Night Spirit Imperial Stout

$39.00 – $46.00

Night Spirit Imperial Stout is a deep dark intense imperial stout that has been aged over 10 months in rare American oak bourbon barrels that previously held New Zealand Whiskey Co. single malt for more than 20 years.

There was a very limited number of New Zealand Whiskey Co. barrels and Kereru can soak the whiskey out of a barrel into a beer only once. (After that first use, the barrel may offer oak flavour, but the whiskey flavour is gone.) Each bottle is hand numbered.

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About This Beer

Night Spirit Imperial Stout is a luscious black ale that has been aged more for than 10 months in whisky casks that held a very special NZ single malt whisky.

The resulting beer is deep, dark, and intense in flavour with notes of oak, roasted barley, black malts, vanilla, and whisky. Some editions may have a hint of peat smoke.

  • 2018, firm oak tannins, hints of leather and tart cherries, whisky contributes light hints of peat, a bit earthy.
  • 2019, well integrated oak and whisky character, berry fruits, exceptional and well presented with hints of milk chocolate.
  • 2020, a bit younger, savoury with light tannins in the finish, with dark chocolate and dried fruits on the palate.

Night Spirit will cellar gracefully for many years, but is fabulous right now. Do not serve cold! Treat the beer like you would a port or red wine and serve in an elegant glass. Only 4350 bottles were produced for the 2018 edition (2018 BGNZ gold medal) and only 3762 bottles were produced for the 2019 edition (2020 New World gold medal) and each bottle is hand-numbered. The 2017 release is sold out. The giant green moth on the label is the New Zealand Puriri Moth, otherwise known as the ‘Night Spirit’.

Want to try more than one variety? Choose 3 different barrel-aged beers!

Beer Details

Barrel-Aged
Black glint
12% ABV
60 IBU

Ingredients: Water, NZ Barley, NZ Hops, Yeast.

Brewers Notes

Kereru obtained 140 unique oak barrels from the NZ Whisky Collection, a company founded around the stock of the former Wilson's Distillery in NZ. The stock was lost for many years and was then found and the whisky had aged to perfection. Some of the casks were 60 year-old American oak ex-bourbon barrels which contributed vanilla, oak and hints of maple to the whisky. Some of casks were French and American oak ex-red wine barrels from Mills Reef which contributed red wine and port notes to the whisky. The casks arrived in small lots as they were decanted of whisky, and were wet and sloshing with a bit of magical spirits still inside. Each cask can impart its whisky character into a beer only once. After that the cask can be used again, but will only offer oak barrel character. This makes all our whisky barrel-aged beers unique and never to be repeated. Each bottle is hand numbered.

Food Matching

Cheese: blue, aged gouda, sharp aged cheddar

Mains: red meats: roast beef, steak, burgers, chili

Dessert: chocolate, cheesecake, pavlova, vanilla or chocolate ice cream