Shipyard Imperial Porter (Pugsley Signature Series)

Brewed by Shipyard Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Portland, Maine USA

Pours liquidy black, with quickly dissolving lacing. Leathery, smoky aroma. I also picked up a little black olive on the nose. Flavor was nice: Very malty, chocolatey, leathery. Espresso also came to mind, as did scotch whiskey. Palate is a little watery. Overall, very drinkable, and very good.

An unexpected gift from Oscar at The Red in Santa Cruz. Pours ruby brown with a wispy, wet tan head. Okay retention, no lacing. Aroma is mainly cocoa with black coffee and some nuts, possibly some diacetyl butteriness. Flavor is one dimensional: black coffee. Just tastes bitter and thin, like someone aged seltzer water in a used-coffee-filter-lined barrel.

Pours dark brown nearly black with a small light tan head. Aroma is rich roasted chocolate malt with strong bitter coffee notes. There is a strong nuttiness and just a hint of hop character. Flavor starts with a pleasant sweet chocolate malt and nutty character that quickly gains bitter coffee notes along with a subtle hop and floral character, Finishes quickly with a bitter bite. Medium body and a biting fizzy carbonation. This is a beer that falls short because of a thin body and soda like carbonation that doesn’t fit with an imperial porter. Nice malt character but disappointing,

really impressed with this one. pours black with a thin tan head that disappears fast. nose is nutty, dark coffee, bitter chocolate and a little alcohol. taste is sweet upfront and bitter coffee/burnt malts throughout. finishes with bitter sweet chocolate and finishes crisp. great porter by any standards

Ft. Myers, Fl. - Total Wines - 22 oz bomber/ Pours a deep, dark brown fading to back with a nice sized mocha colored head. Rich aroma of chocolate, licorice and potting soil. Flavor is similar in nature with some bitter coffee notes shining through, some creosote, top soil, and a hint of vanilla, marshmallows and a bit of licorice in the back end. Good chalkiness to the mouthfeel. One of the best I have had from Shipyard.

Initial aroma hints at the ringwood yeast, somewhat buttery and fruity, but there’s enough chocolate in here that it effectively masks alot of it. There’s also some caramel and a little coffee. A floral hop? Poured dark brown, a touch fizzy, large head that faded away within 30 seconds. Medium bodied, not much sweetness, fizzy with a carbonic bite towards the finish with is fairly dry with a lingering hint of chocolate to go with the lingering astringency. Somewhat earthy. As part of a so-called Signature Series, it really fails to stand above the rest of their lineup. Extremely disappointing.

Wow, surprisingly low scores. Poured murky dark brown with a dense tan head. Thick lacing creeps down the sides with the beer. Heavily chocolate and caramel nose, along with an very earthy/peat aroma. Low carbonation in the mouthfeel, but avoids feeling flat or watery. Powerful roasted malt and caramel taste up front that ebbs slightly to a Baker’s chocolate taste. Heavy molasses throughout. A wooden barrel flavor blended with peat/earth again pops up and stays until the finish. Slightly veggie and soy sauce at times when it warmed up. It was good, but felt like a meal.

Bottle thanks to daknole, shared with angrypirate06 and ilovedarkbeer. Pours with a huge, light brown head over a very dark brown body. Aroma of baking flower, lightly lactic, chocolate, ash and a few banana esters. Taste is watery with chocolate and a slightly astringent, lactose like finish. Watery mouthfeel and light carbonation.