Rogue Imperial Porter

Dark mahogany with very good, creamy brown head / Winey nose of chocolate, dark fruit, coconut and oak / Medium to full body, chewy, with pleasing big hop balance and dry, somewhat hot, finish / Flavors of tobacco, bittersweet chocolate, dark roast coffee, coconut, and vanilla / Body doesn’t quite measure up to the alcohol.

Draft at Trappeze. Nice, malty, toasty, with a hint of alcohol. Nice, but I miss the old Rogue that used to push the envelope a little bit.

Black. Tan, creamy head. Aroma: Roasted malt, dark chocolate. Flavor: Deep roasted chocolate, almost burnt, earthy hops. Hides alcahol well. Bitter finish. This is basicly what I thought Rogue would do with a Porter... Hop the hell out of it! If you are a Hop-Head, this is the Porter for you. I won’t say this is the best Porter I have had but it’s very good. It’s like a Porter and an IPA had sex and this is thier child.

Draft @ Vine & Barley. Pours black with tan head. Burnt malt and coffee aromas. Roasted malt and chocolate flavors with some coffee and a nice hoppiness. Medium to full body with mild carbonation and a dry finish.

"Nice brown cap with a very dark brown body. First sip just blew my mind, so very tasty and yum yum yummy. Flavour is rich and full . malts are toasted to burnt with mild coffee, bitter to milk chocolate(depending on sip), strawberries and raisin bran muffins. Aroma is mild but complex hot chocolate, muffins, coffee. Thank god not a single trace of west coast hops only some mildly bitter herbal hops come out. The 8.2% is undetectable. I swear I’m getting faint traces of watermelon jolly ranchers. Mouth feel is silky smooth and seems to coat your mouth and throat in a soft blanket of love. This is by far the best I’ve had from the XS series no other one even comes close."

Tap at Rogue Ales Public House in SF. Dark brown, nearly black, with a tan head. Aroma of chocolate, coffee, and roast. Flavor is more of the same with some smoke and mild hops - not as strong of a flavor as I’d like. Medium-full body.

2008 bottle. This opaque brown ale poured into a snifter with a massive foamy tan head and a toffee aroma. The flavor is coffee and treacle with some subtle hop bitterness. It’s a straighforward porter that has a lot of taste.

Tap at Popeye’s. Black with a touch of lace. Big winey, chocolate aroma with coffee, huge malts, dark fruits, and some wood and smoke. Smoky, burnt flavor; hugely burnt and bitter. Great aroma, flavor interesting bit a bit too burnt and bitter for me.