The Heredity Of An Empress
Tonkoko is the go-to milk stout in our core range and ever since it was released we’ve been thinking of how to take this award-winning formula to newer, crazier heights. We first made the bigger version, Imperial Tonkoko, back in 2017 and the ‘double everything’ approach worked an absolute dream bringing out an all new classic to the Brew York beer range. This 7.5% Imperial variation hit the world to much acclaim, winning numerous awards and even being voted in the top ten best stouts in the world by Rate Beer (it even peaked at 2nd for a brief moment!). Never resting on our laurels we decided to push on, go bigger, go crazier, it’s what we do at Brew York. So in 2018, for the Tryanuary campaign, we came up with the idea to make this already stunning beer, better. Bigger. We wanted to ‘imperialise the Imperial’… so, Empress Tonkoko was conceived.
On the day of brewing Empress Tonkoko we invited some of our friends from near and far in the beer community to muck in and help put a local stamp on this brew. Local CAMRA members, beer bloggers, friends and family all came along at a frankly daft time in the morning to get brewing to bring our vision to life. It took the already huge malt bill from Imperial Tonkoko and doubled it, it also doubled the amount of coconut, vanilla, cacao and the now much used Tonka. Brewing and adjunct prep took pretty much the entire day and that attention to detail and love put into the brew came out in the final beer. Upon launch it became a fan favourite with its surprisingly easy drinking 10.6% belying the super rich chocolate notes mixed with the fragrant headiness of the Tonka and vanilla. It was a belter to be fair.
Every year now we make this magnificent brew and we always try to release it for the Tryanuary campaign in memory of the very first brew made. A nod to everything we hold dear; friends, family and great beers. This year is no different, apart from the amount we can now produce! With the expansion of the brewery up to our site in Osbaldwick and our ever-increasing ability to place beer into barrels we can now make this stupendous beer into larger batches, into differing styles of barrel and also try out some new tech to make a very first for us, for example a nitro version of this super Imperial, but more on that later…
Empress Tonkoko
We’ve gone full Spinal Tap with Empress Tonkoko. Everything is dialled up to 11 with over triple the original levels of coconut, cacao, tonka and vanilla creating a creamy and decadent assault on the senses. Dangerously easy drinking but at a cockle warming 10.6% you might want to pace your journey into ‘bounty-full’ heaven!
Get your Empress Tonkoko here.
Nitro Empress Tonkoko
Adding another iteration to our annual, much-anticipated, release of Empress Tonkoko with this super creamy and thick nitro milk stout. The nitro element, achieved through our newly upgraded canning line, adds even bigger mouthfeel that increases the aroma and flavours to the max for a sumptuous and velvet finish. To give the full cascading effect the nitrogen can give make sure to ‘hard pour’ the beer by opening and quickly upturning the beer into a glass (we’d recommend a pint glass to allow for space), this will produce the thick creamy head synonymous with that famous Irish stout and allow the velvety mouthfeel expected with a nitro beer.
Get your Nitro Empress Tonkoko here.
BA Barton 1792 Empress Tonkoko
For the first barrel aged Empress we have used Barton 1792 for its spicy and rye-richness to add oak depth to an already deeply decadent beer. The original Empress was laid down in these barrels over 16 months ago to allow the beer to develop its full character.
Barton 1792 Distillery was established in 1879 and continues today as the oldest fully-operating Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. Situated in heart of bourbon country on 196 acres, the Distillery boasts 29 barrel aging warehouses, 22 other buildings including an impressive still house, and the legendary Tom Moore Spring. The distillery is named in honour of the year Kentucky joined the United States.
Get your Barrel Aged Barton 1792 Empress Tonkoko here.
BA Wild Turkey Empress Tonkoko
For the second barrel aged beer we used Wild Turkey for its depth and smoothness to add complexity and balance to an already sublimely luxurious beer. Wild Turkey barrels are a brewers favourite here at Brew York and we put the original Empress Tonkoko into these oak barrels over 16 months ago to impart its flavour.
Wild Turkey Distilling Co. is located near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, and have been distilling since 1891 in their Old Hickory Distillery.
Get your Barrel Aged Wild Turkey Empress Tonkoko here.
A Very Empressive Pack
To celebrate this awesome annual release we have created the Empress Selection Pack where you can get all four beers in one place and, if you order direct from us, the very exclusive Empress glass to drink the beers from. This glass is printed in gold with the classic Empress Tonkoko cow on one side and the Brew York logo on the other, marked to ⅓ and ½ pint, looks absolutely stunning holding these rich obsidian brews.
These packs are super limited (only 500 have been made) and only available through our webshop so be sure to grab one whilst you can! The launch day for these beers, and the packs, is Tuesday 1st February; subscriber members of our Drinking Outside The Box will get early pre-order access to this pack (check your emails guys).
Sold Out, sorry.