Archive for the category “Imperial Porter”

29 May 2014

Talon Smoked Double Porter – Mendocino Brewing Company

talon_bttl

10% ABV
Purchased at Curtis Park Market ($6.99/22 oz. bottle) and poured into pint glasses.

This “smoked double porter” from Mendocino Brewing Company pours a black tea-like dark brown with a slight sandalwood head, while the nose mixes burnt kindling, savory smoked bacon, and just a little bit of Band-Aid.  That slightly medicinal aroma is thankfully absent on the palette, and instead the first swallow offers waves of maple, candied nuts, and some chocolate flavors, with a second charge dominated by bitter wood smoke.   The smoked bacon component is also present, but Talon mostly contrasts that maple and praline sweetness against birch and hickory woodiness, and the result should please fans of this style.

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

 

Talon

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

Posted in Beer Review, Double Porter, Imperial Porter, Porter, Smoked Beer and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
27 Apr 2012

Top Sail Imperial Porter (Full Sail Brewing)

9.5% ABV
Purchased at The Davis Beer Shoppe ($11.99/22 oz. bottle) and poured into lowball glasses.

His Notes:

Full Sail’s bourbon barrel-aged imperial porter pours an impenetrable black with an insignificant brown head.  The powerful nose whacks you with dried fruit (especially figs, raisins, and berries), old wood, vanilla, and hard alcohol.  Whiskey and dried dark fruits are also predominant on the palette, with only the bitterness of baker’s chocolate to remind you of this brew’s imperial porter roots.  Top Sail was aged in Kentucky bourbon casks for a full year, and the resultant beer is completely dominated by whiskey and oak barrel flavors.  It could use some more richness to balance out the alcohol fire, but Top Sail is still a solid slow sipper.

  3.5 Toasts

Her Notes:

   3 Toasts


Posted in Barrel-Aged, Beer Review, Imperial Porter and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
11 Jan 2012

Gonzo Imperial Porter (Flying Dog)

9.2% ABV, 85 IBU
Purchased at A&P and poured into globe glasses.

His Notes:

This beer was brewed as a tribute to Hunter S. Thompson, although every story I’ve ever heard involving Thompson and beer had him consuming mass quantities of cheap yellow crap, not contemplatively sipping Imperial Porters. Regardless, Gonzo, which pours dark black with a fluffy, coffee foam head, is pure brilliance.  Rich mocha is also present in the nose, which offers a mixture of dark chocolate and fresh coffee beans, as well as fain dark fruits. Chocolate and coffee are the most prevalent flavors, but there is nothing cloying or cute about this beer.  A bitter but not overwhelming kick awaits you on the back end, and there are even mild berry flavors that recall African coffee and expensive chocolates.  The flavors exist in perfect harmony – strong but not bullying, chocolate-y but not too sweet, bitter but never unpleasant.

   5 Toasts

Her Notes:

 

   5 Toasts

Posted in Beer Review, Imperial Porter and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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