Full Sail Top Sail Imperial Porter Bourbon Barrel Aged

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

22oz bottle. Mutiple aromas but the bourbon stood out the most. Also in mix were choclate, caramel and wooden barrel. Black body with thin tan head. Had a good milk chocolate flavor along with some smoldering smokey wood and a light bitterness. Smooth on the palate an enjoyable brew.

<b>2008 Release; Sampled September 2008</b>
Pours into my 25cl tulip glass with a well browned, dark tan colored head that starts out three-fingers in thickness. The beer is quite black looking, though it does show flashes of ruby color if held up directly to the light. Wow, quite aromatic with a huge toasted coconut aroma, lots of vanillin, rich buttery oak notes. A touch of spicy, warming Bourbon notes come it at the end of the aroma along with a touch of toasted malt character and some faint, though sharp, slightly acidic, burnt malt notes. The beer plays a far distant secondary role to the barrel character here, luckily the barrel character is fairly smooth and the huge coconut note makes this quite interesting.

Flavors of vanillin and soft butterscotch up front yield to some browned malt notes in the middle and then some roasted, dark grain flavors that add a touch of sweetened coffee notes to the finish. This has a touch of saltiness and some perceived smokiness to it that at times seems like a peat influence; this nicely offsets the light sweetness that is accentuated by the malt and vanillin notes. The finish can have a warming, almost hot, Bourbon like bite to it, but at other times it has much more of a toasted coconut flavor to it as the vanillin and buttery oak notes combine in the lingering finish. While this is a sipping beer, I like that it has a certain lightness to it and certainly does note seem overly heavy.

I like the aroma on this beer, though it is certainly one dimensional in its barrel focus. It is actually a bit one dimensional in its barrel focus all around; it certainly works a bit more in the aroma, but on the plus side more of the base beer character comes through in the flavor, though it is still a reduced, secondary role. Interesting, but the Porter flavor are a bit too undefined for this to really work. Less barrel influence or more Porter character is needed to push this to the next level. Still tasty and enjoyable & certainly none of this beer is going to waste (I sense an adventure in blending coming on).

22oz bottle, courtesy of acrdz. Thanks, Mike! Pours a murky, dark chocolate color; thin khaki head with patchy lacing. Strong bourbon presence in the aroma: burnt / charred wood character, some toasty vanilla, and plenty of dark chocolate; generous and pleasant, if slightly overly ashy and charred. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: strongly roasted / burnt malts, bitter chocolate, warming bourbon-infused wood; the bourbon character is somewhat subdued, and certainly doesn’t have the depth of some of the best barrel-aged beers (BA Alesmiths, Older Viscosity, etc.). Lengthy finish shows toasty malts, cardboard and cereal, with some lingering bourbony/wood warmth.

22 oz bottle, via thooper41. Pours a black body under a 1cm fizzy mocha brown head that slowly subsided to a thin covering. The nose is equal parts bourbon, oak, and Porter. A little vanilla and char, and minimal alcohol for 10%. The flavor is a little more bourbon forward, but also alot more of the vanilla too. Some burnt notes, coffee, tar, moderate alcohol, a little sweet on the finish. Mouthfeel is full bodied and a little oily and clingy. Moderate fizzy soft carbonation. Long lingering bourbon finish. Overall, pretty nice, very on par with their Bourbon Barrel Black Gold. You know that it’s a BA beer, but it’s more than a one trick pony.

22oz bottle. Aroma of tar, tobacco. Flavor of a bag of chocolate chips. Bold. Nice roast flavor. Medium bodied.

22oz bottle. thanks Sparky! pours slick black with small fizzy head that doesn’t last long. the aroma started off very dusty woody but once it breathed it opened up a bit more with some soft buttery bourbon notes, vanilla, and chocolate. flavors are a bit rough around the edges, lots of wood, chocolate, and hints of dark fruits. a bit fizzy mouth feel and thin body. really tasty sipper but it lacks finese like most full sails.

Bomber from 2008 with a 47 on the cap under the foil. Big bourbon nose with vanilla and oak over chocolate. Very light alcohol (not harsh or boozy) and berry with a hint of coconut milk. This aroma is heavenly, one of the few 10/10’s I’ll ever give. Deep dark brown-black pour with a creamy dark brown head. Taste is very dry, sweet only around the teeth, with gentle roast and firm whiskey notes. Lightly ashy aftertaste but very smooth, alcohol warms without burning, wood and figs on deep chocolate and lessened vanilla bean. Medium body is viscous but not fat, might have some oaten slickness in there but the pct of grist would have to be low. Easily my favorite barrel-aged beer, pervasive tenderness with unremitting waves of complex flavor.

bottle, dark chocolate color with a thin tan head, aroma of whiskey, coffee, sweet caramel, flavors are bourbon, coffee, vanilla, oaky, dry finish