Whisky & Bourbon Barrel, Espresso & Banana Imperial Stout 13.0%abv
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of judging the annual NZ Stout Challenge in Christchurch (jointly at The Moon Under Water and Punky Brewster). As always, the stouts on offer are big and flavoured, so, in honour of stouts-about-to-get weird, here’s something of a warmup with Garage Project Beast With Two Backs, a whisky and bourbon barrel-aged espresso and banana imperial stout (13%).
A blend of two different whisky barrel aged stouts, Tadesse Meskela beans from Peoples Coffee, and dried Vietnamese bananas. Suffice to say, there’s a bit going on…
The aroma is suffused with caramel, coconut, and sticky date pudding, while the palate oozes with incredibly rich malt, oaky vanilla and banana lolly cake. Considering the wild 13% ABV and downright chewy viscosity, this stout presents a shockingly easy drinkability. The coffee and gently drying barrel tannin lend just enough agility and buoyancy to the flavour and finish to get this hulk of a beer not just off the ground, but soaring over the palate. For a great many years, Mutiny On the Bounty (also from GP) has been my measure for the finest desert stout in NZ, and this may just have surpassed it. Unmissable.
