Emperor: Arbor: Jabba The Nutt (England: Imperial Stout: 10% ABV)
Visual: Black and still body. Thin brown head that quickly vanishes.
Nose: Walnuts. Vanilla. Dry roasted peanuts. Coca. Crushed bourbon biscuits.
Body: Smooth and creamy. Vanilla fudge. Slight alcohol warmth. Dry fudge. Riesen chocolate chews. Good thickness. Slightly milky.
Finish: Chocolate cake. Bourbon soaked sponge. Bitter cocoa. Watered down blended whisky. Slight crushed peanuts. Riesen chocolate chews. Walnut.
Conclusion: Ok, one, this is really good. Two, this is far less nutty than I expected. There is some influence there but the barrel aging (At a guess bourbon barrels but it doesn’t say) has a lot more influence here with lots of vanilla and toffee notes. Thus I am torn between the fact that I am definitely enjoying this, and the fact that it doesn’t stand out in a distinct way in the big stouts stakes.
It is remarkably well made, and I am definitely grabbing another can, but it doesn’t have that spark that makes it stand out so much I say “This is a top imperial stout and a must have”. However it is smooth but with enough texture that it feels creamy and so has good weight. Similarly there is some bitter cocoa but generally leaning towards the sweeter end of the imperial stout scale and that mix makes for a noticeably nuanced and rounded beer.
Lots of chocolate cake, that aforementioned cocoa, but you know what I am not getting much of? Nuts. Which is off for a Walnut Whip Imperial Stout. There are kind of nuts here and there but not heavily so – more from the toffee and vanilla notes as mentioned – It is still remarkably solid in all the main elements, maybe more nut influence would have shoved it up there as a special one, but as is it is very good but doesn’t quite stand out.
So a polished, super well crafted base of a beer that just needs some small tweak to stand out.
Background: Emperor are a very well regarded small brewery that is dedicated to making the best Imperial Stouts they can. They are mainly seen in collaborations, but I have managed to get my hands on a few cans of their self made stuff over the years. They don’t always meet their ambitions but they tend to be good enough that I check them out whenever I can. Arbor are a very solid brewery which I have had many a good time with over the years, so was hoping for a good beer here. Also the name made me snigger so much because I am childish. Go figure. This is described as a “Walnut Whip Imperial Stout” made with wheat, oats and lactose on top of the normal ingredients and is aged in 15 oak barrels of an unstated style for a year. No actual nuts listed, again, go figure. I still have no idea how Disney have not sued Emperor’s brewing shitless, but glad they have not. Went with Typo O Negative: October Rust for dark backing music for a dark heavy beer. This was another beer grabbed from Independent Spirit.
