Port Brewing Santas Little Helper

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

ON-TAP (Tops/Feb.6th--7:46--9:02p .... Brunette Greek-faced early-20s public house waitress served this Imperial Stout into a finely-lamented chalice, very thick and just sizable enough to be considered an anomalous plush of ruby-glassware. its looks... molasses first and foremost; smallish cutesy froth subsiding to the barrier-lip. No head to be seen. Its smells... hmmmm... instinctively, ethanol, maybe 15%... imperiously hard-bitten. A very hard-hitting bourbon... tons of dark/caramelized sugars. Its taste(s)...first noticeable impression was that it was very thick and swarmed with strong bitterness throughout my palate flabby; Cascade hops? Yeah, molasses was the exact primary flavor; rummy, sorta. The KICK seeps repellingly unto cartographic of mine own embodiment--I walked it off, with plenty of butter-filled pretzels with the pint of water, but still, this is one hard-hitting stout, one that I nearly broke me entirely.

660ml Bottle (2008 Vintage) - Black with a tan head. Rich, vinous and chocolatey aroma with hints of raisins. Rich taste with plain chocolate, roasted malt, raisins, coffee and some slightly bitter elements. Luxurious, rich and full of body.

2008 bottle from BelgianBeerGal...thanks Amy! - Pours black with a bubbly tan head. Lots of sweetness on the nose, with a hint of booze, cinammon - kind of understated for an impy, and not really roasty. Perhaps this was the aging, but it just smelled sweet and smooth. The taste was about the same, with raisins and sweet toffee mixing with a touch of bourbon and dark roast all over the finish (it finally shows itself!). Smooth and warming in the stomach...yum. Had this side-by-side with the barrel aged version, and this one blew it away.

Bomber. Pours opaque black with a small brown head. Aroma is of sweet chocolate, coffee, brown sugar. Flavor is mainly of espresso oils, coffe resins, good bitter hop counterpoint, roasted malts all the way. Not too complex, but tasty. Gooey, sticky mouthfeel, medium carbonation. A delicious selection. Overall, very good to excellent.

pitch black with large tan head, roasty nose, high carbonation for style. some high crystal and candy sugar notes come through, hops are discernible. a large of flavors well melded, very nice

Bottle at Retorp’s LA tasting. Poured a glass staining black with a thin, creamy, brown head. Nose is chocolate, bourbon, barrel, and dark fruit. Medium bodied and slightly oily. Flavor is roasted with lots of fudgey bourbon notes, wood and vanilla are also present. Finish is boozy. I wasn’t a big fan of this one.

Tried it on tap at City beer in SF a couple weeks ago - wow! I tasted the 2009 edition, but they also had some ’08 in bottles. Intense flavor, deep, black color, dry mouth feel- what more do you want?

A black colored beer, with a thick foamy dark beige head. The aroma of sweet roasted malts with lot of chocolate and fruits. The taste of chocolate, sweet, moving to bitter. There are roasted malts with fruits and spices. The aftertaste is bitter with some alcohol.