Name: Extends Oak Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout – Vietnamese Coffee Ed. (2020)
Brewer: Nerdbrewing (Sweden)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Oatmeal Stout)
ABV: 10.8%
Review Year: 2020
The 2020 vintage of Extends is an “Imperial” Oatmeal Stout brewed by the Swedish commercial gypsy brewery, Nerdbrewing. Clocking in at 10.8% ABV, Extends was concocted using cold-brewed Vietnamese coffee and was matured in ex-bourbon oak casks.
Nerdbrewing was founded in 2015 by Hannes Gruber and Karin Carlsson. A successful homebrewer, Hannes has won quite a few medals at different brewing competitions such as the Swedish homebrewing championships. Currently, Hannes runs solely the outfit and shares a brewery with Lilla Ölfabriken and Chad Beer in Norbergsgatan, Malmö. The name of the brewery and its beers stems from the computer science and software development background of Gruber.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Mixed-Style Beer (34B), combining Imperial Stout (20C), and Specialty Wood-Aged Beer (33B), and Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer (30A) with Oatmeal Stout (16B) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
Extends is black as motor oil with a brown head. The aroma is quite intense in this one. Highly fragrant and soothing Vietnamese cold-brewed coffee meld with the dark malts to reveal a rich espresso-like character. Impressions of chocolate, licorice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and toffee complement the dark roast character, while light zesty citrus and blueberries contrast.
It is full-bodied and thick like an Imperial Stout, yet with a soft mouthfeel. Dark and roasty espresso dominates the flavor profile. Light tartness is also noted, reminiscent of tangerines. There was a consensus on the moderate sugary sweetness and cacao maltiness that followed-through, but some of us noted more cinnamon, nutmeg, and almonds after. Boozy bourbon in the background– a reminder that this was matured in ex-bourbon casks. This beer leaves the palate sticky and dry with distinct orange marmalade, coffee, and chocolate notes.
THE VERDICT
If you blind-tasted this beer, you would most likely think this was an Imperial Stout brewed with espresso and aged further in whisky casks. However, the soft mouthfeel, if noted, might make you think otherwise. As our tasting notes suggest, the 2020 vintage of Extends is one big aromatic and flavorful dark beer that showcases primarily coffee and bourbon characters in a very smooth fashion. We love our whisky, we love our coffee, but most of all, we love our beer. With Nerdbrewing’s Extends, we get to enjoy all of them all at the same time. Great stuff.
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