Cacao & Tonka Bean Imperial Stout, Cuveé 2023

For our 27th experiment, we went dark: Our first stout is an imperial one: high alcohol, black color, coffee and chocolates notes. Most imperial stouts get their chocolate notes from the dark roasted malt, but a few do actually include cocoa nibs (roasted, cracked cocoa beans). We also decided to go in this direction, but added a twist: the bitter almond/sour cherry flavour of the controversial tonka bean: an ingredient beloved by European chefs, but banned in America.

All our beers are bottle conditioned, which means that active yeast is included in every bottle. This leads to a rounder, more balanced profile, and allows the beer to mature and mellow over time. Whether or not you choose to pour the yeasty sediment in your glass is up to you, but we certainly like it!

Beer style:
Imperial stouts are intensely-flavored, big, dark ale with a wide range of flavor balances and regional interpretations. Roasty-burnt malt with deep dark or dried fruit flavors, and a warming, bittersweet finish. Typical commercial examples include North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout and English Courage Imperial Russian Stout.

This beer has been designed to improve with ageing, and it expected to peak in quality at 4-8 years.

Alcohol
9.8% ABV

Gravity
23.5° Plato

Bitterness
70 IBU

Colour
107 EBC

Hops
Colombus

Ideal serving temperature 13-16°C

Pairing:
Rich meat dishes (steak, lamb chops etc), and coffee based desserts like Tiramisu.