Full Sail Top Sail Imperial Porter Bourbon Barrel Aged

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

On tap at the Highland Stillhouse. Pours ebony with a small khaki head. Rich roasty nose, woody, vanilla, with a distinct wiff of bourbon. A bit boozy still, but should mellow well. Chocolate notes long into the finish along with some hop goodness that will die off with age allowing more of the malt complexity through. I can’t wait to try this again in six months to a year, it will get much better.

Courtesy of CigarCityBrew. Pours deep dark brown with mocha head. The aroma is inviting to pretty much irresistible. I get rich deep maltiness, chocolate, sweet molasses and some faint burnt malts. There’s also equal amounts of wood and bourbon notes that don’t cover up and hide the tasty base beer. The taste has way more bourbon and wood barrel notes in it than the nose led onto. I pretty much only taste bourbon with just faint malt and molasses sweetness out deep into the background. It grows on me though where the base goodness does start to peer through more and more as the ounces are consumed.

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.

Bomber shared by Enniskillen; Nose of bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, and a molassey note; black with a small, glass-lacing, cinnamon head; flavor is big bourbon, vanilla, light hop bitterness, and chocolate; smells super good but doesn’t quite taste up to the nose.

Bottle Merritt Island Throwdown. Looks like espresso: gorgeous. Aromas of coffee, licorice, and bourbon. Satiny silken palate. Solid clean coffee flavors. Excellent beer.

Shared by Dickinson beer (thanks, Paul!) - dark brown beer, amber around the edges - light oak, bourbon, and chocolate malt in the aroma, with light notes of roast, spices, and vanilla - soft carbonation - oak and vanilla are prominent, but the bourbon is quite mild - a bit of spicy alcohol, and some notes of tobacco and slightly burnt wood - quite subdued for a BA beer, which makes it quite enjoyable.

Bottled. Deep, oily black pour, not much head. A little bit of dry roast in this is overpowered by tons of bourbon. 10 months in a barrel is far too long for a beer like this (or pretty much any beer). There really is little left of this beer other than a watery liquor, and accompanying alcohol burn. A huge failure.

Appearance: Pours a black body that’s near still, but angrily shaking it can arouse a teeny-tiny beige head. Smell: Aroma of dark malts, roasted barley with notes of dark chocolate, sweet vanilla bean, charred oak vessels, and caramel. Taste: A blend of dark malts and dark chocolate drive you to Bourbon Town. All of the bourbon aspects are strong, but quite tasty. Slight roastiness throughout. Mild, earthy bitterness. Drying, oaky finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: A tasty beer, who could easily be the focus of any night of beer drinking, and the center of all attention.