No prizes for guessing what Dekadents is referring to with this rich, boozy imperial stout that packs a punch on strength as well as flavour.
It’s billed as a rum and raisin stout and it’s made by adding raisins and soaking the vanilla beans in rum; although judging by the rum flavour it would be better to say the beans had had a burial-at-rum-sea rather than being soaked in the stuff.
Estonia’s Pühaste Brewery love to test new flavour combinations for their styles, and this one is a real winner - and at 11.2% ABV it’ll fight back to boot.
The first aromas you get on the cap pop is the heady, boozy smell of rum, which fades into a sticky sweetness that comes from the vanilla beans (RIP).
The pour is thick and smooth, with those sweet and boozy aromas really filling your nose as it fills the glass. In the mouth the first hit you get is the bite of the rum, but there’s a more subtle, fruity sweetness that comes from the raisins.
The aftertaste sees the rum return with the slight afterburn you get from drinking spirits, but coupled with the dense body and the delicate sweet flavours, it’s very enjoyable.
The brown bottle is a great look for stouts, and this one couples it with some renaissance style artwork. In this instance, it’s a lady reclining in a gilded frame, smoking on what looks to be a some kind of cigarette holder.
Truly decadence in visual form.
A stark red colour combined with the aggressive font of Pühaste’s brand look complete what is a bottle that won’t jump out at you on the shelf, but will keep you coming back for more.
You can head to Honest Brew to experience this Dekadent beer for yourself, where members will pay £5.45 and non-members £5.89 - a small price to pay for an Honest Brew Independent Beer Awards Winner.
