Karl Strauss Oaked Imperial Porter
Karl Strauss Brewing Company

Poured from a cask in downtown San Diego at the Columbia Street brewpub. Bartender told us we were getting just about the last of it; guess this cask emptied out pretty quick. The beer is a dark, nutty, semi-translucent brown color with no head. Chocolate and nut smells, both making the nose very sweet. Oak influences are very mild on the aroma. The beer has highlighting flavors of brown sugar, with main tastes of oak, malt, and molasses. The oak flavors are overpowering, despite their nonpresence on the nose. No real hints of alcohol in the flavors like in most imperial offerings, which may have helped to balance all the sweet flavors. The finish, too, was oversweet. The beer has a round, full body, but it still can't balance the overpowering sweetness. This beer is a liquid toothache. I love sweet flavors, but this was too much.