Seven Niepoort Barrel
Nørrebro Bryghus

375ml bottle poured into a Teku.

A~ dark with a crazy red hue with a little carb and a little lacing.

S~ tons of red wine and sweet berries up front mixed with some nice roasted burnt coffee.

T~ super well rounded and balanced! follows the nose with roasted burnt coffee all blended with a rush of sweet berry like wine and dark fruits. that European style stout!

M~ pretty much no carb but so smooth!

O~ once again with this Niepoort barrel!! it really worked well with this stout base. could drink all day! too bad i'll never find another haha! another Shaun Hill brew.

 

 

375 mL bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Inky black with no head.

Smell - Fudgy dark chocolate. Dark fruits. A bit of oxidation.

Taste - Lots of dark fruits. Dark chocolate. Fudgy and sweet. Port is stronger and more distinct here.

Mouthfeel - Medium low carbonation. Medium heavy body.

Overall - It's a little oxidized, but it's still really good.

 

 

Thanks for sharing this, Shane. I've wanted to try this one.

The beer is black in color with a small tan head. A strong roasted malt aroma comes through along with a bit of coffee and bitter dark chocolate. The port offers a nice but subtle fruit character in the background. It's somewhat boozy and definitely a touch oxidized. The beer doesn't taste quite as boozy as it smells, but still shows the 12% ABV. Nice port flavor and some dark fruits along with a very heavy roast and some coffee. A strong oak flavor with a bit of a tannic feel to it. Only moderately sweet with notes of caramel, molasses, and toffee.

 

Thanks to Alex for the share on this one.

A - Black beer with a moderate tan head that faded to not much.

S - Smells like a Danish stout with char, port sweetness, dark fruit. Not bad, but not what I was expecting from this series.

T - Taste is in line with the nose. I will say I am disappointed, but only because the other beers of this series have been ridiculously good. This is just good. Char, dark fruits, a little port.

M - Medium bodied with lower carbonation.

O - Good beer, not my favorite, and not my favorite take on the style either, but it is pretty good.

Thanks, Alex! Poured into Bell's tulip.

A - Black, tan-colored head, bubbles, thin collar.

S - The oak and port notes are there as well as some char and roast. Not as sweet as I was expecting, the char note really is up front on this beer.

T - Lots of char and roast, touch of oak, and not much sweet port notes at all. Alcohol is basically nonexistent for 12%, which is impressive. Too much char for me to really enjoy the subtle qualities of the port and oak notes.

M - Medium to full, good carbonation, creamy finish.

O - Less impressive then the other Seven variants, which is disappointing. All of the barrel-aged Nørrebro stuff has blown me out of the water...this one, not so much. Decent.

Bottle thanks to Beerlando. Served in a Bell's tulip.

A - A quick-dissolving angry reddish tan foam settles to a thin partial cap and thicker collar, leaving spotty lace. Body is black, with a glint of red at the fringes.

S - Smells like your quintessential Danish stout. Charred and roasted malts, smoke, light tobacco, dark fruits - perhaps the listed fig purée - and a hint of port. Far less overt port and barrel influence that the Niepoort Little Korkny.

T - Again, it's mostly roasted and charred malts, dark chocolate, dark fruits, and only light port and barrel notes. Again, it's got that Scandinavian character to it that is hard to qualify. Finishes fairly smokey - a bit more than I prefer. Alcohol is well-hidden, and I would never have guessed this was 12%+.

M - Very sticky, mouth-coating, medium body, with very low carbonation and a silky texture. No obvious alcohol. Drinks more like a 9% beer. Amusingly, I said nearly the exact same thing about the Bordeaux version, even though I haven't read that review in 4 months. This one is less tannic.

D - I found this to be the weakest of the barrel-aged Nørrebro beers I've tried, but that's like saying Hard Eight is my least favorite Paul Thomas Anderson film. I still enjoyed this quite a bit, and would happily drink it again if offered. That being said, seek out the Korknys as they seem to be aging a bit better.

Chilled bottle into a glass. The story of how I acquired this is rather convoluted, so I'll just skip it and say, "Thanks" to those of you involved. Cheers.

NOTE: Shaun Hill mentioned to me that this beer may be past its prime. I am not suggesting that my score reflects his brewing ability; it just reflects how the beer is drinking right now.

A: Pours a pitch black body with a short-lived dark mocha head. No retention or lace.

S: Strong notes of port (grape), roasted grain, smoke, oak, a splash of vanilla. It's very "European" in style.

T: As in the nose, it has a dominant flavor of roasted grain and smoke. Dark chocolate. Molasses sweetness comes through, melding with port and a touch of oak tannins that progress into a spicy bite. No vanilla on the taste. The finish is lacking; the flavor falls off rather drastically. I'm looking for flavors of coffee throughout, but they appear to have faded.

M: Full-bodied, with good up-front flavor. But as I mentioned, the finish is lacking. I take this as a reflection of the beer mellowing out (and passing its peak) due to age.

O: I'm sure this was fantastic when fresh; I am rarely disappointed by Shaun Hill's beers. But this one is on its way down, and I don't recommend seeking it out.

Shared by the brewer himself after many searches for this longtime want.

Thick black body with a mocha head.

Aroma held notes of rich vinous port and dark chocolate. Vanilla and mellowed roasted malt. Hints of oxidation.

The taste revealed rich chocolate fudge that coated your tongue. Complex levels of vanilla, dark chocolate, roasted malts, and glazed dark fruits. Chewy mouthfeel. Finish left a sweet chocolate and vinous flavor. Some oxidation but didn't detract that greatly from the overall experience. Presence of alcohol was negligible for a beer like this.

375 ML poured into a Bruery Tulip
BIG want. Thanks to Bluebetty for the bottle

A-- Poured black, nearly motor oil black. Gorgeous reverse cascading dark chocolate/ leather head that got to nearly 2 finger height before settling to a milk chocolate film. A few gurgles of carbonation in the film. Good head retention and a few bits of lacing on the sides of the glass with some alcohol legs to this.

S-- Port, warm coco, chocolate, marshmallow, coffee, and oak. Has a bit of cognac like smell to this and very warming smell. No trace of the alcohol.

T-- Port and wood off the bat. Some chocolate, coffee, fig, and touches of whisky at times, other times like wine.

M-- Low carbonation and medium feel. Milk chocolate smooth and lots of coco powder in the mouth. Not that sweet at all, just silky as heck. Finishes with a dry coco powder coffee like feel mixed with port and wood. Thinner body than I thought this would be but that is OK considering how this feels.

O-- Brilliant, utterly brilliant. All I can say. Alcohol is well hidden and so many flavors in this it is crazy. has held up very well with age. Incredible beer.

Black with only a whisp of a white head. Rich roasted aroma. Thick mouthfeel. Rich, more imperial stout than the wine version, with cocoa chocolate, coffee, a tad of wine in the finish. Very filling, significant fig, but satisfying. Balanced, only a tad sweet.

A: Pours a dark black small head no real head or lace.

S: Lots of dark fruit, chocolate, coffee, and molasses.

T: Light oak, lots of chocolate with strong coffee notes. Molasses and dark fruits with subtle licorice notes.

M: Medium in body. Light carbonation. Smooth, rich, sweet good.

D: I like it. Thanks bosse. Happy birthday to me.

I got this at the brewery and took it to a local pub to share with the bartender who was feeding us beer. We walked in with it and things almost stood still, they couldn't beleive we had this. This is apparently a highly regareded and hard to get great stout. They told me like give times to take it back with me but we cracked it anyway.

This is ok, nothing special as a stout. Light sweet but lots of alcohol, nice wine notes here and there. Easy to drink.

Its a easy to drink sweeter stout, but don't give a ton to get this.

Thanks to hophead84 for the opportunity to try this monster at Woodshop 5.0. Pours inky black with a creamy, dense cocoa head. Aroma is raisiny with lots of dark chocolate. Must not have been a particularly grapey port because I'm not getting any sweet wine notes. There's a little bit of alcohol here too. Flavor is big and roasty with charred black malts, prunes/raisins, and a light smokiness that adds a great complexity. Thick, oily mouthfeel, bitter finish, good beer.

Nothing like celebrating a birthday with a rare treat from Denmark...thanks Anders for the opportunity! This beer was brewed in October of 2008 by 7 brewers from Denmark. They pooled their individual recipes together and then aged the beer in port wine barrels from Niepoort for 7 months. Poured into a snifter.

A- Pours a dark chocolate brown. Zero clarity. Produced two fingers width of tan head. Reduced to a thin, creamy layer throughout consumption. Some lacing and good head retention.

S- Much more mellow than I expected, especially with all the ingredients that went into this beer. Noticing chocolate malts with a slightly roasted aroma. Pretty standard with the exception of ripe, wild grapes in the background. (Edit: as the beer warmed, the aroma really developed and took on additional vinous, port aromas --- changed the score from a 4 to a 4.5).

T- This may be the best imperial stout I have ever tasted. The port barrel aging is out of this world...just adds so much depth and complexity to the base beer. Immediately a roasted malt flavor comes forth. As it sits on the palate, the roasted quality mellows and takes on a chocolate, coffee flavor. This lasts all the way to finish, but midway through it merges with a deep, robust, vinous flavor with an alcoholic twist found in many ports. The finish is rich with bittering chocolates, a little bit of coffee bean, a delicate sweetness from the imparted port wine flavors, and a some alcohol heat. Absolutely perfect in every way. Definitely passes the burp test.

M- Medium to heavy bodied with perfect carbonation for the style. Incredibly smooth and creamy. Really takes on the texture of a fine port.

D- This beer does have some heat, but the infusion of port characteristics prepares you for it. A wonderful sipper that is incredibly complex and innovative. I could sip multiple bottles of this in one sitting, especially on a cold winter night.

Overall, I couldn't ask for a better birthday beer. The way the port characteristics infused with the imperial stout base is absolutely ridiculous. I never thought these two distinct, robust flavors could pair together, but this beer definitely proves me wrong. I can only hope I will be lucky enough to try this again in the future.

EDIT: do yourself a favor and let this warm up to room temperature...not only did the aroma improve, but I could easily have given the taste a 6.0 if I could.

Basically black with a minimal dark brown head that leaves a small ring of lacings.

The smell is complex with surprisingly prominent aromas of vinous fruits (plums, ripe cherries, blackberries). A bit too strong vanilla notes, milk chocolate, charred wood, licorice and rather mild notes of roasted malts.

The first sip is mind-blowing and the flavor development in the mouth is astonishing. Heavy and powerful vinous grape notes up front quickly turns into lovely roasted flavors, burnt coffee and bitter chocolate. Hints of vanilla and oak barrels. Then, the sweetness subsides asa nice peppery bitterness develops towards the finish with notes of vanilla and spot on salty licorice, Well integrated warming alcohol. All in all, very intense.

The mouthfeel is sticky with mild carbonation, thick body and smooth texture.

A really good one. The only thing that bothered me was that it was a bit too sweet.