Port Brewing Santas Little Helper

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Imperial Stout
San Marcos, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Big, gutsy imperial stout. What more can you really say?? This beer has loads of flavour and is quite well balanced despite it’s massive OG.

Ön mörk öl i min smak.............................................. via Beer Buddy for iPhone

This is a default message... As I do not wish, nor have time to comment on each beer I try at this time. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Huge dark brown head. Opaque black body. Earthy chocolatey spicy aroma with licorice and cardamom notes. Dry-sweet spicy burnt licorice taste with chocolate pudding notes. Full-bodied. Sharpish, hot mouthfeel. Dry chocolatey spicy earthy aftertaste with licorice and alcohol notes. Some mint and bread, too, in the background. Mineraly burnt traces, too. It’s quite interesting, but also a bit sharp and domineering without really offering that much for all the alcohol and hop bite. I will admit that it does have considerable complexity. (0.65l bottle, from ... I’m not sure where from.)

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 8/27/2012. Pours dense pitch black color with a 2 finger dense and fluffy tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big dark chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, toast, brown sugar, char, candi sugar, raisin, light coffee, and earthy hop spiciness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark malt notes with moderate hop balance. Taste of big dark chocolate, roasted malt, pine, char, caramel, toast, brown sugar, coffee, and roasted earthiness. Fair amount of roasted pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, char, toast, brown sugar, coffee, pine, and earthy spiciness on the finish for a while. Very nice balance and complexity of roasted flavors, dark malt sweetness, and piney/spicy hops; with no cloying flavors after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and full bodied; with a creamy, slick, and lightly prickly mouthfeel that is very nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very excellent Russian imperial stout. All around nice complexity and balance of roasted/dark malt flavors with moderate piney/spicy hop balance; and very smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.

Bottle. Dark brown pour with a mocha head. Dark roasted malt aromas. Al kinds of bitter roasted malts, caramel, licorice, and baker’s chocolate. Smooth with a good body and very nice mouthfeel. A very nice imperial stout.

Bottle. Black. Nose has licorice, soy sauce, and some chocolate roasty tones. Body is thick, full. Soy sauce, salty licorice. There’s also something I initially though were hops, but might be a spice of some kind.. a bit nutmeggy, vegetal. Intensive flavour, well done and all, but doesn’t really stand out, and I’m pretty sure I’ll forget this one after a week or two.

2011 bottle shared by Austin, thanks. Brown/black pour with small head. Nose is roasted malts, coffee, peppermint. Flavor follows - much less roasty and bitter than I remember, with more chocolate and peppermint now. Very good.

Smak och doft av malt, choklad, vanilj, Kärv med en mörk chokladbitter beska. Lite spretig i sitt framförande.

Bottle. Pours black with nice brown head that didn’t last long. Aroma is malt, wood, roasty, hops, raisins, fruits. Flavor is spicy, malty, hoppy, roasty with some chocolate and wooden tones. Tingling dry and bitter aftertaste.