| By Full Sail
Serious Beer: Imperial Porters- Serious Eats Gives Top Sail Four Stars
American craft breweries like to turn up the volume. While they’ve produced some truly great traditional porters, breweries all over the country have also been busy experimenting with high-octane Imperial Porters.
Imperial beers are high-impact variations on traditional styles. Imperial porters are full bodied, with tons of rich malt and high alcohol levels. They are brewed with dark-roasted barley, which can add a bitter punch. Some include a generous helping of hops. (American Imperial porters are differentiated from Baltic porters by the addition of fragrant hops and dark-roasted malt, as well as the fact that Baltic porters are usually lagers, not ales, but the line is a little fuzzy and some use the category names interchangeably.)
While these potent beers won’t be everyone’s favorite style, we found quite a few tasty examples in our roundup.
Our Imperial Porter Picks
Full Sail Top Sail Imperial Porter Oregon, 9.85% ABV
This bourbon-barrel aged porter is silky and chocolaty with some musty walnut and maple flavors. The scent reminded us of port and expensive leather, vanilla and wheat. Though some found it a little syrupy, we felt like the hoppy edge keeps this beer in balance.
Four Stars **** “Awesome and worth remembering.
