Left Handed Giant x Highland Park Brewery Intrinsic Value

Instrinsic Value is a vanilla and blueberry imperial stout brewed by Bristol brewers Left Handed Giant (LHG) in collaboration with Los Angeles brewers Highland Park Brewery.  

As you would expect from a beer brewed with fruit, there is some sediment in the can so it needs a careful pour.  It pours a very dark brown with a huge, tight deep tan coloured head which is possibly the darkest coloured head I've ever seen.

It has a very distinctive and appealing aroma of chocolate, vanilla, malt and fruity blueberries so this is a beer that smells as good as it looks.  The all-important taste is not disappointing at all; it is delicious.  Smooth milk chocolate, fruity blueberries, sweet malt and vanilla all combine beautifully.  It's actually not as sweet as I expected, it's a bit earthy, woody and dry with a bitter chocolate finish.  A hint of blueberries keeps appearing every now and again.

It's a very full bodied beer that's well carbonated to give a bit of a tingle to an otherwise smooth mouthfeel.  With such a high ABV of 11% there's not even a hint of raw alcohol in the taste but it's quite warming which makes it feel incredibly boozy.  

LHG have produced some cracking beers and Intrinsic Value is no exception.  I would definitely recommend this imperial stout and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Left Handed Giant Brewing, Bristol
11% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Left Handed Giant Brewing

S43 You're Not You When You're Thirsty

I bought two cans of You're Not You When You're Thirsty and drank them 10 months apart.  Whilst both experiences were quite similar, I do feel that the nutty flavour was intensified in the can I'd kept for a while.

This boozy 9% imperial peanut butter fudge stout pours a very dark brown with a small, loose tan head.  The head does shrink quite rapidly but it leaves a decent foam layer.  There doesn't appear to be much sediment in the can but I did leave a little bit behind just in case.

Oh my goodness the nutty aroma is simply mouthwatering.  The aroma of nuts coupled with chocolate and caramel does actually make it smell like a Snickers bar.  The taste is where I found the biggest difference between my two cans.  My first impression (of the fresh can) was that it was lovely but not really nutty enough whereas the second can was perfect and tasted like it said on the tin.

It's a lovely imperial stout with flavours of chocolate, bonfire toffee, treacle, and fudge with a sprinkling or good handful of nuts, depending on how fresh you drink it.  It's well balanced, with chocolate and toffee tipping the scales towards sweet at first but bringing it back to the centre with the added nuttiness.

Well carbonated with sweet sticky bubbles of fudginess, it's so full bodied that it's almost syrupy and it actually clings to the glass leaving a brown pearlescent sheen behind - if only I could have got my tongue right in!

This is an amazing imperial stout from S43 and I've loved everything I have had from them so far.  It's really something special and there is absolutely no hint of alcohol in the taste which is unusual for such a high ABV.  It's so very moreish that it's surprisingly easy to drink and if it's brewed again (under a different name so Mars don't get upset), Ale definitely Be Seeing You.

Brewed by S43 Brewery, Durham
9% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.75/5

Find out more at S43 Brewery

Brew York Imperial Tonkoko

Awarded the 9th Best Stout in the World in the 2018 RateBeer Awards, this imperial milk stout from Brew York is brewed with coconut, tonka beans and Madagascan vanilla.  Weighing in at a stonking 7.5% this is definitely one to savour rather than glug.

Pouring a dark brown, almost black with a thick, tight tan head this imperial stout is a thing of beauty.  The impressive head hardly budges at all, leaving a good layer throughout and thick lacing on the glass.  It's an unfiltered beer so it needs a careful pour; I managed to get most of it out of the can without any sediment but there were some lumpy bits when I rinsed out the can.

The aroma is mouthwatering.  Roasted coconut, sweet malt and chocolate means that it does actually smell like a Bounty bar.  My first sip was an OMG moment as coconut, malt and chocolate swirled around my mouth in a liquid Bounty experience.  It has a bitter finish which is quite metallic and I found it a bit off-putting at first but you do get used to it and I hardly noticed it after a while.

It is so full bodied that I felt like I could have used a spoon to devour it and it feels very smooth in the mouth with low carbonation.

Imperial Tonkoko is an absolutely awesome stout; it is so decadent and rich that it makes you want the experience to last for as long as possible so make sure to take your time with this one.  I actually think the flavour developed into a sweeter richer taste by my taking so long to drink it and the bitter aftertaste seemed to disappear altogether.  

I really don't think you'll be disappointed if you decided to splash out on an Imperial Tonkoko; I don't usually spend over £5 on a can/bottle but I'm so glad I made an exception to spend a few extra pennies (RRP is currently £5.40).  It's my absolute pleasure to say, 'Ale Be Seeing You again!'

Brewed by Brew York, York
7.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.5/5

Find out more at Brew York

S43 Pretzels on my Mind

I saw a lot of posts on social media with beer lovers getting excited about Pretzels on my Mind, an imperial chocolate pretzel stout from Durham brewers S43, so when the fabulous Newcastle beer shop Centrale said they had it in stock I made sure that I grabbed one!  Now I'm not one to spend a lot on a single beer but at 10% ABV it warrants the £5.95 price tag so I decided to treat myself and what a treat it was.  It's such a special beer that I'm posting my review on my birthday - hoppy beerday to me!

Just look at that colour!  It's very dark brown almost black with a light brown tight foamy head that settles into a milk-like appearance.  The aroma is mouthwatering; chocolate, malt, treacle and liquorice waft out of the glass once you get past the initial strong smell of alcohol due to that whopping 10% ABV.

I was both nervous and excited to get my first taste, desperate to know whether it lived up to the hype.  Oh. My. God.  My mouth has died and gone to heaven.  So many dark and delicious flavours burst on my tongue; lashings of chocolate, liquorice and treacle with just a hint of salt.  The chocolate is a perfect blend, both sweet and bitter, and the hint of salt lingers on my lips.  Aside from the initial smell of alcohol when I first poured it, there's no overpowering booziness in the flavour so the high ABV is well covered.  It is exactly what it says on the tin.  

It's super-full bodied and almost syrupy; if you swirl the glass you can see it clinging to the sides.  It's very smooth and thick and I've never had anything so viscous.  Although it took me absolutely ages to drink it, as I wanted the whole experience to last as long as possible, the head retained a thin layer throughout.

Pretzels on my Mind is an absolutely OUTSTANDING imperial stout.  It's so rich and decadent that I savoured every single mouthful.  I score my beers out of 50 and Pretzels on my Mind scored a whopping 49; it only lost a point for the initial smell of alcohol and if I hadn't been so eager to stick my nose in I probably wouldn't have even noticed it.  So I think it's fair to say that Pretzels on my Mind scored top marks and if I ever get the chance, Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by S43 Brewery, Durham
10% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 5/5

Find out more at S43 Brewery