Shevet Bourbon Barrel-Aged Coffee Imperial Stout

Barrel-Aged Coffee Imperial Stout from the
Shevet Brewstillery: Dark, strong and
full of flavors.

The first barrel-aged beer from the Shevet Brewstillery in Pardes Hanna was a Doublebock from 2021.  I put my bottle away to mature and just had it a few months ago.  You can read here what I had to say about this impressive beer.

Shevet ("Tribe") recently released their second barrel-aged beer, an Imperial Coffee Stout, matured for ten months in ex-bourbon barrels and brewed with added coffee beans.  Only 580 numbered bottles were produced, signed by Shevet CEO Neil Wasserman and Brewmaster Wally Colgan.  This time I got two bottles, one to put away and one to drink now.

I didn't drink alone.  I was joined by IBAV Tasters Oded, Bat Sheva and Laurent.

The beer is a stoutly black, blocking all light from shining through.  The aromas that reached us were actually more chocolate than coffee, along with whiffs of alcohol (not surprising since ABV is 11.5%).  Bat Sheva also smelled tangerines, which led me to think of chocolate covered orange peel!  Oded also found some aromas of hay.    

The taste of strong coffee and 
chocolate-nut brownies is how one of the Tasters 
described the Imperial Coffee Stout
from the Shevet Brewstillery.

The flavors were rich and complex, but once again, bitter chocolate was dominant, followed by coffee, toffee, and nuts.  Oded tasted chocolate brownies, which would seem to combine the chocolate and the nuts.  Most of us thought it was well balanced, with Laurent casting the dissenting vote that the roasty taste of the stout obscures the other flavors.

On the other hand, Laurent said that he would buy and drink the Imperial Coffee Stout again, "because it's such a  pleasure by itself."

The three other Tasters were more hesitant.  Although we enjoyed drinking this excellent beer, we thought it was so strong and so robust that we might wait a while before having it again.  I'm hoping that my second bottle becomes even better as it ages.  When that happens, I'll taste it again and tell you about it. 

[You can order Shevet's Imperial Coffee Stout by clicking on the link here.]