Bereta: BBC Maple Syrup, Toasted Pecans, Cloves Imperial Stout (Collab with Cristi Tiuca) (Romania: Imperial Stout: 10.5% ABV)
Visual: Black. Still. Thin brown dash of a head.
Nose: Cinnamon. Cloves. Cream. Vanilla. Walnuts. Maple syrup.
Body: Smooth chocolate liqueur. Thick texture. Cinnamon. Mulled wine. Orange zest. Walnuts. Nutty coffee.
Finish: Mulled wine. Cinnamon especially. Vanilla to vanilla custard. Chocolate liqueur. Sherry trifle touch.
Conclusion: Ok, so this is one of those beers where if you have read the name you have a pretty good idea of how it will taste. Mainly because it lists all its special ingredients in the name. Innovative naming this does not have. This clarity of flavor is both a blessing and a curse but I really can’t claim this beer does false advertising.
There is the chocolate liqueur like base imperial stout – it is thick of body and yet slick of feel – nothing out of the ordinary but solid and well made. Over that, oddly, the first impact is an unexpected cinnamon character, it has a huge, kind of Crunchie chocolate bar taste as it mixed with the base chocolate flavor in the stout. Ok, I am aware this undercuts my point that all the flavours are in the beer’s name, but stick with me here.
Then after that introduction the more Christmas mulled wine like cloves notes come it, lightly on the nose, moderate in the body they very full mulled wine in the finish. Then, revealing more layers, the nuttiness comes out. To me it felt more walnut to nutty coffee flavours, but I will take their word it is, in fact, toasted pecan. The maple syrup is the least evident element. It is there but in general the sweetness is more chocolate, vanilla or cream like.
Overall, bar the cinnamon character, it does exactly what it says on the tin. The nuttiness works as a lovely savoury backdrop to what could otherwise have been an overly sweet beer. The Christmas spice is well balanced and not overpowering, which can easily be an issue with clove like flavours. The only real flaw I can see is there is not really much to examine outside the unusual ingredients. There is a touch or orange zest, lots of vanilla, but the special ingredients do the heavy lifting – I generally prefer to be able to examine the base beer more.
Still super enjoyable despite those minor quibbles.
Background: Ok, most of the information for this is already in the name really. It is an imperial stout made with the ingredients listed. The specific ingredient list on the can is not in English so I’m not 100% but it looks right at a quick reference. It is also, as listed, a home-brewer collaboration with Cristi Tiuca. Here I will have to admit I know nothing really about Bereta or Cristi Tiuca, so this section isn’t adding much this time. This was picked up from Independent Spirit as I felt it was time for some big Imperial Stout fun and this looked like it may do the job. Also always a sucker for a new brewery. Went with Slipknots new album “The End So Far” when drinking. Not grabbing me as much as their last album that got me back into Slipknot, but it is growing on me.
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