-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Peak XV Imperial Porter
Black Diamond Brewing Co.
- From:
- Black Diamond Brewing Co.
- California, United States
- Style:
- Imperial Porter
- ABV:
- 8.5%
- Score:
- 76
- Avg:
- 3.3 | pDev: 25.45%
- Reviews:
- 56
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Mar 26, 2020
- Added:
- Aug 01, 2010
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 15
A smooth drinking, dark porter brewed with raw cacao nibs and hand-cut Madagascar vanilla beans. Balanced between a coffee-like bitterness and a rich malt character, this ale is deceptively drinkable for an Imperial.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by popery:
Reviewed by popery from California
3.6/5 rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.6/5 rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
These Black Diamond imperial porters have been all over the place for me. I loved the normal keg version, disliked the barrel-aged one and this bottle is just pretty good, so far. The beer pours a very, very dark ruby, essentially black, though it's just barely transparent with enough light and some color is evident. The head is creamy and beige. A morass of fine bubbles. The aroma improves significantly as it warms up to room temperature. Roasted malt, vanilla and chocolate fight it out for domination. I like it, particularly the vanilla, but there's a funny lactic note hanging around that nearly spoils the party. The flavor also suffers from this nearly sour note. I appreciate this flavor in some porters, but it's just holding back the richer flavors here. Chocolate and roasted notes seem poised in the background, but they don't come off nearly as creamy and rich as they should. Carbonation is also a problem. I would have preferred much gentler carbonation. It gets better if you let it sit, but the fizziness robs the beer of the thick, creamy feel that I got from the old keg version. I like this beer, but it's kind of a let-down. That said, I appreciate seeing a bolder bottled beer from Black Diamond and hope that they keep it up.
Aug 18, 2010More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Impetuous from Montana
3.48/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.48/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Pours a deep opaque brown with medium to small head which vanishes and leaves no lacing.
Taste is... convoluted. Vanilla and hops with a bombastic alcohol and hops finish. Malts are present but muddled by the cocoa and vanilla. Taste improves after warming up.
Good but flawed.
Nov 30, 2016Taste is... convoluted. Vanilla and hops with a bombastic alcohol and hops finish. Malts are present but muddled by the cocoa and vanilla. Taste improves after warming up.
Good but flawed.
Rated by acmurphy696 from Georgia
4.38/5 rDev +32.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.38/5 rDev +32.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
This is a tasty porter. I have no complaints.
May 14, 2016Reviewed by BirdsandHops from Oregon
4.04/5 rDev +22.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
4.04/5 rDev +22.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Not for sure why this beer has such relatively low scores, but I enjoy it. Nice mix of vanilla and bitter cacao. The body is a little thin, but that's about the worst that I can say about it.
Sep 24, 2015Reviewed by BottleConditioned
2.7/5 rDev -18.2%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
2.7/5 rDev -18.2%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Look: nothing special. Weak head.
Nose: hints of over ripe plums. Malty.
Taste: hits up front with a Burnt start. And the after taste evaporates and it feels like water in you moth. Your still left with a burnt taste in your mouth.
Could be great as a cooking beer, less so on the palet.
Jun 21, 2015Nose: hints of over ripe plums. Malty.
Taste: hits up front with a Burnt start. And the after taste evaporates and it feels like water in you moth. Your still left with a burnt taste in your mouth.
Could be great as a cooking beer, less so on the palet.
Reviewed by Jeffreysan from Virginia
4.34/5 rDev +31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
4.34/5 rDev +31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
22 oz bottle, poured into a goblet
Appearance: Pours a beautiful, completely opaque, pitch-black color with an eighth of a finger of caramel-colored head that quickly dissolved away into a thin halo of foam that gripped the sides of the glass.
Aroma: Awesome! Massive, rich, complex, earthy, inviting aromas of dark chocolate and roasted malt, bready and a touch musty, as well as strong aromas of vanilla, brown sugar, dark molasses, licorice, and candied sugar. There are also quite a lot of aromas of woody, boozy bourbon. Seductive, really.
Taste: Wow! Absolutely delicious! Strong, massive really, flavors of rich, complex, earthy, bready, roasted malt up front, imparting touches of smoke and a hint of licorice, followed by tons of dark chocolate, brown sugar-like sweetness, hits of vanilla, touches of oak and quite a bit of boozy bourbon, which imparts a slight harshness that is just a touch off-putting, but doesn’t take away from the rest of the beer’s incredibly awesome flavors!
Mouthfeel: Chewy and surprisingly, nicely effervescent, as there is much more carbonation that I’m used to with an imperial porter. With an ABV of 8.5%, there is a pleasant alcohol warmth on the palate.
Overall: This is an awesome beer! Almost World-Class, in fact. The only thing keeping it from being World-Class in my opinion is that slight bourbon/alcohol harshness that accompanies the other awesome flavors. I’m sure that I find it harsh because I’m not really a bourbon fan as I find most bourbon harsh. However, I’m sure fans of bourbon will really like this and consider it a World-Class beer. Highly, highly recommended!
Jun 20, 2015Appearance: Pours a beautiful, completely opaque, pitch-black color with an eighth of a finger of caramel-colored head that quickly dissolved away into a thin halo of foam that gripped the sides of the glass.
Aroma: Awesome! Massive, rich, complex, earthy, inviting aromas of dark chocolate and roasted malt, bready and a touch musty, as well as strong aromas of vanilla, brown sugar, dark molasses, licorice, and candied sugar. There are also quite a lot of aromas of woody, boozy bourbon. Seductive, really.
Taste: Wow! Absolutely delicious! Strong, massive really, flavors of rich, complex, earthy, bready, roasted malt up front, imparting touches of smoke and a hint of licorice, followed by tons of dark chocolate, brown sugar-like sweetness, hits of vanilla, touches of oak and quite a bit of boozy bourbon, which imparts a slight harshness that is just a touch off-putting, but doesn’t take away from the rest of the beer’s incredibly awesome flavors!
Mouthfeel: Chewy and surprisingly, nicely effervescent, as there is much more carbonation that I’m used to with an imperial porter. With an ABV of 8.5%, there is a pleasant alcohol warmth on the palate.
Overall: This is an awesome beer! Almost World-Class, in fact. The only thing keeping it from being World-Class in my opinion is that slight bourbon/alcohol harshness that accompanies the other awesome flavors. I’m sure that I find it harsh because I’m not really a bourbon fan as I find most bourbon harsh. However, I’m sure fans of bourbon will really like this and consider it a World-Class beer. Highly, highly recommended!
Peak XV Imperial Porter from Black Diamond Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
76 out of
100 with
120 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!