Tag Archives: istout

8 Wired iStout Double Espresso

Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 13.5%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: 15th Birthday. Imperial Stout brewed with coffee

Brewer Description: (from can) Søren has always wanted to brew an espresso imperial stout, so for 8 Wired’s 15th birthday, he finally got around to making one! We’ve taken the base recipe for the iconic iStout, and cranked the ABV right up. Using an intense, rich, espresso blend from our friends at Rush, this is truly one mighty coffee experience!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33

Intro: A 330ml can, with a best before date of July 2027, poured into a Bokke tasting glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour, with a half finger brown head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, freshly ground coffee bean, espresso, chocolate.
Taste: Roasty, espresso, coffee, dark chocolate, with a nice bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Rich, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper with old school coffee Imperial Stout aroma and flavours. Nice strong roast, coffee, and a lasting bitterness that compliments and rounds it all off.

8 Wired iStout Unchained Imperial Stout

Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 3 year wine barrel aged. 2016 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our highly rated imperial stout, iStout, aged for 3 years in Pinot Noir barrels with added brettanomyces. Roasty and boozy as the original but also funky, dry, wild and unchained.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2016 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a big two finger tanned head that had pretty good retention and eventually settled to a thin layer, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, cocoa, leather, brett, oak, lightly vinous and a touch herbal.
Taste: What you’d expect from the aroma, light roast, cocoa, funky, brett, tart, vinous, and oak.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice aroma and flavours although the Imperial Stout parts are probably overpowered by the brett and vinous aspects. This is really drinkable but I’m unsure I’d still call this an Imperial Stout.