Shipyard Imperial Porter (Pugsley Signature Series)

Brewed by Shipyard Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Portland, Maine USA

Bottle from Sam’s on my last trip to NC. Cocoa and slight roasted malt aroma. The roastiness comes through to the flavor with a little bit of a bittersweet chocolate thing going on. Slight sweetness. A little thin and light bodied for something called an imperial anything. Finish has a little bit of hop bitterness. OK, not great.

Very dark brown, essentially black, with a small light-brown head that is quickly diminishing down to a thin brown ring. My initial impression to the aroma was the heaviness of ripened plums and raisins, but sweet smoke creeped up on me rather quickly. Underneath the smoke, some residual brown sugar, roasted pecans, and bittersweet cocoa. Flavor is mildly sweet, mildly acidic with heavier notes of bakers’ chocolate and herbs. Very dry finish. Mouthfeel is disappointing - thin and rather watery with low carbonation. This is a rather decent porter, but a sub-par imperial porter.

whew, this bottle was somewhat drinkable, not completely oxidized to hell like their bw. still oxidized a bit, but ’ok’. the nose is actually decent, mostly chocolate and roasted malts, but a slight hop bite, which is intruded upon by the tiniest hint of cardboard in the finish. pours brown and has a creamy brown head that leaves spotting and returns with a swirl. but then it falls apart really. the body is fairly thin, but the oxidation creeps in here to leave a metallic finish and aftertaste with an astringent body. might be decent if it wasn’t spoiled.

THOUGHTS: A gift from a co-worker. Not bad, but a little boring. It got better the warmer it became, but not very memorable. Except may for the fact that it was a little thin and the flavor wasn’t very complex. Even though it was much better at it warmed, it still was not great. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was basically opaque black in the glass with only the slightest orangey highlights at the edges when held up to a light. It also had an average, tan head that mostly diminished and left fair lacing. The aroma was malty and sweet. There was moderate to heavy caramel, coffee , an almost artificial chocolate, slight butterscotch, slight roasted malt and lighter cocoa powder; hot cocoa mix, and slight butterscotch that was a little like creme brulee. The initial flavor was lightly sweet, slightly bitter and lightly sour; while the finish was sour, slightly sweet, acidic and lightly bitter with an average duration. It was a little dull and one sided and seemed watered down. There was artificial chocolate, a little roasted malt, some burnt malt, caramel, a little sour coffee, slight dark, sour fruit and hints of hops. The medium body, which was a little thin for the style, was rather oily and then very dry with fizzy carbonation and a dry and moderately astringent finish.

A fabulous aroma of malt, coffee, and an alcohol warmth. The first sips are good, rich and roasty, but it gets a bit syrupy with a kind of grainy body to it.

Nice coffee aroma. The flavor is a bit similar; slightly stale coffee with hints of licorice and a dry coffee finish.

Bottle thanks to daknole: Pours a transparent dark mahogany with a thin, froth of off-white head. Has a lightly sweet toasty dark caramel nose with some dark fruitiness. Starts with average fullness and a toasty caramel and milk chocolate sweetness before a mild, bittersweet finish. Could use more body and sweetness, but still a pretty enjoyable brew.

Bottle, 22 fl. oz. Pours a clear dark brown beer with an offwhite head. The aroma is sweet and vanilla. The flavor is roasted and coffee. The palate is roasted. Overall a good beer.