Rolling out Pitch Black Imperial Stout
Five years in the conceptual stage and six months in the brewing – there’s certainly been no rushing Invercargill Brewery’s imperial stout.
Pitch Black Imperial is the brewery’s award winning stout 4.5% stout on steroids. Since head brewer Steve Nally believes the style is all about malt he decided to see what would happen if he doubled the recipe.
What happened first, was the mash got stuck.
What happened next was the transfer to Central Otago Pinot Noir barrels – where it spent three months on oak after fermentation.
When the barrel was finally tapped last month they found a lightly hopped beer with beautiful, rich flavour and mouthfeel.
This is very much Pitch Black for beer geeks. Its higher alcohol level and concentration of flavour take this imperial offering outside the realms of everyday– it’s been designed to be sipped and savoured – and possibly even cellared further.
Nally has a reputation for experimental brews, continually breaking new ground with his interpretations of traditional European beer styles – leading to the distinctive seasonal range of gold-medal winning beers that began with Smokin’ Bishop, a manuka smoked bock and was followed by Boysenbeery, a fruity wheat beer that contains more fruit than most fruit juices with a citrus saison joining the family in 2011 – this one, however, follows the hallmarks of an old master.
The Beer Facts:
Name: Pitch Black Imperial
Style: Imperial Stout
Color: Black
IBU: 40
Hops: Pacific Gem
Yeast: Strong Ale Yeast
Malt: Gladfield Ale, Gladfield Wheat, flaked barley, pale crystal, cara-malt, chocolate, Black Roasted Barley
Alcohol: 9% by volume
Best Served: Room Temperature (10 degrees)
Availability: 330ml bottles