Style: Imperial smoked porter
Brewery: To Øl
Origin: Denmark
Size: 37.5cl
Alcohol: 11.1%
Price: 109kr
Systembolaget: 38736
Award won: Silver medal (Porter and Stout class) – Stockholm Beer & Whiskey 2024.
To Øl was founded by Tore Gynther and Tobias Emil Jensen in 2010 as a gypsy brewer, with brewing primarily taking place at De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium. In 2016, To Øl opened the brewpub “BRUS” in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen. In 2020 production started at its own brewery, known as “To Øl City”, in Svinninge, Denmark. This has been produced using Rauch Malt for a depth of smoke, a selection of chillies for subtle smoky flavours, and a mix of both roasted and regular rye malts to spice things up even further. I’ve always been a big fan of To Øl, but if I’m honest this wasn’t my favourite beers I’ve tried from them.
This was pitch black in colour with an extremely sticky body and almost no carbonation. It almost reminded me of syrup in a glass! The aroma was complex and delightful, with tar, bacon, bourbon, dried plums, muscovado sugar and oak all noted. The bourbon oak note came to the forefront in the taste, with bitter chocolate and brown sugar both backing it up. I was expecting a lot more smoke in the taste, but it was pretty much non-existent. The aftertaste was a cocoa powder dryness mixed with the alcoholic warmth from the 11%.
This was a monster of a beer that is definitely in the sipping category, but everything felt a bit lacking. Don’t get me wrong, this was a very nice stout that I enjoyed drinking. I just would have liked more of the smoke and chillies that was promised by the name. I also think the price was way too high, as there are stouts that are just as good as this for maybe 70kr instead.