Surmapatt
Pühaste Brewery

Fabulous robust beer. Thick chocolate, light smoke, chocolate coat wrapping the beer with hops that have been retained. Old school high abv beverage.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color porter with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of roasted malt with some bitter chocolate notes. Taste is also a mix of roasted malt notes with some bitter black chocolate and faint residual sugar notes. Body is full with good carbonation with no apparent alcohol notes showing. Solid imperial porter with good overall balance.

Bottle at Echarle Huevos, served in a balloon glass. Black colour, small brown head with short retention. Small creamy lacing. Aroma of chocolate (a lot), raisins, nuts, licorice, vanilla, coffee, alcohol. Medium to full body, creamy texture, average carbonation. Sweet chocolate finish. Taste follows the aroma. Simply, wonderful.

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a small, creamy head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt and a distinct chocolate aroma, as well as lighter dark fruit, licorice and hints of herbal hops. Taste is an excellent balance of roasted, caramel malt, distinct milk chocolate, lighter dark fruit, with notes of raisin and fig, as well as hints of licorice and herbal hops. Finishes bittersweet, with a light bitterness and medium sweetness, as well as some chocolate and herbal hops lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and medium carbonation.

The label does not mention anything about actual cocoa nibs being added to this, which is incredible, given how chocolately this is. While that chocolate character is quite dominant here, it's balanced very nicely by some roasted and bitter notes, preventing this from becoming too sweet, while it never turns too boozy either, despite a certain, warming alcohol presence in the aftertaste. Overall, this makes for a very enjoyable and well-balanced Imperial Baltic Porter with a great balance of malt and hops, as it should be for the style, as well as sweet and bitter, slightly roasted notes, with a great body and mouthfeel.