Name: Imperial Frappé
Brewer: Vocation Brewery (United Kingdom), Amundsen Brewery (Norway)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Imperial Stout)
ABV: 12%
Review Year: 2021
Imperial Frappé is a Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout that blends premium coffee from Antonia & Panesar with rich dark chocolate and salted caramel. This Imperial Stout is a collaboration between Vocation Brewery (UK) and Amundsen Brewery (Norway).
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Mixed-Style Beer (34B), combining Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer (30A), Alternative Sugar Beer (31B), and Specialty Wood-Aged Beer (33B), 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
Deep brown, low brown head with poor retention. The nose evoked an assertive chocolate fudge aroma with moderate accents of cherries, red wine, caramel, and hazelnut. Full-bodied, low carbonation, with a smooth yet syrupy mouthfeel. Rich and strong flavors of chocolate fudge melded with salted caramel, raisins, and coffee. Medium-low impressions of grapes and cherries surfaced after a while. A low roasty malt backbone was present, complementing the bitterness that was noted at a moderately low level. Sweetness is fairly high, but the salty character seemed to have tempered it. A subtle whisky character was also noted, while the aftertaste lingered with salted caramel and blueberries.
THE VERDICT
Imperial Frappé is a rich, sipping, dessert-inspired Imperial Stout that delivered on its promise. Dark chocolate, salted caramel, coffee, and a hint of alcohol from the conditioning were evident. This beer deviates from a classic Imperial Stout due mainly to the addition of the ingredients mentioned, but the low roasty malt backbone was, to some extent, a nod to the classic style.
In our opinion, Imperial Frappé, despite being a very sweet beer, is more palatable compared to some of the “pastry stouts” in the market. We think the salted caramel flavor has tempered some of the cloying sweetness that impairs drinkability. Do not get us wrong, Imperial Frappé is still a sipping beer that is meant to be shared, but we personally would prefer less sweetness and a relatively more robust and roasty malt backbone. Very good.
Related Reviews:
Amundsen Brewery
Vocation Brewery
Craft Beer From the UK
Craft Beer From Norway
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