Perkuno's Hammer Imperial Porter
Heavyweight Brewing Co.

Perkuno's Hammer Imperial PorterPerkuno's Hammer Imperial Porter
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From:
Heavyweight Brewing Co.
 
New Jersey, United States
Style:
Baltic Porter
ABV:
8%
Score:
95
Avg:
4.28 | pDev: 9.81%
Reviews:
281
Ratings:
289
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 17, 2023
Added:
Oct 24, 2001
Wants:
  16
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
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Ratings by numenor1:
Photo of numenor1
Reviewed by numenor1 from North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.5
Pours deep black with a tan head that is dense, but quickly recedes to a collar. Smells very very sweet. Lots of fruit and sherry, alcohol is apparent. Up front is huge malty sweetness that gives way to loads of fruitiness, some very sweet chocolate, spicy alcohol, some nice earthtones, and then it fades away with a sweet cherry syrup sort of flavor. The individual pieces of this are really quite incredible, but unfortunately for me the sum of the parts just doesn't work. I find it to be overwhelmingly sweet, and far too sherrylike. I'm not a fan of sherry. Perhaps I wasn't in the mood for a slow sipping beer, but regardless, that's what this is, and as good as it is, i have no interest in the second half of this glass. A drainpour. There's a solid medium body to this with moderate carbonation, and the alcohol is fairly well hidden, I suppose but drinkability is not so good given the cloying nature of this. Ah, I had such high hopes. It's also notable that baltic porter is not one of my favorite styles.
Nov 05, 2005
More User Ratings:
Photo of MartianSupremeCommander
Reviewed by MartianSupremeCommander from Pennsylvania

4.68/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
500ml glass from a freshly tapped keg. Really nice imperial porter. Drinks almost like an imperial stout. Apparently brewed from the same recipe as Heavyweight’s beer of the same name, and from some of the same personnel too. I am not certain on the details though. Worth a try.
Mar 17, 2023
Photo of brewandbbq
Reviewed by brewandbbq from New Hampshire

4.01/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12oz bottle from 2003.

Pours opaque black with a thin head of tan. Light char, bakers chocolate, and a hint of smoke in the nose. Medium bodied with a slickish, almost oily mouthfeel. Ashy, bitter chocolate with roasty malt on the palate. Finishes dry with lingering char, wet paper, and a faint tartness.
Jan 23, 2021
Photo of emerge077
Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

3.95/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A rare find many years ago on a dusty forgotten shelf. New Beer Distributors RIP (1968-2018)
The bottle was probably a few years old, as Heavyweight had been closed already for some time.

Brownish black body, oxidized malt, tobacco and raisin aroma. Molasses and coffee, tobacco leaf flavors.
The bottle was long in the tooth and had lost some carbonation. A rich and hearty beer, once a legendary classic.
Dec 27, 2018
 
Rated: 4.25 by t0rin0 from California

Nov 19, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by jfcaa193 from Canada (QC)

Feb 19, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by ygtbsm94 from Utah

Jan 29, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by Beertracker from Oklahoma

Jan 27, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by JAHMUR from Connecticut

Dec 09, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by rab53 from Washington

Dec 01, 2011
 
Rated: 4.25 by jmdrpi from Pennsylvania

Nov 19, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by HopStoopid120 from Connecticut

Nov 15, 2011
Photo of kmcnair
Reviewed by kmcnair from California

4.35/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz bottle provided by BeerBeing.

Pours an opaque black and makes a thin tanned head.

Aromas are strong of dark roasted malts, caramelized dark fruits -- namely cherries and dates. Some liquorice too.

Huge complex flavor, sweet balanced caramel, toasty malts and very bitter chocolate, sour twang and some cherry notes. Not sure if the sourness is intended, but it is quite enjoyable.

Full bodied, medium carbonation.

Very tasty beer, shame to see this one fade away as Heavyweight will soon be no more.
Aug 15, 2006
Photo of macster
Reviewed by macster from Florida

4.12/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a fairly thick and oily looking black color with some ruby red highlights along the perimeter. A decent dense tan head is noticed initially, but fades to a thin coating quickly. Some minimal spotty lacing. Sweet, sugary aromas of cocoa and vanilla cream noted on first sniff with some notes of roasted malt, dark rum soaked fruit cake, and French roasted coffee beans also making an appearance. Mouthfeel was moderately thick, full and creamy with a nice restrained carbonation. Full, upfront flavors of dark roasted malts, chocolate, coffee and vanilla bean, mocha and caramel candy are all balanced nicely. Finishes with a subtle appearance of hop/charred malt bitterness. Alcohol is quite subdued. An admirable rendition of a Baltic Porter.
Aug 13, 2006
Photo of rayjay
Reviewed by rayjay from Hawaii

4.27/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Another bottle from the Philly road trip (not by me), sadly this brewery has shut it's doors and the last few beers remain on the shelves. A shame, I used to love to drink Heavyweight beers before I moved to CA; they were often the highlight of the now famous Jim Anderson's Split Thy Skull fest at Sugar Mom's. No freshness date.

This one is smooth and creamy. Very sweet and rich. Delicious flavor, like a dessert in a bottle. Carbonation is light and it has a pretty sticky feel to it. Flavoring hops are there on the tongue but no detectable bittering hops in the aftertaste, just roasted sweet malt. Rich sweet chocolate, expresso, sticky tobacco, dark rum with molases, gingerbread, sweet lactose. The malts really make this beer special. Well hidden alcohol. Very drinkable and gone in a flash.

Also that porter "thing" going on that you can smell and taste; it kind of reminds me of a homebrewed imperial stout (imperfect, but somehow top quality). Hard to describe, but at least I know what I mean.

Don't buy this beer!!! This leaves more for me if I can make it back to Philly ;-)
Aug 11, 2006
Photo of errantnight
Reviewed by errantnight from District of Columbia

4.67/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
What a treat... and what sadness that we're basking in the waning light of Heavyweight's beers... particularly since some of us (me) haven't discovered their brews until quite recently.

The hammer pours viscous inky black with a wispy-thin head that's gone almost as soon as it arrives, leaving little lacing on its way down.

Smells of rich, spicy, peppery malt. French Roast coffee. Yum.

Taste is lively and just as rich, spicy, and peppery as the smell. The coffee is there. Hints of dark chocolate. There's a distinct alcoholic warmth to the proceedings, but never hints of the alcohol, even as it warms. There's a tobacco-y sourness just around the edges. There's never a predominant note that overpowers the rest, just an intoxicating swirl. Really hits its stride sometime in the middle, after some warmth from fridge temp, but before room temp. I love this beer.

Served with some porter cheddar, a heavenly dessert. The tangy creaminess of the cheese both highlights and smooths out the more aggressive tones here.

Mouthfeel is rich and smooth, although not as heavy as some imperial stouts, more like a dry irish stout in body, with (much) less carbonation. A great winter or late evening beer.

I rate the drinkability quite high for never breaking down to highlight alcohol, and because I love the spicy/tangy/tobacco notes. These same attributes may make for a delightfully tasting but less eminently drinkable beer for others. In any event, this definitely categorizes as "go find it, NOW, before it's gone" beer, and grab enough to toss in the cellar. This baby'll be drinking for some time to come.
Aug 03, 2006
Photo of wcudwight
Reviewed by wcudwight from North Carolina

4.41/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to enola for sharing some of his bounty from his trade with HimerMan.
Pour is black. No light gets through, but does show some ruby hues when held up to the light. The head disappoints a little with it's lack of volumn and retention.
The smell is of chocolate milk or coffee with lot's of cream. That description doesn't do it a lot of justice though. I kept swirlling it and whiffing for a good while. It's a marvalous smelling beer.
The taste is sweet creamy coffee with a very rich dark chocolate finish. The alcohol starts to show in the flavor as the beer warms, but overall it's well hidden.
Feels smooth and creamy in the mouth.
This is just a sipper for me, but a very good one.
It kind of reminds me of a very big and complex milk stout.
Aug 03, 2006
Photo of Enola
Reviewed by Enola from North Carolina

4.12/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to HimerMan for the bottle.

This beer poured a very dark brown with little head. The smell was the high point for me with this beer. It smelled like a gourmet coffee shop. The taste was very malty. The ABV showed its face a little in this brew. There were some hints of chocolate in there as well. The beer goes down smooth. A good beer. Too bad the brewer is shutting down. Makes you wonder why when they are capable of qaulity beers such as this.
Aug 03, 2006
Photo of swhitt
Reviewed by swhitt from Texas

4.6/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
I picked up this at the Wine Gallery Kenmore in a transfer from the Brookline store. This is from their last bit of Heavyweight stuff. I'm really really really sad that they aren't making this anymore as it is one of the best porters that I have ever tried.

I poured this into a snifter and it was deliciously dark, almost opaque. There was little to no head, but what was left is dark brown and wispy but temporary. The smell is first of alcohol but second of smokey malted tobacco and chocolate.

This is one of the most balanced imperial porters or stouts that I have ever had. It's simply divine - it has the punch at the beginning but by the end it left a nice aftertaste.

I'd write more but I think I'm going to go have another.
Jul 28, 2006
Photo of smurphy77
Reviewed by smurphy77 from Pennsylvania

4.52/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A great example of the style. Wonderful complexity of caramel, roasted malt, toffee, coffee and dark chocolate.

Medium-bodied with just enough stickiness to pause on the tongue without stalling out.

Pours a dark brown color with virtually no head and very little carbonation.

This beer could be a best in class.
Jul 26, 2006
Perkuno's Hammer Imperial Porter from Heavyweight Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 289 ratings