Dageraad ♥ Steel & Oak Imperial Stout

Overview

Dageraad ♥ Steel & Oak Imperial Stout Review

For years, Burnaby’s Dageraad Brewing Co. and New Westminster’s Steel & Oak Brewing have collaborated on a series of beers called The Suburbs. There’s been solid evidence of a mutual love affair between the two since shortly after they both debuted in 2014.

Apparently, COVID has only made their hearts grow fonder. In the absence of direct contact, they’ve both brewed quasi-collaborations in the form of Imperial Stouts. S&O has released a beer entitled “Steel & Oak Loves Dageraad, with cacao and toasted almonds. According to the can, Dageraad’s version (Dageraad ♥ Steel & Oak) contains barley, oats, rye, dextrose, cacao, miso, hops, and yeast. Let’s tuck in.

This rich beer pours with a solid, rocky tan head that leaves a bit of lace on your glass.

On the nose, there is a deep, intoxicating cacao nib aroma. It’s so pleasurable that you can smell this beer for an hour before you even take a sip.

OK, maybe we’re not going to wait an hour to drink it. On the palate, the experience is thankfully the same: rich, chocolatey and smooth. There’s a touch of dark fruit (black currant) and a definite roastiness in this malt-forward stout.

Unlike a traditional Russian Imperial Stout, there’s the use of miso (Japanese-style fermented soybean paste) for a more umami palate experience.

There are RISs that deliver a burn and oiliness on that palate that this doesn’t quite match. However, it’s not billed as a Russian Imperial Stout, and it’s not necessarily trying for that. It’s rich and fulfilling.

For those that (for some reason) don’t enjoy high gravity beers, there’s a saving grace: so much delicious chocolate flavour that you won’t care about the strong, peppery alcoholic note.

Watch out…this Imperial has just as much bite as bark.

  • (4.35)
    Appearance
  • (4.6)
    Aroma
  • (4.35)
    Palate
  • (4.4)
    Flavour
  • (4.55)
    Overall Enjoyment
4.5

About This Beverage

  • Colour: Near black
  • Head Size & Retention: Above average head/retention
  • Carbonation: Well Carbonated
  • Clarity: Clear
  • Balance: Very Malty
  • Drinkability: Should go down slower due to alcohol, but hard to hold back
  • Enjoyment: I would definitely seek this beer out again
  • Malt Characteristics: Rich/Sweet, Dark Fruit (raisins, prunes, figs, black currants), Toasty/Roasty, Chocolate
  • Other Flavours/Aroma: Cacao, Miso/Umami
  • Palate: Creamy, Soft or Silky, Peppery/Highly Alcoholic

Summary

For those that (for some reason) don’t enjoy high gravity beers, there’s a saving grace: so much delicious chocolate flavour that you won’t care about the strong, peppery alcoholic note.

Pros

For those that live for rich, high-gravity malty ales, this is close to the holy grail. It’s a winner.

Cons

For those who find high-alcohol brews hard to swallow, this might be on the challenging side.

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