Brewery: Põhjala x To Øl
Country: Estonia
ABV: 14%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Cognac barrel aged spiced Imperial Stout. 70 IBUs. Malts – Pilsner, Oats, Cara 150, Melanoid, Chocolate, Cara Amber, Special B, Chocolate Rye and Demerara Sugar. Hops – Magnum and Goldings. Other – cinnamon, aniseed and orange zest.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Põhjala and To Øl created this beer together to honour the old Danish heritage of Tallinn. Deep complex oatmeal stout aged for months on cognac barrels. Spiced with all the best from the liquors of Estonia.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.72
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 330ml waxed bottle with a best before date of 4th November 2018, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a pitch black colour with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly but left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Caramel, toffee, chocolate, vanilla, cognac, wood with a hint of dark fruit, plum and cherries.
Taste: Sweet. Its so sweet, but so good. Brown sugar, cherry, vanilla, oak and cognac with hints of bittersweet chocolate and espresso coffee.
Mouthfeel: Very smooth, mid to full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: I usually do not enjoy sweet beers, but there are a few exceptions and this is definitely one of them. It starts very sweet, but the combination of oakiness and cognac helps to balance out this sweetness and keep it in check. It’s also surprisingly not full bodied. It’s almost there, but lacks just that little bit that you usually expect from a 14% ABV Imperial Stout. But, despite all that, in my opinion, this is right up there with the best Imperial Stouts, and is easily a must buy beer for me.