Ringneck Im-perle-ial Porter

My first thought: a homebrew version of Stone’s Smoked Porter. A robust, fire-roasted-malt and more-than-expected bittering hops porter...just with a bit of roughness around the edges. I liked it...but was hoping for more. (In all fairness, my expectations were probably unreasonably high--becuase I’ve had some darn good Ringneck brews...and because I have this notion that when I find the perfect Imperial Porter I will have finally achieved beer nirvana.)

22 oz bottle. Pours dark walnut to black with minimal head. The aroma is mostly burnt and roasted malt with just a bit of a metallic hint. The flavor is again all roasted malt with notes of unsweetened coco and plenty of bitterness (hops of some type). The body is medium and semi-dry. This is OK.

Bottle shared with the gang at Decemberfest 2006 -- courtesy of mr kimchee. Labelled "The Brew Kettle Im’perle’ial Porter". Pours a very dark brown, almost black, with an average size tan head. Malty aroma with chocolate, some coffee and hops. Flavour of dark chocolate, roasted malt and quite a significant amount of hops in the finish. For 7.7% I found the flavour overly boozy making it a little hard to drink. Medium bodied. A little too carbonated and boozy but still a very good Porter.

Bottle. Deep black with a small white head. Cookies, metal, nutty and roasty coffee also prevail. Light chocolate flavour along with bitter coffee and hops. A nice powerful change of pace.

Botlle.
Dark brown with light hint of ruby. Light creamy tanned top.
Aroma: good roast, sweet malts then you will be surprised with healthy dose of hops.
Medium bodied, sharp texture, strong roasted dark chocolate character, bitter hoppy end. Green leaf hop touch. Carbonation a bit too sharp .Stylistically reminded me more of Imperial Stout than Baltic Porter. Long lasting flavours in aftertaste.

650ml Bottle @ Decemberfest 2006: I’m pretty sure this is the one we tried, labeled as "The Brew Kettle Im’perle’ial Porter". Poured black, like Wilma’s frying pan eyes, with a good brown head. Aroma is all chocolate and roasted malt, very nice. Flavour is loads of chocolate and then a surprising hit of hops, lots of roasty notes. I’d call it a bit one-dimensional but the additional hopping was interesting.

22 oz bomber, also available on tap @ Brew Kettle as of 12/1/06: Dark brown, almost black opaque w/ a lasting tan head. Initial aroma is roasty malt, but chocolate and light herbal/floral hop as well. Chocolate and nutty w/ a hint of caramel and oddly enough, vanilla and just a mild burnt finish in the aroma. Almost like chocolate chip cookie dough. Clean of most hop and fruitiness as well as yeast character otherwise. Flavor is well balanced w/ a coffee malt flavor and a lightly dry finish that is lightly bitter. Coffee roastiness throughout, and even though dominant, very rounded, not harsh or biting. Light toasty and nutty malt flavor. A light bit of dry resiny hop and dark grainy flavors, but again, not harsh. Lighter medium m/f, medium carbonation, very well hidden alcohol, dry at first, but smooths out as it get swished around the mouth, then dries out again as swallowed. Just MHO, but another winner from Brew Kettle! CASK VERSION: A lot of the similar flavors/aromas, but much smoother and more rounded w/ a lack of carbonation! I’d give it about a 4.0 to 4.1 for this version! 11th anniversary, and a free pint at that!