Imperial Porter
Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company (Downtown)

appearance: The beer comes to me in an undersized highball glass, for some reason. There is a nice, big mocha colored head that slowly recedes, leaving a healty layer of carbonation on the surface for most of the experience. In the relatively low light of the corner couch area, the beer appears black. Moderate lacing is left on the glass as it is drained.

smell: Upfront I find delicious notes of medium roast coffee beans, semisweet and milk chocolate. The big sweet aroma comes off just right, with plenty of roast and English type hops to balance, and is not cloying at all. Smells of dark sugars and roast abound. Awesome balance in this big, bold porter.

mouthfeel: The carbonation is at the far low end of the medium spectrum, and the body on the lighter side of the heavy range.

taste: Big flavors of roasted malt and fresh coffee beans are at the front of this one. There is a pleasing semisweet chocolate flavor with some hints of smooth lactose. Slight woody, oaky flavors are found. The hops seem of the English variety and are around a moderate level in both flavor and bitterness. The hops dry the palate and are soon joined by a lingering chalky roastiness.

drinkability: definately an easy sipper...more please

2005 vintage

On-tap at the downtown Dane, 2005 vintage

appearance: served in a small tumbler-esque glass, big dark chocolate body bordering on black night, nice khaki head with decent lacing

smell: huge chocolate notes, espresso, dark roast coffee, roasted malt, semi-sweet baking chocolate...very nice

taste: The black earth porter is out of this world and this is a nice jacked up version...huge mocha-coffee flavours are dominant, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, licorice, thick roasted malts, a touch of alcohol

mouthfeel: full and creamy

drinkability: good

On-tap at the downtown location on a few occassions.

Served in a sadly insufficient 12 oz or so tumbler as they do with some of their "stronger" beers. Pour is pitch black with a thin skim of dark khaki bubbles on top. Nose is a decadent mix of roasted espresso, bitter baking chocolate, toasted malt and aromatic hops. Tastes like a rich, bitterly roasted mocha espresso with a hearty alcoholic warming presence. Mouthfeel a little thin for the style, but doesn't detract too much from the experience. Simply put, another phenomenal offering from my hometown heroes at the Great Dane. So glad to live within 5 blocks of this amazing place.

This beer was served in a small 10 or 12 ounce glass. It has a black color and is topped with a small head. The aroma is malty with lots of dark chocolate and roasted coffee. The flavor is a delicious, bitter, roasted coffee flavor. There's lots of chocolate too, but this beer isn't overly sweet like too many other imperial porters. More bitterness comes in at the finish with a surprisingly big hop flavor. Alcohol is quite noticable but does not interfere with the drinkability. Medium mouthfeel. Good drinkability. The small glass does not hold nearly enough of this tasty brew.

Served in an 8 ounce highball glass along with this piece of advice from the bartender, “size doesn’t matter.” OK, well I hope he knows that he’s setting the bar pretty high with a line like that and tiny glass of beer like this.

Aroma is virtually identical to the Dane’s regular Black Earth Porter. The only difference that I make out is a greater presence of alcohol. The appearance is similar also. It’s very dark, almost black with a slightly ruby hue. The head is brown, light, and short lived. The body looks a little thin probably because it is a little thin. I’m slightly disappointed with that, however, the initial taste is quite good. The front contains some wonderfully rich huge roasted malts. Coffee and some twangy chocolate are well balanced and taste great. The mouthfeel seems almost full bodied for a split second but then the beer gives way too…alcohol. The middle and finish of the beer are just thin, watery booze. Very little hop presence and not much flavor. Nice and dry but that’s about it. Drinkability is low. This is the only porter I’ve ever had from the Dane that I wasn’t thrilled with. It’s just ok.