Oak-Aged Imperial Porter
Thomas Hooker Brewing Company

Tight beige head. The brew is dark, dark brown where no light shines through. Slow recession of the foamy head, leaving lots of spotty (and chunky) lace.

An unusual sourness comes through on the initial pour, not attractive or expected. No chocolate or dark malt aromas. Some chalkiness.

Interesting combination of darker malt and a strong hop. The malt is not as powerful as most porters, nor as dark. The hop comes through stronger than most. The alcohol is present but not overwhelming. It's tasty but unusual--I think it's closer to a Brown IPA than a porter. The body is thin for the style but the carbonation is low, creating proper balance.

Disclosure: I've come into this tasting with some expectations - I've heard this is a stellar beer.

12oz into a tulip. Pours with a nice lively head - cream in color and sporting a breathing quality as it grows and subsides. Below that is a thick mahogany beer, rich and opaque.

Smells like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies with a focus on the vanilla. Some bourbon.. backed by drying earthen notes as well. A fading hint of coffee. Impressive.

On the tongue I'm instantly hit with a robust sweet bread. A little sloppy of the bat. Full mouthfeel...well assisted by a punch of sharp carbonation. It's rolling on the tongue now, easing into some bourbon and dry bread. Closes out simply but the show isn't done. The beauty here is that the complexity of the beer is revealed in the aftertaste... smoke dancing with bittersweat cocoa, then seconds later heats into a sourdough bread, finally fading into an earthy hopiness that warms the throat and lingers. Remember that the beer has left the mouth at least a minute prior. Earlier this beer was coatingly sweet, but for it's pitfalls it is redeemed by an overall strong package and a stunning finish.

Still I'm sated with one bottle. not going back for more, as much as I enjoyed this.

Apperance: From a 500ml bottle bottled in 2006 pours a dark and sinister looking beast. With a caramel colored head about two fingers. This one dam good looking brew.

Aroma: Massive notes of dark roasted coffee that come at you like an axe murderer. Great notes of burnt hops. The maltiness gives off this wonderful caramel aroma.

Taste: A very silky smooth mouthfeel like slowly melted dark chocolate. It has an incredible malty and dark roasted hop backbone. Very nice chocolate flavor and hints of caramel. The coffee notes are definately front and center.

Notes: This is such a remarkable porter very drinkable what a winner of a brew. Cheers

A-Deep, dark brown with a thin, light tan head.

S-Very subdued. Slight burnt malt and some oak scents break out. Maybe a little vanilla too. A bit more interesting upon warming.

T-Full head on burnt roast and oak astringency. Very full flavoured totally belying the rather weak aroma.

M-Medium-full bodied with a big chewy feel. Slight dryness in the end from the oak aging.

D-Nice, maybe comes off a bit too dry in the end to be sessionable. Still a good brew though.

On tap at Capone's.
Very dark brown with ruby highlights topped by a thin sheet of dark tan, brownish foam. Lots of lacing, sheets of bubbles covered the glass and rings formed showing each sip. Towards the end of the pint it was a bit spotty. Great head retention. Citrusy hops were still present in the aroma, dark malts and chocolate, vanilla and caramel, plus a bit of oak and booze. It had a smooth bitterness with citrus, chocolate, tangerine, malty toffee and some fruitiness. Nice oak character, some vanilla and a nice wood tannin quality in the finish. Thick, rich texture with smooth, creamy carbonation. Great stuff, nicely balanced.

Huge thanks to ClockworkOrange for sharing this rare treat! From a growler at DLD.

Pours a cloudy brown, red edges, medium but thick tan head, lots of lace spots, good retention. Smell is sweet, lots of oak, vanilla, caramel, chocolate roast, slightly sour. Taste is nice, very malty, oaky vanilla, chocolate roast, caramel, bit of bread, light sourness, quite nice. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation, very smooth, alcohol is nicely hidden. Tasty treat, thanks a ton Jason!

I reviewed this beer in the company of Phatz and jasonm at Capone’s. Nerds!

This one poured a clear dark brown with some traces of burgundy. The irregular creamy head was a pale tan.

Smelled of big sticky barley, milk chocolate, green grass and raisins. This struck me as being surprisingly clean and crisp.

Tasted of ambiguous sweet malts that flowed into a dry sour coffee and a slight smokiness. There was also a bit of watermelon rind in the background. This all finished off with a sappy oak.

Feels light to medium bodied and clean with a slight swarm of carbonation.

Everyone who has reviewed this beer has had this beer at Capone's in Norristown. I did as well. Having never heard of an Oak Aged version I was suspicious whether this was in fact a different beer. That Capone's could get this beer that no one else has ever seen is a testament to him. The big difference I noticed is the malty oak in the nose.

Appearance: Served almost black with a light chocolaty brown head and gorgeous heavy lacing.

Smell: The beer excels here; especially as it warms. Magnificent smell of chocolate malted milk balls, vanilla caramel and oak flood the nose.

Taste: Rich milk chocolate, coffee, dark fruits, raisin and molasses with a perfect boozy rum feel and a gently bitter back end that leave espresso on the cheeks. Exceptional.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied smooth mouthfeel, with depth and complexity and everything I want to see in an Imperial Porter.

Drinkability: I have a special place in my heart for big roasty Porters. mmm I am certainly a fan. If I had a few hours to kill at the bar I could easily drink this all evening, though it would be a crime to rush it. Savor it.

Hope this is helpful.
Cheers!

sampled from a growler on dark lord day. huge thanks to ClockworkOrange for sharing this one.

pours deep brown, not quite black and not quite opaque. a small tan head forms and drops almost instantly. no lace.

aroma is nice. oak and vanilla. alcohol. roast. big biscuit malt. just a hint of sourness.

taste is great. roast. bittersweet chocolate. coffee. biscuit malt. alcohol. touch of sourness.

mouthfeel is great. light carbonation and a nice full body.

drinkability is great. well balanced and very nice. this is one that i definitely want to have again when i can savor a larger sample.

Sampled on-tap at Capone's in Norristown, PA on 4-18-07. This review is from notes taken that night.

APPEARANCE: Pitch black with essentially no head. A small light tan collar surrounds the glass and leaves decent lacing as I drink.

SMELL: Difficult to gauge in a smoky bar, but hints of caramel, chocolate, and a dry alcohol presence are detectable.

TASTE: Starts bitter from the combination of hops and black malts. Citrusy hop flavors start to creep in, but can never reach the level of the malts. It finishes roasty and oaky, and some residual hop flavors linger. Still a bit dry, but very delicious!

MOUTHFEEL: Not very carbonated at all. The beer is very thick and leaves a slight film behind in the mouth.

DRINKABILITY: Really great. Goes down very easy with the alcohol tastes being the only detractor. Overall, so good!

I'm thrilled I'm one of the few people that have had a chance to try this. If I ever see it again, I'll be sure to get a pint.

Served on tap at Capone's.

A: The porter is a dark black mess, allowing no light to escape its depths. The color is big but the head is lacking, coming out as an off-white ring that is pretty much inconsequential.

S: The nose is strong on the porter but not so much on the oak. The roasted malts have some chocolate depth/sweetness. The oak comes in near the end of the sip, adding a sweet dry buttery vanilla component that is faint.

T: As I drink this, I key in on the porter qualities. The taste is acrid, with a dry bitterness that is almost harsh on the tastebuds. This bitterness is paired nicely with the chocolate dark malts and an addition of some hops adds a flavor burst. As the ale warms, the oak begins to emerge, albeit subtly. Some very dry vanilla notes come through the roasted malts, creating a nice contrast in flavors. The finish is the acrid bitterness of the porter.

M: The mouthfeel is bitter with an underlying sweetness that struggles to come through at times. Enjoyable overall, the competing flavors just struggles to work together nicely.

D: The oak aging does seem to do enough to the porter. I'd be interested to see this ale aged in a bourbon barrel though.

On tap at Capone's in Norristown...
Appears a near black with dark brown edges and a small, light tan head that fades into a mild collar.
Smell is oaky, with raisins, freshly baked brownies, grape juice, and vanilla with some nice citrusy pine resin coming through.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with chocolate and rum soaked raisins being the focal point of the flavors.
Mouthfeel is full bodied, fruity, semi-sweet upfront with bitter chocolate and hops lingering. It's slightly fizzy along the tongue and it finishes with a bitter cocoa flavor.