Berkshire Imperial Porter

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

Nashville tasting thanks to somebody. A dark black our with a light lacing and gooy sticky lacing. A flavor of chocolate and coffee. A very good choco flavor that is very sutle. overall not a bad beer.

This was at the Nashville tasting, but I forgot who brought it. Too much barleywine I guess. Pours deep brown/black with a retentive brown head and spotty lacing. Faint aroma of chocolate covered coffee beans. Flavor and palate is tad thin for the style. Flavor of bakers chocolate, plums, with some hints of medium roast coffee. Bitter finish with a touch of alcohol. Not too shabby. I would like to try this again, as this was one of the last ones of the night.

Cask @ Redbones 6/8/06. Ok nose, sweet & roasty. Familiar porter aroma, Chocolate, coffee, kind of composty and pruney. Dark reddish/blackish brown, small head with good lacing. Bitter sweet flavor. Like aroma with a big roasty bite that dominates but you get a nice chocolate ending. Medium body, oily smooth mouthfeel, Bitter finish with a hint of the abv showing itself. Nice porter from Berkshire, glad I got to redbones early as it kicked when the next customer asked for it.

Cask (tapped about 20 hours prior) pint at Redbones on 06/06/06. Not exactly bright, but far from muddy, the dull brown liquid, tinted with coal and a touch of ruby, shows medium-low to low clarity. A small, but well-retained dirt colored head sits atop, remaining at cover and providing moderate lacing. A huge blast of chocolate covered roasted coffee beans rise up and seem like a cloud sitting in your face. A touch of candied plum and definite black malt ashiness are also apparent. The black malt seems to dull things, barely allowing the round, simple plum and port-like notes in to the edges. Strong, almost sour-like molasses almost seems smoky. Hops are no where to be found, nor is the alcohol. Strong roast, alternating between barley and black malt (seems like black malt ashiness, with bits of charcoal) provide most of the flavor, while light chocolate and dried dates provide some chewiness. Not really sure what to make of the yeast, seems rather dull, not fruity at all, with very little ester/phenol production. With warming, the roast seems to take hold and alleviate some of the acrid black malt, but the nuttiness builds up on the palate, and some wateriness seems to undercut the usefulness of roast. Still, the flavors are quite strong and clean, with ample chewy mouthfeel. Very low carbonation, no alcohol noted.

Cask pint at Red Bones 6/6/06. Pours a dark brown color with a small fluffy light beige head. Nose is roasty with some nice chocolate notes. Palate is smooth and very fluffy. Flavors are big on roast and chocolate. The roast hits you up front while the chocolate holds back before descending upon your palate.