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the standard for our big, robust imperial stouts last year as incredible first entries into our barrel ageing program, we took stock and really were astounded at where we’ve come in such a short amount of time. From those incredibly humble beginnings as a two-man setup churning through back-breaking fourteen hour brew days, we find ourselves where we are today - working with some of the brightest talents in the brewing industry today, giving them a platform to flourish and excel at their profession. Black Brook has been brewed in honour of those humble beginnings and with pride in our Welsh roots. Welsh Whisky casks, themselves formerly Madeira Sherry and Bourbon casks, impart decadent and rich flavours of plum, fig, dark chocolate, and roasted coffee. A big beer, and one that we look back on with an immense amount of pride for where we are, and where we’re going. November 2017 was where it all started. Five years ago, our owner and founder Sean fired up a rickety, wood-bound brewkit, retrofitted to brew the hop-forward, ultra modern beers he was most passionate about, and with that, a brewery was born. From those extremely humble beginnings brewing once every eleven days out of a converted stable house, through some dizzying highs and terrifying lows, the dream has kept on keeping on, and we find ourselves where we are today - a modern, sophisticated brewery, in a space twelve times the size of our original brew space, capable of brewing up to eight times a week, looking after the livelihoods of fourteen incredibly talented team members, all of whom work for one of the brightest lights in British beer today. With all of this in mind, we wanted to go big on our fifth birthday celebrations - half a decade of Polly's is a big landmark for us, and what better way to celebrate five years than launching our barrel ageing program. Quinquennium is the next step in our brewing journey, and our first foray into working with wood. Wanting to pay homage to our home country, we've used Welsh whisky barrels, themselves ex-sherry barrels, to create an aged Imperial Stout perfect for a big occasion such as this. A thickly decadent pour beholds a deliciously complex beer; with roasted coffee, dark chocolate, and dark fruits on the front, before an introduction of sweet toffee and hazelnuts from the oak and a warming booziness finish things off. Less