Another beer I’ve had kicking about for a while now from Tesco. This is Buxton Brewery and their Imperial Stout ‘Storm Shadow’. This has been in Tesco stores for a while now at £3.50 a can but with a new batch of craft beer arriving it’s on the way out. Thankfully, if you end up liking the sound of this you can pick it up for a cracking discount price of £2.50! Great for an 8.5% ABV beer.

Visually the beer pours jet black in the glass with a very thin tan head. As expected with such a high alcohol beer the head dissipates quickly. An interesting nose to the beer with aromas of ice coffee from the roasted malts but also mixed with an almost port like smell. Despite the coffee on the nose there isn’t much in the flavour. It is a very intense beer with a very boozy taste but a slight sweetness mixed in as well. A definite sipper of a beer but really pleasant drinking and the added oats certainly give it an additional creaminess that is most welcome.

A quick note on the can art: A gorgeous can for this one. A brooding thunderstorm over craggy hills matches the intensity of the beer in the can well in my opinion.

A beer not for the faint of heart. It’s an example of a classic imperial stout done well in my mind. It’s not gone for all the added chocolate and other flavours that grace our stouts these days but it’s done it very right. It’s not masking the alcohol at all so if you’re not a fan of a boozy beer this will likely not be for you. Too strong for me to have regularly but, importantly, a cracking beer experience as we head into the colder months.

Score: 8/10

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Additional Information:

• Hops: Not Available
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: Not Available
• ABV: 8.5%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!
• Purchase Price: £3.50
• Purchase Location: Tesco