Name: Indexoutofbounds Oak Aged Imperial Vanilla Stout (2019)
Brewer: Nerdbrewing (Sweden)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Imperial Stout)
ABV: 11%
Review Year: 2020
Indexoutofbounds (2019) is an “Oak-aged Imperial Vanilla Stout” brewed by Hannes Gruber of Nerdbrewing from Sweden.
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 Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer (30A) and Wood-Aged Beer (33A), with Imperial Stout (20C) 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
Opaque deep brown almost black; thin brown head. The nose opened up with prominent decadent chocolates and indistinct dark fruits with a hint of vanilla. Full-bodied, low carbonation, with a chewy mouthfeel. The afterfeel was slightly sticky. Rich malty chocolate was the most prominent flavor followed by complementing coffee and oak with a hint of dark fruit, which was more evident as the beer settled. Bitterness was moderate while sweetness was a notch below medium. A mix of cacao maltiness, dark roast coffee, oak, and a subtle peppery character were noted as the aftertaste.
THE VERDICT
Opened a year after it was bottled, Indexoutofbounds Oak Aged Imperial Vanilla Stout (2019) is a rich and decadent Imperial Stout that showcased a harmonious blend of dark malts, oak, and chocolate undertones. Vanilla was not as prominent as expected and may have faded with age. The sweetness was sufficient to complement and not overpower the dark and malty backbone of this beer. Indexoutofbounds, despite being aged in wood, was free from astringency. However, the subtle peppery aftertaste, which could be from the wood and/or vanilla, among others, could still be tempered for a smoother beer. Excellent.
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