Port Brewing Santas Little Helper

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

Bottle. 25.4 oz. (2009) Pours opaque black, with a gorgeous, yet fleeting amber-beige head. Aroma of spicy dates, sour grape, chipoltle pepper, chocolate, and hints of coffee, roasted malt, and scotch. Full bodied, yet not overpowering. The mouthfeel is smooth, soft, spiky, and inviting. Finish is incredibly well balanced; slow, strong, and warm. I expected good things from this brew and it surpassed them. This is a truly excellent Imperial stout. I will be grabbing a few of these to share with my family over the holidays.

In the bomber bottle from Whole Foods Oak Park IL. Pours black. As black as YOUR soul. Thick creamy sepia-colored head. Nice coffee aroma. Perhaps I’m jaded, but this is again exactly as billed: an IMPY stout. Does that make it worthy of the hallowed moniker of Christmas beer? Don’t get me wrong, I love the Imperial stout, but I’ve grown accustomed to having year-round access to them. Come x-mas time, I need craziness. I need something that either resembles grandma’s spice cabinet or grandma’s pine-scented floor cleaner. This neuveau adherence to style at holiday season has me worried. Am I the only one? Doesn’t any brewer have BALLS anymore?!?

Remarks Thin lacy espresso head.Opaque dark obsidian blck color.Rich burnt espresso hop front.Mildly dry sweet rich crusty espresso mild chocolate deeply roasted bitter malt body.Disguised big hops?Dry spicy bitter chocolate mild EtOH hop thick sediment end.

VINTAGE 2008 Pours such a dark brown that it appears to be black. Very nice. One-finger coffee colored head of foam. Minimal retention and not much lacing, at all. Nice big roasted malt nose with big woodiness, also. Lots of dark fruit notes, cherries and figs, mostly. Scents of coffee mingle with chocolate and caramel. Very slight booziness. Very nice roasted malt flavor with a slight caramel sweetness. Big chocolate notes with a fair amount of roasted coffee flavor. Notes of fig, with hints of raisin and cherries. Very mild spice bite. Traces of wood smoke and molasses. Nice and complex. Very tasty. Nice medium bodied brew. Not quite oily, but getting close. A little heftier body would greatly enhance this one. For me personally, this is a very drinkable brew. Then again, I love Imperial Stouts, though. This one is a good solid example of the style, flavor-wise.

Pitch black color with no head. Aroma is of malts, chocolate, coffee, and licorice. Flavor is of malts, chocolate, and coffee. Has a nice and sweet aftertaste. This is one tasty stout!

22 oz bottle, 2008 edition. Pours black wih ruby edges with a thin brown head that recedes leaving only the slightest of brown lace. Heavy chocolate aroma with traces of bourbon. Thick,chewy palate. Flavor begins as bitter bakers chocolate, then evolves into a richer mix of sweet chocolate, brown sugar and caramel, still with a bourbon background. A few hops in the finish. Excellent Imperial stout.

From a bottle poured black with almost no head. Nice sweet malty flavor with a lingering finsih.

Bomber. Pours dark and oily with full tan head, and good carbonation working up the sides of the glass. Aroma is cocoa and bourbon. Flavor is very interesting. Starts out like bitter baker’s chocolate, then goes full on burning, astringent alcohol, but only for the barest of moments before becoming like coffee and kahlua. Nicely balanced at the end and overall a good representation of the style. Not overly complex, and perhaps still a bit immature, but a nice offering indeed.