Parley Porter
The Bruery

 

Review: 2581
Name: Parley Porter
Brewery: The Bruery
Location: Placentia, CA
Style: Imperial Porter
ABV: 11.4%
Canned: 24 June 2021
Date: 01 April 2026
Initial Impression:
I’ve passed on this bottle more times than I can count, and at nearly five years old, curiosity finally won. With pineapple, coconut, and a range of spices, it reads like a tropical-leaning porter—something I approached with equal parts intrigue and skepticism.
Appearance:
Served at 50°F in a tulip. Pours very dark brown with deep burgundy highlights (approx. SRM 36), essentially opaque. A dense, dark tan head forms with moderate retention, fading with minimal lacing. Slightly darker than a classic porter, but still visually appealing.
Aroma:
High intensity and layered. Pineapple and coconut lead, supported by a clear mix of baking spices—cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. As it opens, the base beer emerges with dark chocolate, roasted malt, light char, and bready sweetness. Secondary notes include caramel, toffee, nuttiness, molasses, dark fruit (raisin, plum, date), and a touch of leather and earth. Barrel influence adds subtle vanilla and wood. Rum and cardamom are not clearly defined, likely integrated into the broader sweetness-and-spice profile.
Flavor:
Rich and malt-forward, with strong integration between the base beer and the adjuncts. Roasted malt, dark chocolate, coffee, and molasses form the foundation, layered with dark fruit, caramel, and toffee. The coconut is present but more restrained than the aroma suggests, allowing the porter base to carry the beer. Baking spices and nuttiness, pineapple adds warmth and complexity without overwhelming. Barrel character contributes light vanilla, oak, and structure. A faint cardamom note appears late in the finish.
Mouthfeel:
Medium-bodied with medium-low carbonation. Smooth and slightly creamy, with a rounded, full finish. Alcohol is well-integrated and not overtly noticeable.
Overall Impression:
I’m not sure why I kept passing this one up—it’s a great reminder not to overlook beers like this in the cellar. I expected something overly sweet, but it’s surprisingly well attenuated, with a balance among adjuncts, barrel, and base beer. The tropical elements add intrigue without dominating, and the porter backbone keeps everything grounded. A complex, well-integrated sipper that exceeded my expectations.

Dark. brown color. Big, beige head. Roasted, malt, molasses, chocolate, and wood in the aroma. Moderately sweet, with a warming finish. An interesting beer.

 

750 ml bottle into a snifter. Bottled 6/24/21, had 10/28/23.

Pours near black and opaque, with a half inch foamy head and a decent amount of foamy lacing. Aromas of pineapple, rum, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, other spices, chocolate, some coconut, almond as it warms. Very similar flavors: rum, pineapple, coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, other spices, chocolate, light almond. Smooth, a very good fuller body, well carbonated.

A bright and lively effort. All the add- ins show well at various points in both the aroma and flavor- especially the spices, and the rum barrels are flavorful and not overdone. Really enjoyable.

 

Aroma gives off strong tint of pineapple, spice, and a bit of crackly almond. Body opens with a strong wash of ripe pineapple with salty, nutty tinge and a coconutty flair, ending on lingering notes of spice and rum. Continued sips expose smooth dark chocolate inherent to the porter. Extremely impressive and unique.

 

 

750ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- pours dark brown in color with a two-finger foamy khaki head that reduces to leave just a ring behind

S- an array of spices hit the nose immediately, with the cardamon, clove, star anise, cinnamon and nutmeg all distinguishable. Beyond the spices, coconut and pineapple pop out, as well as an amaretto-like note. Hints of rum barrel offer notes of molasses, figs and booze soaked raisins. It gets more complex as it warms

T- the pineapple and coconut are bright and tropical, making an immediate impact up front. Mid-palate starts to bring out a mix of spice notes; cardamon, star anise, cinnamon most noticeable. The base beer gives notes of chocolate and caramel, before giving way to the barrel treatment, which adds molasses, rum soaked raisins, figs and brown sugar. The linger gives rum, chocolate, star anise and cardamon

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to creamy mouthfeel that continues into a silky, velvety, slightly warming finish

O- so impressed with how the coconut and pineapple popped through all of the other adjuncts on the tip of the tongue. Using a porter as the base was a great idea for this one, as you can distinguish almost every added ingredient

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle, 2021 vintage, it's hard to read but it looks like it says it was bottled 06/24/21. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch or so tan head that stayed around a while. Good amount of lacing. I like the aroma, the brew smells like rum, coconut, pineapple, clove, nutmeg, cardamom, dark chocolate and some nuts (almond). For the most part I think the taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of some dark bread, vanilla, oak and cinnamon flavors. It does taste like a spicy rum cake, very sweet tasting dessert-like brew! Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's rich and a bit coating with a good amount of carbonation. I liked this brew a lot, definitely worth trying if you come across some!