Long Trail Brewmaster Series Imperial Porter

Brewed by Long Trail Brewery
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Bridgewater Corners, Vermont USA

Pours a barely transparent dark mahogany with ruby hues and a creamy froth of full-lacing dark tan head. Has a lightly sweet toasty dark caramel and chocolate nose with a touch of earthy grapefruity hops and coffee. Starts with pretty good fullness and sweet dark caramel and roasted malts with some good chocolate flavor and a smooth slightly warming bittersweet finish. A pretty good imperial porter.

Bottle from hophead75. Thanks Andrew! Pours a dark dark brown with a big foamy tan head. Nose and flavors of molasses, cocoa, coffee, hops, dark fruits. Pretty tasty overall.

Black and black, it’s dark. Tan head with nice lacing. Roasty and medicinal aroma. Flavor is of coffee, roasted malt and chocolate. A bit thing on the palate

Dark brown pour, nearly black with a small tan head. Aroma is surprisingly hop heavy with citrus and evergreen dominating and only a slight caramel malt note peaking through. Flavor is sweet chocolate caramel with a bit of roasted barley and further proliferations of the hop character. A lightly burnt toast note and some candi sugar comes through near the finish, accompanied by a roasty dryness and juicy hop profile. Palate is medium bodied with a chalky dry smacking finish. Very unique due to the larger than style dictates hop presence, though thoroughly enjoyable just the same.

(bottle from j12601). Black color. Medium tan head. Roasted malt aroma. Flavor of the same with some alcohol. Avg duration. Smooth finish. Slick texture. Soft carbonation. Fair lacing.

Pours a dark brown with a tan head that dissipates fairly quickly. Aroma is surprisingly hoppy, with heavy citrus and pine resin notes that almost overpower the malt character; only the slightest hint of caramel malt. Flavor is superb; starts with roasted malt, molasses, and a bit of chocolate, and then moves on to the hop character that dominated the aroma. The finish is surprisingly sweet, with candied sugars and maybe even a bit of nectar. The palate is really nice, ably balances the different flavors without assaulting the tongue too aggressively. This is not what I expected from an imp. porter, but I still really like it; Long Trail’s imperial series continues to impress.

On tap at the Pourhouse in Westmont, NJ. Very dark brown with a thin beige head and light lacing. Strong coffee and bittersweet chocolate aroma. Deep roasted malt flavor with toffee, more bittersweet chocolate and a hint of smoke. Smooth texture and a surprisingly crisp dry finish. Alcohol well hidden. My favorite Long Trail brew so far.

Bomber. This comes off on first taste as a very heavy porter... I would call it a stout if I didn’t know better. Oil black, dark brown head that fades quickly, heavy mouth feel. Alcohol taste isn’t disguised very well either. Still, I like a heavy stout so I’m sure I’ll like this as well.