Full Sail Top Sail Imperial Porter Bourbon Barrel Aged

Formerly brewed at Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Hood River, Oregon USA

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.

A - high alcohol aroma of the bourbon. some dark roast notes as well. Pour is inky black with an eager tan head that melts down and leaves some clingy lacing. taste is dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla and more of the bourbon whiskey feeling.

22oz bottle courtesy of iowaherkeye poured into a snifter. Pours almost black with only hints of mahogany through the edges. The head is tan, creamy and fairly short-lived, leaving a nice ring with some random bubbles on top and sparse lacing. The aroma is dominated by the vanilla sweetness and bourbon up front. There is also some chocolate and sweet dark fruits with a hint of roasted coffee hidden behind the sweetness. The taste is also very sweet up front with lots of chocolate, vanilla and dark fruits. The bourbon is more subtle in the taste than in the aroma with a slightly boozy finish. The porter comes out a little more and it’s pretty tasty. The mouthfeel is very, very smooth with some soft carbonation and the barrel character is very evident. This is a very interesting porter with an overpowering bourbon nose that tones down in the taste and lets the porter come out.

<b>In short: </b>A very good porter despite its extra-strong Bourbon Barrel character.
<b>How: </b>Bottle 22oz. Many bottles from many sources, this one from kmweaver, thanks a lot ken. Consumed when about 8 months old.
<b>The look: </b>Black body topped by a small tan head
<b>In long: </b>Bourbon barrel dominates the nose. Taste blends black chocolate, vanilla, bourbon barrels, black jelly beans. Medium roastiness. As it is the case with many bourbon barrel beers the barrels tend to slim out the body and make the alcohol apparent. Body is a by slimy with a slight tar sensation. Hops are very discreet, once again a typical characteristic barrel aged beers. I usually prefer the barrel integration to be a bit more subtle but this brew turned out to be pretty darn good. I liked it a lot even if I wouldn’t drink 6 bottles of it in a row, I’d drink this beer until she’s cute but I’d stop before the wedding.

This poured black in color with a thin brown head that fades away. The nose shows off the bourbon barrel aging along with vanilla, milk chocolate and roasted malt. In the mouth this was well-balanced with a rich concentrated midpalate and fine carbonation. The flavors were similar with creamy vanilla really shining through.

Courtesy of After4ever, thanks Tom. It is black with a creamy, light-brown head. The aroma has notes of oak, vanilla, roasted malt, licorice, chocolate and bourbon. The mouthfeel is fat and nice. The flavour has a light sweetness, notes of roasted malt, oak, licorice, dark fruits, bourbon, citrus, mango and it has a bite of alcohol and a light, roasted bitterness in the finish.

Drank this many times. Nice aroma of bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, oak, roasted malts. Pours almost black with a thin tan head. Nice flavors of roast initially followed by bourbon, vanilla, some licorice, chocolate. Lingering woody finish. This one is really enjoyable to me.

Thanks to Santa(nbutler11) for this great brew. Bomber. Pours black with thick and rich tan head. Aroma is of burnt malt, bourbon, vanilla and chocolate. Flavor is rich and complex with bourbon and vanilla with chocolate and roasted malt. Mouthfeel is perfect for an imperial porter. Bourbon really mellow out the brew and brung that rich complexity. One hell of a brew.