“Imperial stout aged for 9 months in freshly drained Barossa shiraz wine barrels. Full flavoured and brewed with a medium body to compliment the wine. The robust spicy shiraz flavours marry perfectly with the chocolate notes from the stout, while the oak aging adds another layer of complexity.”
Served in a beer tulip. We’re met with an ominous black appearance that knocks up a super fizzy finger of tan foam that recedes as quickly as it forms.
The nose is delivering a distinct Belgian candi sweetness that imparts fruity and ever so slightly tart cherry, artificial strawberry and blood plums. The red wine tannin plays a big role in providing this dry, spicy accent as the rich dark malts seal up the bottom end with this hedonistic chocolate, espresso and molasses sweetness. Pure indulgence!
Quite oily in texture although it’s quite fizzy and vibrant in Co2. Definitely getting some of that silky wine tannin too. Extremely impressive how they’ve buried the hefty 10.2% ABV, it’s almost undetectable.
We get a complex fusion of fruity, oaky and estery flavours upfront. Hints of glazed cherries are emphasized by a subtle alcohol warmth that presses forward in to a nice and roasty finish which manages hints of chocolate, coffee, blackberry and a soft spicy vanilla note in the tail.
We’ve been studiously making our way through Bacchus’s stellar range lately and one of the best traits is their consistency. No matter what style or technique is required the result is almost always spot on. Again here, it’s just perfectly executed with this brilliant balance between rich malts and sweet fruits that’s garnished with a lively texture in the mouth. Another cracker from Bacchus.