Style: Imperial stout
Brewery: Pühaste Pruulikoda
Origin: Estonia
Size: 33cl
Alcohol: 12%
Price: 53kr
Systembolaget: 10422
Pühaste Pruulikoda OU is located in the city of Tartu in eastern Estonia. The name Pühaste comes from the village of the same name, where brew master Eero Mander brewed the first beer in his summer house in 2011, with the brewery opening in 2016. This is brewed with lactose, cinnamon and tonka beans. Puhaste is another brewery that has been exporting beer to Sweden for a long time, and have built up a considerable reputation for amazing stouts and barrel aged beers. I knew I just had to have one of their beers in the tasting, and as soon as I saw this beautiful looking can on the shelf, I ordered a load straight away.
This beer poured with a thick, pitch black body and creamy, milk chocolate coloured head. The tonka beans came through strongly in the aroma first, closely followed with the cinnamon in the back end. The expected coffee and chocolate notes were pushed to the side, and I think it would have been nice if they had been allowed to come through a little more. Upon sipping, the cinnamon was slightly overpowering, with bitter chocolate and a hint of licorice also present. The alcohol was noted, with the warming sensation heating the chest for a long time after swallowing. The aftertaste was drying, with again the heavy dose of cinnamon hanging round for a long time.
This was a big imperial stout and while it was nice, it wasn’t the best beer I’ve had from Pühaste. This is absolutely a beer you would want to share with a few people, because drinking a whole can of this on its own would be quite a challenge. Nice in small doses, but I think there are better imperial stouts on the market for the same price. I still love this brewery, though, and I’m eagerly looking forward to their next release.