Top Sail Imperial Porter - Bourbon Barrel Aged (Brewmaster Reserve 2012)
Full Sail Brewing Company

I had a few of these bottles because they were dirt cheap back in the day, and they were good, so value was there.

Imperial porter pours the darkest of browns, dare I even say almost black. Thin beige head 1/8". The aroma was a feint amount of bourbon, I would have guessed less than 12 months of barrel aging or only a percentage lower than 100% of this beer went into barrel aging. The oak seemed stronger than the bourbon. Shit it seemed like it was almost walnut it was so dark/influential. Toffee unsweetened chocolate reference. Bottle says 9.5% on it, not the number quoted here.

The taste is decent, it has some aspects of Russian Imperial Stout to it, that dark fruit like feel to normally the yeast is present. Lightly bitter. Chewier than say, Central Waters who is pretty much the pre-eminent example of great barrel aging below 10% abv. I don't need a thick boi to share between 9 friends, keep it reasonable. Last bottle had signs of oxidation, but in a complimentary way. Run some of those leather bound books through you. Lower carbonation here.

This beer on the menu board says it's a 2012 and the IBU's are 40. This is one heck of a Porter. It pours almost black with a small to medium head that is dark tan. The aroma and taste is bitter coffee. You don't notice the hops, but the oak flavor comes through along with a toffee taste. The aging has mellowed this beer and is quite smooth to the finish.

 

After 7+ years of aging, I found this to be an excellent beer to sit down with on a chilly winter solstice. Aroma is predominantly bourbon on first whiff, but ripe dark raisin, fig and prune also show up with both vanilla and oak. The taste is somewhere between a bourbon spiked coffee, dark dark chocolate and roasted char bitterness. The alcohol and an underlying big malt base can barely constrain the assertive bitterness and lingering finish. If you still have a bottle of this that has been reasonably looked after, I’d most certainly recommend opening it on a brisk winter weekend evening, after a long day of chores.

12 oz bottle (2018 version) poured into a pint glass since the stem of my tulip glass broke.

L - Pours a dark black color with a tinge of redness in the light, a good inch of tan-mocha foam that dissipates quick and leaves a thin lacing. Slightly sudsy, looks like a good porter.

S - This one hit off the bat with a strong red wine presence at first giving off notes of sour grape, cherry, oak, then bourbon, caramel, vanilla, coconut, roasted malt, slightly smokey, dark chocolate, but overall sugary sweet.

T - The balance is off as this tastes more like a whiskey aged in beer barrels. Very strong honey, vanilla, and roasted malt up front, some chocolate and cherry in the middle, oaky bourbon finish with a strong boozy punch.

F - Medium bodied, smooth, creamy, slightly watery toward the end, very little carbonation, astringent alcoholic bite toward the end.

O - Had this one in my fridge gifted by a friend, decided to try it out on my birthday. The alcohol packs a punch although you don't feel it up front, it gives a nice warming quality. The bourbon overpowers any and all of the beer qualities, and it's almost too heavy to finish.

500ml bottle, 2017 batch

Pours about a finger of light brown head into my snifter, fades relatively quickly, initial lacing looks good though. Body is pitch black, visibility is zero. Looks ok, has potential.

Nose is wood, molasses, port, soy sauce. Not trying to discredit this beer too much because the sweetness and soy sauce are not uncommon, but I don’t understand how people enjoy this, I’ll be lucky if I can finish a glass.

Flavor is certainly more approachable. Sweet malt and molasses up front, a little bit of sourness, though not infected. Definitely some woody undertones. Cocoa, maybe a hair of chocolate in the finish. It has the soy sauce essence, but not really coming through on the flavor, which will save this beer entirely. Overall the flavor is not bad, a little bit too sweet for me, and while I don’t mind it here - I dunno where this tartness comes from, but it’s another thing I have tasted before in the style.

Mouthfeel is quite nice. Carbonation is medium, body provides enough weight to it, not extremely thick though. Sweetness isn’t too cloying. Tartness actually adds a nice zest here. While not what I would expect out of the style, this mouthfeel keeps things interesting.

Drinkability isn’t terribly high all around, but it isn’t bad for 10%, and it’s a lot better than it could have been.

Appearance turned out nice. Lacing was a little patchy, but made for a somewhat good looking beer.

Overall I still don’t think dark beers should be aged, and I think this beer would be way better without it. No need to destroy the nose with oxidating soy sauce. Whatever, flavor hung in there. This is complex, and not too bad.

Bold smooth taste. One of the best barrel aged porters ever!

 

 

Lots of bourbon barrel and alcohol right up front, definite winter warmer material, not as smooth as Boulevard Barrel aged quad tried in same session. Pours near black, minimal head, aroma of alcohol and peat. Taste is sharp and biting right from the get go, a true sipper....

 

 

Bottle received in a recent trade as an extra.

This one pours a "light" black, with a small head, and just a small amount of lacing.

This smells like cheap harsh bourbon, chocolate syrup, and booze.

This was not done with a deft hand at all. The base beer is so thin, and watery, so the bourbon just completely dominates here, and it's a kind of cheap bourbon flavor, which is hard to get thru. There's a bit of chocolate sweetness, but there's just honestly not a whole lot to this beer.

This is pretty thin bodied, with a lower level of carbonation.

Just a really bad effort in every major category you can rate a beer in. A categorical fail here.