.
L- Pitch black, no light gets through this. Pours with a 2mm dark tan head which unsurprisingly given the ABV soon recedes to a ring + patch... which most curiously is moving in a slow swirling motion - hmm!? The remaining foam sticks around, impressive.
S- Deep, somewhere between coffee+cocoa.
T- Ooph. Deep, dark with some richness. Then an absolute blast of dry hops+ABV builds on the back of my throat. ... receding and into a deep charry aspect. Same on sips 2/3 though the 'blast' effect is ebbing. I suspect this might be liquor-barrel aged to have that initial ABV hit.
F- I poured this fridge-cold which I sense is right. I'm ok with some balanced richness in high ABV% hefties like this but don't like any outright sweetness. This is by necessity a slow-sipping beer so it's going to warm and sweeten as I sip on.
O- It's very nice, well balanced. It's quite a thumper so I could have happily shared this 330ml bottle with a friend. Would make a good winter-time gift or tipple.
Bought from Trembling Madness in York, UK for home delivery. 330ml bottle £5.50
Rated/reviewed, now I get to read the lable for clues: Brewed with chocolate and cocoa and contains barley, oats + rye. BB hard to find, stamped in black high up on neck, bottles 22/09/22 BBE = +3yrs.

Got this from the Duvel guy in Utrecht. Cheers!

From a 33cl bottle into a snifter
A mudcake inspired imperial stout with chocolate and cacao

APPEARANCE: Pours out muddy black and yields a one finger, fizzy, crackly, tan head with okay retention. Quickly fizzes away to a half wisp and ring. Black body with lots of carbonation evident for the style. A faint wisp remains leaving touches of lacing on the glass as it empties. The head’s a bit lack luster and the carbonation a little too active for the style perhaps.

SMELL: Bolder nose of ash, tobacco, licorice aromas, a touch metallic, some cacao notes and brown sugar as well.

TASTE: Bold with ash and tobacco, light metallic notes, then some definite milk chocolate notes and alcohol at the swallow. Bolder finish of ash, tobacco, roasted flavors, some cacao and some decent alcohol linger after the swallow.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. A bit silky on the palate, creamy enough, goes down smooth and finishes rather sticky on the palate. A bit of heat lingers.

OVERALL: This is alright. The cacao additions come off as slightly metallic, which is a risk worth taking. The base stout is solid and it’s engineered well too. This is a solid effort by a more than solid brewery, though I think I’d pass on seconds and go for one of their other world class brews. Cheers!