Grand Imperial Porter
Browar Amber

 

Międzywodzie 30/7 2019. 50 cl bottle from Netto near Old town in Gdańsk. Usual Amber label design this time in dark brown and gold. Glass of porter in front of a Beer barrel as motif. The version I am drinking has a ABV of 7,8.

Pours clear, very dark brown with a medium-sized off-white head. Settles as thin, patchy layer of from unable to cover the surface of the beer Clinging to the sides of the glass. Very Moderate Lacing.

Aroma intense, sweet, rich and with a fermented touch. Brown sugar, molasses, chocolate, fermented plum, Port Wine, sweet Liquor.

Light carbonation. Thick, viscous, Soft, creamy texture.

Flavor is heavy sweet followed by moderate bitternes. Aftertaste is sweet. Lingering. Fairly strong presence of alcohol.

Not bad. Very much on the sweet side though.

1/19/25 - (Bottle - Home) (Chicago, IL) Bottle Notes: Purchased a single bottle on January 17, 2025 at the Shop and Save on Nagel for $3.04 including tax.. Sold at store temperature, refrigerated at home until opening this morning. 16.9 oz., 7.2% ABV. Bottle code FO L3. 09, which I am taking a stab to guess this may have been bottled in September 2023. Browar Amber Browar Rzemieslniczy. Rich hop aroma, refreshing taste, Grand Imperial Porter stands out with its unusually thick, creamy and perfectly structured head. Dark porter, filtered, pasteurized. Baltick porter. Ingredients: Water, dark and light barley malt, aromatic and bitter hops, yeast. Produced and bottled by Browar Amber, Kolbudy, Poland. Imported by Amtec International, Brooklyn, New York.

Appearance: Poured a little over half of the bottle into a shaker pint glass, yielding a generous light tan head of thin / small fine bubbles which lingers for a few minutes before leaving a razor thin cover over the entire base and no lacing over the chestnut dark brown base. 3.75

Aroma: Let this sit for about 15 minuets to reach estimated proper temperature. One note, sweet milk chocolate, like hot cocoa powder mix. Strong, very sweet. 2.75

Taste: Taste is very sweet consistent with aroma, but the flavors thankfully more complex. Sweet milk chocolate, caramel, cherries and plums. Sweetness becomes more balanced as this warms (started 15 minutes from opening), nice malt flavors, assuming the fruit is from the hops. Nice. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Sweet. Drinks light and easy even midway through under the 7.2% ABV. Medium body, faint gentle carbonation. Lightly dry, some hop bitterness, but sweet malt is front and center, through the finish. 3.75

Overall: This is a good selection. Would have like to have had the "bittering hops" play more of a role here, and didn't like the one note aroma, but the taste is really good. I would get this beer again, and want to try more of this brewery's offerings. Dobre piwo. 3.75

Poured from 500mL bottle into my Belvárosi sörfesztivál tulip. The date code is indecipherable but it’s a Baltic porter so I’m not really worried!

Appearance: rich brown hue with a body impenetrable to the light, topped wiht a finger of frothy tan foam.

Smell: toffee, caramel, cherry, raisin, and date … boy howdy, who doesn’t love a good Baltic porter? Sweet, for sure, but that’s something you know going in.

Taste: the flavor delivers more of the same, with an additional hint of chocolate malt in the mix. Rich with dark-fruit flavor and sweetness, it is hitting the spot for me.

Mouthfeel: surprisingly light; a little more body would be nice. Carbonation and creaminess are decent but I’d love a richer mouthfeel.

Overall: super tasty; I’d drink this darn near anytime. That said, it’s a one-and-done kind of dessert beer for me.

This beer is a really good blend of everything it states is in it. While some porters and stouts can really punch with one flavor, this carries a good balance, and maintains its balance with a meal. As well, it really creates a good marriage between a slightly higher than average alcohol content, with taste consistency. This is a great beer.

 

great porter strong malt tasteand great malty flsavor in every sip

 

Sample from 500 ml bottle, as Grand Imperial Porter, Westerheim stand at Smak 09. ABV is 8.0%. Extract / stammwürz is 18.1%. Very dark brown colour, moderate tan head. Moderate malty and roasty aroma, notes of bakery. Rich mouthfeel. The flavour is malty and sweet with roasted notes, plenty of caramel.

Darkest brown possible. Mocha head disappeared completely. Smells of brown sugar. Toffee. Nutty. Coffee with sugar and cream. Very subtle roast. Chest feel. Thick. Robust. Gratifying and welcoming. This is a sweet beer. Can’t tell if diacetyl or what. Not buttery but sweetened. Warm going down as it warms but abv hidden well. Feels like lactose. Hope it is not but overall a great beer. Sweet though.

L- In ambient light it's black, but held up close to a halogen bulb it's ultra-deep ruby red. Clear, pours with 2mm tan head.
S- I get some roasty-toasty notes, a hint of smoke? It seems quite light though (nose burnt out on previous glass of porter?).
T- Now I see why, it's not that pungent at all and certainly not for an 8% 'Imperial Porter'. There is some base of deeper roasted taste but what I'm missing is identifiable notes on top, for this style commonly coffee, cocoa, smoke, and so on.
F- It's also a touch sweeter than I was anticipating. I don't get on with sweet notes in beer and this is close to my boundary.
O- Unfortunately despite high hopes I'm really quite underwhelmed. The look in the glass and packaging are good. The ^S,T+F afterwards all under-whelmed. Blind-tasted I'd guess the ABV% as say 6.5% or so, it's astonishing it's 8% as that doesn't come over at all in palate-zing/feel. If I could read Polish I'd also be checking the lable if this happens to be an adjunct, it's over-sweet to me, and I mean sugar-sweet not rich. Sadly not a beer that I'd buy again.

500ml elegant long-necked bottle with intaglio-moulded logos, name and sprig of hops on the shoulder. My bottle is 8% ABV - if other reviewers are seeing the same ABV% they might like to 'Suggest an edit' to the Description. The lables are 100% in Polish, a language that IDK.
Bought from BeersOfEurope/UK for home delivery BB: 18/08/2021.
- Review written 'blind'. Before reading any other reviews here, or indeed the Polish language lable!

Bottle 500 ml into a snifter
Pours great with a creamy foamy head that last a little, does not fade completely.
The color is very dark. The smell is OK, smells chocolatey and raisins - like dark fruit.
The taste is awesome - the beer is full on chocolate flavor, if you like chocolate you will like this.
Has a nice medium full body with great mouthfeel.
Overall this is a very nice beer, and for 8% it sure goes down easily! Cheers

 

Browar Amber "Grand Imperial Porter"
500 ml brown glass bottle coded "P0 1/2 01"
$1.99 @ Roger Wilco, Pennsauken, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: A fairly rough pour has brought up a 2 and a half inch head that's slowly settling before me. ... ... After topping up I've got a very nice inch and a quarter of creamy tan foam atop a "black" body that reveals its true amber and ruby body when held to the light. The aroma strongly expresses dark skinned fruits, mainly raisin, over a light chocolate note. The flavor follows with a richer, darker chocolate note added, as well as some cocoa powder. The raisin remains, and there's something a little sharper as well although I can't quite come up with it... perhaps black currant... ahh, yes, I think so, and some fig for sure as well. As for hops, there's a pleasant, soft, dried leaf note and a touch of herbal character. Some ashen roastiness becomes apparent in the swallow. A firm, centered bitterness anchors it and balances the malt leading to a mainly dry finish with some milk chocolate, ashen roastiness, and dull fig and raisin lingering. The alcohol never shows, but neither should it at 7.2%. In the mouth it's medium bodied and dextrinous, and oily and smooth with a moderate, fine-bubbled carbonation. Looking back, although the head held well the lacing wasn't that great. Both head retention and thus lacing are hindered in stronger beers but that shouldn't be the case here as there's more than enough sweet malt to counter the alcohol. Still, I'm pretty impressed. It's cleanly fermented, nicely balanced between sweet malt and bitterness, and pleasantly rounded with moderate hops and fruity character. It's got some strength to it, it's not a beer that you have out at the pub with the lads, but it's got enough character that it'd remain interesting enough to have two or even three of at night on a snowy winters night.
Review #6,890

 

 

 

500mL bottle, pours a cola-like color with some ruby hues when held to light; thick foamy head slowly fades. Aroma is unique: earthy, smoky, peaty, caramel, dark fruit, brown sugar and very sweet smelling overall. Sweet flavors as well with notes of caramely grain, brown sugar, raisin, fig, plum, prune, earthy peat and a touch of smoke and tobacco leaf. Fuller body, modest carbonation, sweet through and through with not much bitterness. Overall, far too sweet for my liking. Fun to try, but it's a one and done for me.