2017 seemed to be the year that every human I know visited Iceland. Fortunately for me, many of them brought me beer. The ever-generous AM and MM hooked me up with a bottle of Garún Icelandic Stout as a souvenir of their European travels. Thanks gals!
Garún comes from Reykjavik, where it is brewed dark and strong by Borg Brugghús. The beer comes in 330mL bottles. It’s a real doozy at 11.5% alcohol. Black with amber highlights, Garún pours with a thin cover of tan head. It has a rich and slightly bitter aroma with notes of mocha. The flavour is richer still, with big malt presence, a sweet streak with raisin and leather notes, and a bitter java and molasses finish.
This Icelandic offering is a formidable affair. It is strong as hell, with a powerful flavour to match. My girl MM often finds me challenging beers to review, and this one was challenging in the finest sense of the word. I was definitely glad that this bombastic stout came in a standard format bottle, because at 11.5%, a larger bottle would have been staggering. That’s not to say that I would have complained if I had a second bottle—just that it was probably a good thing physiologically that I didn’t. The only real complaint with this brew is its too sweet finish. The bitterness is great, but something to cut the syrupy mouthfeel would go a long way.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
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