Full Sail Top Sail Imperial Porter Bourbon Barrel Aged

Bottle (22oz). Shared by blankboy with me, garthicus, gregclow, jerc and tupalev. Oily-looking black pour, average tan head. Nutty/oily deep roast aroma, oak, vanilla and coffee, a hint of cream. The taste follows - bourbon and chocolate with undertones of coffee and alcohol - quite sweet. Nice solid body for a porter, lightly carbonated, nice restrained oakiness in the finish, doesn’t detract from the roast - this one is well-rounded and both the booze and the barrel-aging are nicely balanced against the character and quality of the base porter - well done.

My bottle (22oz) shared with HogTownHarry, garthicus, GregClow, tupalev & jerc -- courtesy of TheEpeeist. 2008 vintage. Pours a very dark brown with a large diminishing frothy light-brown head. Aroma of roasted malt, nuts, dark fruit, cream, alcohol, vanilla and wood. Flavour of roasted malt, dark fruit, bourbon, coffee and dark chocolate. Dry, bitter finish. Average to medium bodied. Nice to see the barrel-aged aspect of the beer not too over the top, this was very good.

Bottle 2008 bomber. Pours black with tan head. Has a wonderful aroma of bourbon, chocolate, and dark roasted malts. Has a medium heavy mouthfeel. Flavors are wonderful. Bourbon, chocolate, oak, coffee, and all melds together in the finish. This is a fine brew. Even though this has more bourbon notes than others, its a damn fine brew.

Bomber, 2008 vintage. Poured healthy deep brown with a swirly dusting of tan head. The aroma picked up a delectable blend of sweet bourbon, sour oak, coffee, and dark chocolates.. spicy uptick on the back. The flavor opened with almost syrupy dark malts backed by a wash of sour oak and bourbon.. coffee and chocolate at the core.. spicy on the back with oaky notes, peppery alcohol, and well-roasted espresso. Heavier-bodied and warm on the palate.. thick and stickier at some points and slicker at others with only OK coordination between the two. All in all a very good brew.

Bottle. Pours a black color with a large frothy tan head. Aroma of coffee, roasted malt, bourbon, vanilla and chocolate. Taste of bourbon, coffee, malt and vanilla. Has a nice soft flavor that is well balanced. Nice all around brew!

Finally, 1000! Pours black with a thin tan head. Bourbon vanilla aroma comes jumping out of the glass. Nice medium body with a taste of dark fruit, vanilla and chocolate malt with some hints of the wood barrel. Finishes with a nice woody, vanilla flavor. Excellent beer.

22oz bottle from hannont, thanks Todd. Almost pitch black, but just had the slightest little bit f light coming through the bottom of the glass. Mmm, this smells great, lots of dark fruitiness, woody, vanilla, very rich. Oak, bourbon, vanilla and chocolate in the flavor, quite excllent, Full Sail does barrel aging very well.

Got this one thanks to Roger @ the Ballard Market. I’ve had it in the basement for a while now, and recently pulled it out to compare it to this year’s release, Black Gold. They’re so similar in so many ways. This pours black, with a light brown head, and hits you with bourbon notes right away. I’m so impressed with Full Sail for extracting that much flavor from the bourbon barrels. The front end is nearly identical to Black Gold, with roasty chocolate, dark malts, and a very smooth texture. This one’s a bit thinner, though, and the back end gives it away - the malts move into a more caramely flavor, and the roastiness typical to porters comes out a bit more. It’s still really, really good - I’m already looking forward to next year’s release - but this is no Black Gold.