Ringneck Im-perle-ial Porter

Name: Imperial Porter
Date: 07/23/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

opaque dark brown with ruby edges, wispy beige head, splattered lace, rich milk chocolate aroma, rich chocolate flavor, just enough sweetness to bring out the chocolate, light bitterness stays in the background to provide balance, not much complexity just good solid chocolate from start to finish is the way I like it

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Bottle… Pours a very dark, clear, crimson with a small, fizzy, white head. Restrained notes of caramel and milk chocolate along with berry esters and smoky phenols constitute the aroma. Burnt, medium to heavily bitter flavor produces low residual sweetness and hints heavily at cocoa and coffee grounds. Full-bodied with a lightly creamy mouthfeel and fizzy carbonation. Crisp, bitter finish. Thanks to crizay for sending this bottle from Ohio to his old stomping grounds in Florida!

Bottle thanks to crizay: Pours a nearly opaque dark mahogany with a thin, wispy-lacing off-white head. Aroma of toasty sweet dark caramel malts with some fresh piny hops and dark chocolate. Body starts lightly sweet with some toasted pale malty notes and fresh resiny flavor hops toward a bittersweet finish with some lingering roasty dark maltiness. A very nicely balanced and complex, yet drinkable imperial porter.

Growler: Poured almost opaque black with a ruby hue. The aroma is roasty and milk chocolatey with a fair amount of smokey notes. The flavor has a good amount of chocolate. Dark chocolate start and milk chocolate finish. Some roasted malt flavors as well. Hoppy flavor at the very finish with a good stiff bitterness and decent warmth. The mouthfeel is soft and almost creamy.

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.

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.

Chocolate, malt and hops aroma, deep brown, tiny toffee head. Flavour is chocolate with a good dose of hops,hmmm. Very bitter, medium bodied, very quaffable too. Really good. Thanks mr kimchee!

22 handbottle. Or at least handlabel. Thanks, Boboski! This is great stuff. Black. Thick, perfectly smoothly level, moussy head. Decent webby lace. Rich cocoa chocolatey nose. Thick and creamy medium chalky body. Maybe the all-time great porter body: sessionable but still distactingly good. Rich chocolate, cocoa, and light roast and toast notes across the mid-palate. Lovely stuff. Long, thick, sticky, clinging finish, lightly bitter. This is a great little beer.