Brewery: Northern Monk /Evil Twin
Country: England
Size: 44cl
ABV: 12%
Price: 57kr
Systembolaget: 11849
Even. More. Death. That is the perfect name for a beer in a metal tasting if ever I saw one. The fact that is made by two extremely talented breweries makes it even better. The fact that these two groups have taken the recipes of their flagship imperial stouts and mashed them together to create this is the cherry on the cake. I was looking forward to this for about six months before I finally got the chance to try it. It was worth the wait, I can tell you that.
This was black in colour (shocking I know), with a hazelnut coloured thick foam that held nicely. The body was like tar, it was so thick. The coconut and vanilla came through really strongly in the aroma along with some wood in the background. It also smelt a bit like melted ice chocolate ice cream, yet not as sweet. The toasted coconut came through well upon drinking, along with intense bitter cocoa powder. There was a plethora of other minor tones in the taste such as vanilla, licorice, nuts, almonds and burnt malts. One negative for me was that it was slightly too much carbonation for my liking, but it was more of a minor inconvenience than anything troubling. The creamy texture that coated the mouth, yet was also quite drying on the palate after swallowing. I could definitely feel the 12% too, with the chest warming nicely after each sip.
This was a very nice imperial stout, plain and simple. I think the can could be reduced down easily to a 33cl, as a 44cl was almost too much. The size is fine if you are planning to share though of course. I presume this was a “one and down” collaboration between the breweries for this beer, but I will continue to hope that they produce some more stouts together in the future. Intense yet satisfying.