Tsarina Esra Imperial Porter - Brouwerij De Molen

johnnybravo

Netherlands

4.8/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Normally I do not rate much beers. I'm simply too lazy. But to rate this one I had to enter a few other ratings to get to 20 reviews so I could enter this new beer to the database. And I think it was was worth it. This beer is absolutely the best beer ever brewed during the last 40 years (before that I have no knowledge) in the Netherlands. Just amazing. I do like porters and stouts a lot. And this Baltic Porter has all it needs. The aroma is very strong, chocolate, roasted, malty, hops. The flavor just the same. And the mouthfeel. How do they do it? It's so full, so warming, so silky and oily, so warming. And above all that so well balanced. The only others that I had that come close are Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter and Thirsty Dog Siberian Night.

Serving type: on-tap

02-11-2008 09:41:34 | More by johnnybravo

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

4.2/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottle shared by Liam, 2009

Deep brown colour, ring of tan head with not much in the way of lace either. Smell is of burnt coffee beans, bitersweet chocolate and darker fruits, just a hint of alcohol, but fairly robust and roasty overall. Taste is of dark chocolate cake, a bit of coffee as well, herbal-black liquorice flavours and mild dark fruit, a bit of booze with a bittersweet finish. Lightly carbonated, fairly full feel. A great porter, nice rich layerd flavour here probably as a result of aging.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 13:56:17 | More by peensteen

themind

New Jersey

4.55/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

What an awesome, magnificent porter! I love this thing!!! deep dark color with a big head when poured into a goblet. The aroma is fresh and the taste is amazing. I really liked this beer. The downside is this 11.2 ounce brew was $11.00 bucks! so this is pricey. Would I buy again....yup! it's really good, very drinkable.

Bottom Line: Porter lovers grab this puppy and hold on tight!

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 03:48:22 | More by themind

SanFranJake

California

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-13-2013 17:29:15 | More by SanFranJake

Bonko_the_sane

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-13-2013 06:09:28 | More by Bonko_the_sane

BelgianBeerPope

Belgium

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-11-2013 13:00:17 | More by BelgianBeerPope

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-02-2013 20:57:18 | More by liamt07

shagens

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-01-2013 22:08:12 | More by shagens

Cozzatoad

Italy

3.18/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.25

330ml bottle, forgot to check dates

A- Near black colour. Huge light brown head, looks really dense and it shows very nice retention

S- In just three words: roasted milk chocolate

T- A hint of roasted malts upfront, then caramel among a very sweet lactic feel that reminds of a milk stout. Maybe some slight dark fruit hints. Not as complex as one could have hoped. Cloyingly sweet finish, with an unpleasant burnt caramel/alcohol feel that leaves a really bad impression on the back of your mouth. I'm also getting some herbal feel on the back of the tongue, but it feels burnt with alcohol as well ad it does not bring enough balance to an overwhelmingly sweet finish

M- Not at all bad upfront, filling the mouth with a soft viscous feel and just the lightest hint of carbonation. As mentioned, really bad on the back of the mouth and in the aftertaste with that unpleasant burnt feel. Plus, alcohol gets too much in the way

O- Appareance and smell were quite promising but the taste was a total letdown. This is an unbalanced beer, no fine brewing work here, and really not worth it's price

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 20:28:56 | More by Cozzatoad

bobhits

Kentucky

3.98/5  rDev -5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Big dark black porter with a huge caramel head. Very nice looking beer.

A big roasted malt with hints of hops. Porters are normally not the most aromatic of the darker beers but what is here is nice.

Chocolate balanced by roasted malt and enough hops to balance out the sweetness perfectly. The net result is a nice porter that doesn't bite from hops or the roast. A very smooth and somewhat creamy flavor is the net end result.

This is a very creamy beer though not syrupy like some of the bigger imperial stouts.

Tsarina Esra is a nice porter, but I can't see going back to this one anytime soon. Definitely, one to pick up if you like the style. It is a touch pricey like all De Molen beers are in the US, but if you can get past that try this one!

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 12:38:44 | More by bobhits

danwho

California

4/5  rDev -4.5%

04-16-2013 01:02:23 | More by danwho

Jspriest

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

04-11-2013 03:31:13 | More by Jspriest

thierrynantes

France

4.21/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Beer bottle (33 cl.) purchased from La Cervoiserie, and tasted in 2013.

Appearance : dark brown color, with light tan foam head.
Smell : roasted malty, alcohol and coffe aromas.
Taste & mouthfeel : roasted malty, licorice and heavy sweet and bitter with a long long duration.
Drinkability : a nice beer in the style Imperial or Baltic Porter.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 16:50:32 | More by thierrynantes

derkfromwi

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

04-06-2013 05:50:23 | More by derkfromwi

Jwale73

Rhode Island

3.99/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Generous extra courtesy of KingKong. 330ml bottle served in a tulip. 05/04/2012 indicated on the back label. Pours two shades shy of black with a 1.5 inch, tight, mocha-colored head. Head eventually disperses into a sudsy, broken froth. Interesting nose - malted milk balls and dark fruit. Taste follows nose; however, there's also a slight metallic character interspersed in the flavor profile. Mouthfeel is light-medium in body with a slightly creamy texture and a very mild, even carbonation. Overall, a very good Baltic Porter; however, it may be heading a bit down hill as I'm getting some traces of oxidation. I'd love the opportunity to try this on draft at some point.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 23:03:05 | More by Jwale73

schnarr84

Alberta (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

03-22-2013 21:21:04 | More by schnarr84

spycow

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

03-10-2013 23:44:05 | More by spycow

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.14/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

330ml bottle. These statically-labeled offerings from this Mikkeller-esque brewery keep on coming hard and fast to we beer lovers here in Albertastan.

This beer pours a very thorough black, with dark reddish brown hued basal highlights, and three fingers of puffy, broadly foamy beige head, which leaves a few instances of roller coaster profile lace around the glass as it slowly abates.

It smells of dry chalky cocoa powder, sour black fruit, soft anise, dark sugar, musty earthy, leafy hops, and a twinge of warming alcohol. The taste is a big shot of semi-sweet baker's chocolate, caramel malt, fruity molasses, a slight milky sourness, mild coffee grounds, more distinctive plump raisins, and a fading earthy mustiness.

The carbonation is quit sedate, and unobtrusive, the body a decent medium-full weight, and rather smooth, with strong creamy leanings. It finishes well off-dry, the chocolate and caramel still most prominent, as the fruit, hops, and alcohol pick and prod away in a slow, barely erosive process.

A rather pleasant porter overall, the chocolate dialed up, the sourness dialed down, and the alcohol somehow off in another dimension, or something. Lots of flavour to go around, and really nothing to keep you from enjoying this like I would imagine the titular Russian empress would.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 03:39:05 | More by biboergosum

GONZALOYANNA

Spain

3.48/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

330ml bottle. Snifter glass. Enjoyed on sep´12. Dark mahogany color & tan headed. Lasting thin layer is left on top. To the nose roasted malt & fudge chocolate aromas, floral fragrances & spiced touches. Creamy & sweet malty sensation. Full body. Soft carbonation. Oily & dense. Herbal & bitter cocoa in the middle. Sligthly sugary aftertaste. Incredible well hidden ABV!!

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2013 22:04:54 | More by GONZALOYANNA

aztraz

Sweden

3.25/5  rDev -22.4%

02-05-2013 17:00:34 | More by aztraz

popery

California

3.98/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Pours black with some dark brown just barely showing on the edges. Small-ish mocha-colored head with lots of fine bubbles. It's actually a pretty decent head for the abv. The aroma has a lot of tasty milk chocolate but seems a bit simple otherwise. There's a lactic edge with a whole bunch of cocoa, so basically milk chocolate. There's a definite caramel malt backbone and a bit of fruitiness to the beer, but it's buried in chocolate. A very light touch of booze. There's probably a light mineral-ish hop flavor, as well, but it's not easy to pick out. The taste is sweet, and while there's a bit more depth, the beer is still on the simple side here, as well. Lots of milk chocolate but a bit more malt and hop complexity, particularly in the finish. It's not quite roasty, but there's a darkly toasty malt flavor in there. The milk chocolate sweetness just doesn't relent, though. Mouthfeel is smooth and full. Very good. This is a nice beer, but I was hoping for more. I tried the recent Evil Twin stout and porter brewed at De Molen, and they were great. So, I guess I had my hopes up for this beer and a couple others. While this is a good beer, I don't think it's worth the price tag.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 06:23:58 | More by popery

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.19/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

330ml bottle poured into tulip 28/1/13

A looks like black liquid with a deep cola edge, two fingers of mocha foam fall fairly fast ending up as a thin film that leaves no lace

S molasses and slightly sour dark fruits come out first, bakers chocolate, a little booze, raisins, some licorice and earthy notes

T the roast is darker in the mouth, a little char and smoke work well with the sweetness, slightly nutty and the raisins I could smell have switched to prunes, a little chocolate liqueur with coffee and overall I'm a little surprised how different the flavor is compared to the nose

M not too thick with a little heat, a little sticky on the lips and nice sweet roast aftertaste lingers for a while

O pretty solid example of the style, could use a little age but already quite mellow for a big brew. quite a bit going on and nothing to complain about, something I'd drink again in a heartbeat

I'm happy with this one and might buy one or two to sit on, I doubt I'll age it for the 25 year potential I see printed on the bottle but I'm sure a year or two would do it some good

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 03:02:15 | More by wordemupg

Texasfan549

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -10.5%

01-27-2013 23:53:11 | More by Texasfan549

kjkinsey

Texas

4/5  rDev -4.5%

01-27-2013 16:56:09 | More by kjkinsey

bigorange

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -4.5%

01-26-2013 01:55:18 | More by bigorange