Omnipollo / Brewdog I Wanna Be Your Dog Imperial Stout at 12% ABV (C$12.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, best before 20-Nov-2019, acquired 7-Sep-2018, reviewed 27-Sep-2018)
Appearance: opaque black with no relief, one finger of dense mocha head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: milk chocolate, peanut butter, coconut, hint of wood. (10/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (9/10) Full slick body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky building and lingering bitter warming finish. (4/5)
I figured I might as well keep the Omnipollo canine collaboration theme going here – and certainly it’s cold enough here these days to make me (grudgingly!) consider this a viable style to start drinking. My surliness abated dramatically with the first sniff, to the point where I even found myself willing to consider forgiving the frankly horrific seasonal implications of the colour scheme. (Yes, I know it’s less than three months to xmas, hush.) I assume this is built on the Noa Pecan Mud Cake (or is it “Aon?” what’s the deal there? pretty sure it was “Noa” when I had it but now all the references say “Aon” and I can’t find any backstory) and it’s certainly just as good, but not a whole bunch different far as I can tell. Certainly I’m not getting a lot of barrel, except as a hint of coconut – which is all to the good – but no real bourbon except maybe very faintly in the finish. I’m not entirely sure that, plus the extra point of booziness, justifies the 20% higher price point, nor am I clear what if anything Brewdog brings to the table, but it’s a great option if you can find it. (18/20)
9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
