Southampton Imperial Porter

22-oz. bottle received via trade with yobdoog. Pours black with an average, frothy, light brown head, somewhat lasting with fair lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, molasses, chocolate), light hops (herbs), average yeast (dough, leather) with notes of prune and tar. Full bodied, sticky texture, average carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.

22 oz bomber, very little head develops even with an aggressive pour. Aroma contains overripe and dried dark fruits (but not nearly as much as you might find in a doppelbock or dunkel weiss), dark caramel, slight roast, humid wood. Taste is mild roastiness, slight astringent twang, hazlenut chocolate bar. Flavors fall away to leave the hop backbone that was present all along. Nice beer, not huge but still big, balanced. Could use just a bit more fine bubbled carbonation to create a creamier mouthfeel.

650 ml. Opaque chocolate with a lasting disc of cream. Nice frosting of lace. Aromas of coffee, cocoa and a touch of woody marshmallow. Flavors of bittersweet chocolate liqueur, whole grain bread, figs, chalk, oak and slight hickory char. Medium-heavy body is softly carbonated and dry, with a nice mouthfeel that is neither too watery nor syrupy.

IT IS FLAVORFUL. very typical flavors for the style such as rye seed, licorice and a raisin type flavor bound within rum and plum like attributes and of course alcohol. looks nice all dark black and moderately consistant in pour with a sassafrass in the glass type look and aroma. light sweetness and i suppose a touch of toasty black bread in this mildly astringent brew. ok? yes, but not my cup of tea.

Quite a lot of flavour in this. Chocolate, caramel, malts, dried fruit, some toasted flavours, although the body is kind of thin and the complexity wanes as you drink...it’s sort of a flat ride. Still, quite tasty, pleasant and smooth.