Dark, strong, decadent Imperial stout, brewed with Peanut butter and aged for 6 months in Four Roses bourbon barrels from one of our favorite barrel brokers. It`s filled with chocolate, coffee, caramel and… peanut butter aromas intensified by ageing in Four Roses Bourbon barrels that have brought the aromas of vanilla, coconut, spices, and of course – American whiskey. Exceptionally aromatic and savoury.

WRCLW Imperial Stout Peanut Butter Bourbon B. A. 2020 NITRO Imperial Stout B.A. is our birthday tradition – this year we used the addition of peanut butter and Four Roses Bourbon barrels, which gave the aromas of vanilla, coconut, spices and of course – American whiskey! Nitrogen saturation smoothed out its texture and perfectly blended with malty aromas, creating incredibly tasty, dessert effect!

Style

One of the strongest styles in the world – Imperial Stout (Russian Imperial Stout). The origins of this historic beer date back to the turn of the 18th century and beginning of the 19 th century when London-based breweries started brewing this style. Imperial Stout was created for exactly the same reasons as today’s new wave styles: to meet the needs of consumers looking for new quality beers, specifically full-flavoured and full-bodied ones. With time, the style gained so much recognition all over Europe that it started to be exported to Sankt Petersburg. It wasn’t, however, until the 20th century that the beer gained its name of the Russian Imperial Stout. As the “Imperial” part of its name suggests, this is one of the strongest beers high in extract. Although it is brewed in many versions – this time we brewed more sweet and incredibly full-bodied arrangement of this style. More decadent than ever! 

Malts/extract:

It’s quite a challenge to produce such high extract. Taking into consideration thickness of the wort the efficiency of the production process slows down. Both the abilities of brewers and capacities of the equipment are tested. We used up to 7 different malts searching for the sweetest side of Imperial Stout and left some roasted grain out this time with more focus on the traditional English and German caramel malts.  

Hops:

To produce adequate bitterness, we have used Chinook variety. Since Imperial Stout is slightly more malty, there is less hopping involved – we add it only for the balance purposes.

Additives:

There is not a thing such as too much Peanut butter. You can use it in your morning oats, you after work out banana/peanut butter toast, or like this time – to brew a huge and tasty Imperial stout. 

Ageing in Bourbon barrels:

Beer ageing is a fascinating process, during which the beer oxidizes: the taste and aroma harmonize, and the notes of port, sherry and dried fruit (plums, raisins, cherries) apear. Alcohol notes gets slightly milder, and from the wood there are washed out:

– tannins – defined as the taste of the wood that introduces a unique astringency to balance the beer’s sweetness

– caramels and Maillard reaction compounds that are produced while smoking barrels (they produce the characteristic colour of Bourbon)

– Lignins finally transform into vanilins compounds and gives the beer its characteristic vanilla flavours; American oak produces a group of phenols which account for spicy aromas: cloves, cinnamon, coconut and smoky tones.

When working with barrels we develop some preference for certain dealers. Not every barrel is build, treated and transporter equally, and most important, not every barrel is always fresh. 

This barrels made it from the destilery to the brewery in less than 1 month, keeping all the bourbon aromatics we wanted. We are strong believers in short contact times with such a good quality barrels, so we have decided to go for +6 months and get all of the Vanilla and Coconut notes goodness. 

Nitrogen-infused beers:

Nitrogen’s ability to dissolve in liquids is several times lower than that of carbon dioxide.

What we have used at Browar Stu Mostów is advanced technological solutions that allow us to dissolve as much nitrogen as possible in beer. Right after opening and pouring the beer into a glass, nitrogen escapes as quickly as possible creating a cascade effect of a huge amount of tiny bubbles. After a while, nitrogen moves up whisking protein dissolved in beer. As a result of this process creamy and long-lasting beer head of tiny bubbles is produced, which is not available in carbonated beers.

Nitrogen makes strong beers lighter and smoother. This style itself is unique for its thickness. For this reason, the cascade effect takes place as if in a slow motion. High thickness and stickiness make the bubbles to go up slowly. It is recommended to wait a bit longer before pouring the beer into a glass to give the nitrogen bubbles more time to act. It’s not a waste of time. The process itself is very impressive!

• Style: Imperial Stout with Peanut butter Bourbon BA
• Parameters
  • Extract: 30,0%
  • Alcohol: 11,7% obj.
  • IBU: 60
• Ingredients:
  • Malts: Munich, Pilsen, Chocolate malt and a mix of English and German caramel malts
  • Hops:
    • Chinook
  • Yeasts: House Ale yeast
• Appearance: dark brown, almost black with ruby ​​flashes and beige, very fine bubble foam, built up by a cascading effect 
• Aromas: malty, chocolate, maple Syrup, peanuts, vanilla, coconut, oak
• Mouthfeel:
  • thick, velvety smooth
  • sweet, pastry alike  
  • sweet, long lasting and a bit spicy 
• Serving temperature: 12-17⁰C
• Glass: Tulip, Sniffter
• Foodpairing:
  • Very intense and strong beer – best to be served with desserts like Belgian bitter chocolate pralines, panna cotta, new-york cheesecake