A Trio of Imperial Coffee Stouts - 5e Baron

2020 was a big year for Cinquième Baron. Upon opening their doors in May, they hit the ground running and had a resounding response from the community in Aylmer, the rest of Gatineau, across the bridges in Ottawa, and stretching across Québec and Ontario. They’ve swept the style spectrum making top tier lagers, out of this world IPAs, and spectacular stouts. They’ve also had unmatched attention to detail in their branding, great social media, and amazing connection to their community, with collaborations across the region including Brasserie du Bas-Canada, Bistro L’Autre Oeil, Le Clandestine and Brown Bag Coffee Roasters.

In fact, a collaboration with Brown Bag Coffee was the focus of their 2020 year-end special release Dame de Pique, a trio of bottled Imperial Coffee Stouts. It’s also their first bottle release! They very kindly gifted me the lineup to try and I was beyond excited to get into them. I enjoyed all three over my holiday break, and I’m amped to tell you all about them now!

Dame de Pique

Imperial Stout with House Espresso - 10%

The base bottle is a 10% Imperial Stout with Brown Bag’s house espresso blend. It’s got a gorgeous black-as-tar pour with an espresso crema head. The nose has a combo of roasty and sweet aromatics, giving off coffee, dark and milk chocolate, with an undercurrent of dark fruits. The texture is rich and thick, sticky and chewy but somehow still feels frothy instead of heavy. It’s got strong espresso upfront on the palate, with notable bitterness but it’s balanced with a good amount of sweetness. It feels milky and creamy like a milk stout, despite the fact that there’s no lactose in it. Their brewer is really an artist with malts to be able to create a stout this creamy on its own. The coffee flavours and aromatics are just spectacular. To me, this drinks like an amped up Lucide Dream, their 8% Imperial Breakfast Stout, also made with Brown Bag Coffee.

Bourbon Barrel-Aged Dame de Pique

Imperial Stout with Colombian Coffee aged in Bourbon Barrels - 10%

The next two versions were made with a different choice coffee and aged in a choice barrel. First up for me was the bourbon barrel-aged version with Brown Bag Colombian coffee. The nose is softer, with the barrel giving it a woody background and a note of vanilla. If you were to compare it against a lot of bourbon barrel-aged stouts these days, it is remarkably restrained on the palate. It’s no less rich but way less aggressive. It’s thick yet ridiculously smooth, and it packs a pleasant boozy warmth, but nothing at all overwhelming. The coffee is less bitter in this version, and has a slight vegetal tint to it. It drinks a bit dryer and has a note of vanilla on the palate which is only enhancing the velvety smooth feel. It warms you all the way through without burning at all. It’s dangerously good.

Rye Barrel-Aged Dame de Pique

Imperial Stout with Guatemalan Coffee aged in Rye Barrels - 10%

Like the bourbon barrel version, the nose on the rye barrel aged version with Guatemalan coffee is more subdued than that of the non-barrel-aged stout. The coffee is there of course, accented by some rye spiciness. It’s got that same great smooth texture, only this one also comes with a bit of a dusty feel. The chocolate notes come off more on the bitter end of the spectrum here, much more like dark chocolate and significantly less sweet. The rye barrel is contributing a mellow background of spice and a more significant woodsy character. Overall, the rye notes really lighten up the palate. There’s more of a bready aspect to the malt bill as well. I’m personally finding that the flavours the rye barrel imparts make it a bit more harsh as it warms, though it still drinks amazingly light and frothy.

It was really cool to see the difference in character that the two barrels brought to this delightful imperial coffee stout, in addition to how well it stands on its own. It was certainly not a competition but the bourbon barrel version was a clear favourite for me. I’ve not had many bourbon barrel-aged stouts that drink that smooth and easy without sitting heavy in your stomach, while having a delightful warmth without also burning your throat. That said, I highly enjoyed all three and am very much looking forward to seeing what comes out of Cinquième Baron in the coming year.

Article and photography by Nathan Lefebvre.

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Nathan

Nathan is a craft beer enthusiast from Ottawa, ON. He is the Co-Founder of @TeamLactose, he’s passionate about travelling for beer and he loves talking about beer from Ontario, Quebec and beyond.

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