Now while Fyne Ales might be best known for its pale and hoppy beers, we have a confession to make… we LOVE brewing imperial stouts. Since we first brewed Mills & Hills in 2015 with our friends from Brouwerij De Molen, it’s been a regular fixture on the brewing calendar and one of favourite brews to experiment with. We’ve done a Black Forest version, cold-infused it with artisan coffee, aged it in grappa and bourbon barrels to great success – and every version has been brilliant. It’s a beast of a beer, whether it be as a straight-up classic imperial stout, or given a twist.

Today, it returns to the online shop, and with it – two new editions aged in moscatel and cognac barrels. Oh boy.

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Moscatel Barrel-Aged Mills & Hills – 11.9%

First up, a beautiful meeting of the beer and wine worlds as Mills & Hills took residency in Portguese Moscate fortified dessert wine barrels for ten months. Originating from the Peninsula of Setubal, these barrels were first used to age a blend of sweet dessert wine and grape brandy for a minimum of 18 months, though some batches may have been finished in the oak for up to five years.

The fortified wine is known for its sweet marmalade and deep red-grape flavours, both of which have made an impression on the base Mills & Hills – this new edition has top notes of fig and raisin layered over a creamy-rich body that eases into a long, smooth finish with a warming oak character.

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Cognac Barrel-Aged Mills & Hills – 11.3%

Our second new edition of Mills & Hills also takes influence from the continent, having spent ten months in cognac barrels from south-west France. Like whisky, the base grape spirit must spend a minimum amount of time in oak to meet the required standard to take the name ‘cognac’ – with two years the shortest residency permitted, but most aging for significantly longer before blending.

The cognac flavour profile is most notable in the finish of this version of Mills & Hills – its trademark dried red-fruit flavour notes fill the initial taste before mellowing into a warming spirituous finish with a flash of woody oak.

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Both barrels were chosen to complement the base flavour-profile of our award-winning impy and we’re incredibly pleased with the results of both versions – alongside the OG classic version, it’s a brilliant tasting trio for sharing and comparing, so we’ve put together a mixed case and a limited gift pack with all three versions on the online shop!

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