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Top Sail Imperial Porter (Brewmaster Reserve)
Full Sail Brewing Company
- From:
- Full Sail Brewing Company
- Oregon, United States
- Style:
- Imperial Porter
- ABV:
- 7.5%
- Score:
- 87
- Avg:
- 3.87 | pDev: 12.4%
- Reviews:
- 57
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Nov 21, 2021
- Added:
- Mar 30, 2007
- Wants:
- 7
- Gots:
- 4
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by ryan1788a5 from Massachusetts
3.75/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
22oz bottle poured into a snifter.
A: Sludgy black pour. A quarter inch of beige head settles into a thin slip. A thin web of lacing remains.
S: Thick, heavy fudge. Brownie batter and tootsie rolls. Brown sugar. Strong bourbon presence. Spicy, toasty oak. Nothing subtle about it, this is a direct assault on the nose, and the charge is lead by bourbon barrel and roasted malt.
T: Fudge, Hershey's chocolate, brownies. Rich and chocolatey. Strong pull of bourbon brings a slight peppery taste with it. Fading green, spicy hop profile. Drying charred oak on the back end and into the finish.
M: Heavy and sludgy. Full. Tingling carbonation provides just enough lift.
O: A thinking man's beer this is not. That's OK though, I was in the mood for something blatant tonight, and boy did I get it. A huge beer from top to bottom, very bold and straightforward. Full Sail also has a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout? God help us, that must be an endeavor to drink. Looking forward to the challenge . . .
Jul 15, 2013A: Sludgy black pour. A quarter inch of beige head settles into a thin slip. A thin web of lacing remains.
S: Thick, heavy fudge. Brownie batter and tootsie rolls. Brown sugar. Strong bourbon presence. Spicy, toasty oak. Nothing subtle about it, this is a direct assault on the nose, and the charge is lead by bourbon barrel and roasted malt.
T: Fudge, Hershey's chocolate, brownies. Rich and chocolatey. Strong pull of bourbon brings a slight peppery taste with it. Fading green, spicy hop profile. Drying charred oak on the back end and into the finish.
M: Heavy and sludgy. Full. Tingling carbonation provides just enough lift.
O: A thinking man's beer this is not. That's OK though, I was in the mood for something blatant tonight, and boy did I get it. A huge beer from top to bottom, very bold and straightforward. Full Sail also has a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout? God help us, that must be an endeavor to drink. Looking forward to the challenge . . .
Reviewed by Osirus from North Carolina
1.87/5 rDev -51.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.75
1.87/5 rDev -51.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.75
Appearance: Black. No head to speak of but at 9.5% ABV that's understandable.
Smell: Raisins, oak, chocolate, booze....a lot of booze. It smells like a chocolately bourbon to me.
Taste: Simply put, it tastes like a shot of bourbon with some porter added. The chocolate comes out along with the dark fruit, raisin that I smelled.
Mouthfeel: Good carbonation. Medium/full mouthfeel.
Overall: Maybe I am not a bourbon fan but to each his own. I will not be having it again. The predominant feature of this beer is the bourbon taste and smell. A touch may be ok but it goes beyond that and I think this is a flaw.
Apr 01, 2013Smell: Raisins, oak, chocolate, booze....a lot of booze. It smells like a chocolately bourbon to me.
Taste: Simply put, it tastes like a shot of bourbon with some porter added. The chocolate comes out along with the dark fruit, raisin that I smelled.
Mouthfeel: Good carbonation. Medium/full mouthfeel.
Overall: Maybe I am not a bourbon fan but to each his own. I will not be having it again. The predominant feature of this beer is the bourbon taste and smell. A touch may be ok but it goes beyond that and I think this is a flaw.
Reviewed by Kendo from New York
3.75/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.75/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Note: My 2012 bottle says the ABV is 9.5%, not the 7.5% that's listed here.
A: Poured from the bomber into a Sam Smith's nonic-style pint glass. The body is black - even when backlit, it's black - with a 1-finger bubbly, chocolate milkshake-colored head that settles to a tight film of a head. Leaves good lacing.
S: Bourbon, a hint of vanilla and malt.
T: First impression on the flavor is the bourbon. Second impression is really one of feel - it seems a bit thin to stand up to the bourbon-barrel-aging. Heat is felt on the way down and in the belly before I take the second sip. There's some chocolatey malt going on (which becomes more prominent as it warms), but other than the mouthfeel telling me this isn't quite a stout, I'm not getting that roasted malt or charcoal taste that I expect in a Porter. It may have just been overwhelmed by the bourbon.
M: Like I said, a bit thin in heft detracts from the effort at bourbon-barrel-aging this one. Carbonation, however, is gentle and a modestly creamy feel saves the overall mouthfeel score from dropping any lower.
O: A decent sipper.
Sep 14, 2012A: Poured from the bomber into a Sam Smith's nonic-style pint glass. The body is black - even when backlit, it's black - with a 1-finger bubbly, chocolate milkshake-colored head that settles to a tight film of a head. Leaves good lacing.
S: Bourbon, a hint of vanilla and malt.
T: First impression on the flavor is the bourbon. Second impression is really one of feel - it seems a bit thin to stand up to the bourbon-barrel-aging. Heat is felt on the way down and in the belly before I take the second sip. There's some chocolatey malt going on (which becomes more prominent as it warms), but other than the mouthfeel telling me this isn't quite a stout, I'm not getting that roasted malt or charcoal taste that I expect in a Porter. It may have just been overwhelmed by the bourbon.
M: Like I said, a bit thin in heft detracts from the effort at bourbon-barrel-aging this one. Carbonation, however, is gentle and a modestly creamy feel saves the overall mouthfeel score from dropping any lower.
O: A decent sipper.
Reviewed by LXIXME from New Mexico
3.83/5 rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.83/5 rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from about an inch above the glass gave this clear dark black colored beer a big light brown head that slowly settled into a pretty nice lacing.
The bourbon overwhelms everything else that the aroma might have.
The bourbon is still overwhelming but the taste also has some dark rich roasted malts coming through.
A dry aftertaste on this full bodied beer that harbors some of the roasted malts and bourbon from the taste.
A rich full taste but just to much of the bourbon for me also, I'm not a drinker of hard alcohol but if I were this beer would definitely rate much higher with me.
Aug 07, 2012The bourbon overwhelms everything else that the aroma might have.
The bourbon is still overwhelming but the taste also has some dark rich roasted malts coming through.
A dry aftertaste on this full bodied beer that harbors some of the roasted malts and bourbon from the taste.
A rich full taste but just to much of the bourbon for me also, I'm not a drinker of hard alcohol but if I were this beer would definitely rate much higher with me.
Top Sail Imperial Porter (Brewmaster Reserve) from Full Sail Brewing Company
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
78 ratings
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