Borg Brugghus Garún Nr. 19 Icelandic Stout Imperial Stout at 11.5% ABV | 45 IBU (C$4.29 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 16-Dec-2015, reviewed 17-Jan-2017)
Appearance: opaque black with no relief, one finger of rocky beige head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: molasses, liquorice, chocolate, coffee. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, medium bitter and warming finish. (4/5)
Slightly simplistic, on both the nose and the tongue, but pleasant. Molasses leads the way initially, fading slightly to a more liquorice-like note, with hints of chocolate and coffee in the finish. Y’know, I like Iceland, always have. I could see myself living in Iceland (except if I were going to go through the aggravation of uprooting and moving, it wouldn’t be to somewhere with basically the same weather as Newfoundland). That being said, what business does some Icelandic legend have, being on the label of this beer? I always figure if there’s some pretty legend on the label, it’s because they couldn’t think of anything to say about the beer. It might not be as big a warning flag as “Premium” – but, dammit, it’s close. Still and all, I like this. (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
