Top Sail Imperial Porter - Bourbon Barrel Aged (Brewmaster Reserve 2012) - Full Sail Brewery & Tasting Room & Pub

gford217

Georgia

3.18/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22oz bottle.

Pours black with a big tan head that recedes slowly to a thick cap and leaves some decent lacing.

Aroma is heavy on the bourbon and oak with some vanilla and dark chocolate sweetness. Roasted malts in the background.

The taste is a little unbalanced with the bourbon dominating with less base beer coming through. The base beer I do get is heavily roasted malts and bakers chocolate. The finish isn't so great with the oak barrel and alcohol burn standing out.

The feel is light to medium bodied with the barrel thinning things out a bit too much for me.

This isn't a terrible beer but I just don't think the base beer stands up to the barrel and the resulting beer is unbalanced and less than drinkable. Not as good as Black Gold.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2012 03:07:07 | More by gford217

kojevergas

California

2.18/5  rDev -37.9%
look: 1.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

1 pint 6 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a conical Guinness pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed from notes taken while beeradvocate was down. Expectations are high given the style and label.

Served refrigerator cold and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

Not paired with food.

A: Pours a half finger "head" of laughably bad retention (~ four second) and slight tan colour. The retention is too awful to gauge the thickness or cream. Colour is a solid black. Carbonation bubbles are abundant.

Sm: Chocolate and oak are prominent. Fig when I look for it. Rich and fruity but strange. A mild strength aroma.

T: Chocolate and oak are dominant to the exclusion of other flavours. What little fig there is is nice, but it gets drowned out by the oak - which isn't particularly refined here either. Dark malts form the foundation. It's pretty bland and boring considering the style. Quite simple. Not at all subtle. A poorly constructed imperial porter. Not worth the time spent aging methinks. Badly executed and poorly balanced. No yeast or alcohol comes through.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Too thick. Overcarbonated. Somewhat syrupy. Poorly executed.

Dr: I really like the fig, but it's downplayed. This was a waste of oak aging and brewer's time. A very badly made imperial porter. Why brew this? I'd never get it again. Overpriced, especially considering its low quality. A major disappointment from Full Sail.

D

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2012 05:45:23 | More by kojevergas

Gmann

New York

4/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a near black color with some brown around the edges. The head is short but dense and creamy looking; settles into a thick ring.

The aroma is sweet and has a pronounced bourbon scent. The aroma is of vanilla and bourbon, not much balance from the malt. I like it but the bourbon dominates the malt.

The taste is of bourbon but not nearly as strong as in the aroma. Its a nice bourbon flavor without too much heat, with good notes of vanilla. The malt does provide a light roast flavor, dry. A light lemony twang.

The feel is moderate, almost light. The carbonation is fairly soft, not too much action. The porter starts off sweet but finishes quite dry with a light roasted bitterness. ABV well hidden.

A tasty bourbon porter, remarkably well balanced. Does not quite have the depth of flavors a stout would have but still good. Perhaps a touch too dry.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 05:25:42 | More by Gmann

cindyjeffsmith

Georgia

4.2/5  rDev +19.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

appearance: Dark brown, almost opaque. Fairly thick mocha head on the pour that mostly recedes. Not a stunner but handsome to be sure.
smell: The bourbon barrel aging is in your face, in a good way. Personally I like this, prefer it over the more subtle barrel aged brews. A standard porter with chocolate and a slight burnt whiff follows.
taste: Much like the nose though not quite as good as expected.
overall: A fine brew. Very easy drinker. Despite the 9.5%, it's a mellow fast drinkin muscle bound nice guy.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 22:10:14 | More by cindyjeffsmith

Viciousknishs

Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- pours a charcoal black with half a finger of tan head. Poor head retention.

S- rich dark chocolate and sweetness up front. Huge oaky nose on the finish with a hint of vanilla and serious sweet bourbon.

T- big dark chocolate with a note of molasses and burnt raisin. Slight char in the mid palate. Finishes with a huge punch of bourbon and aggressive oak with notes of vanilla and warm alcohol. Big flavor just a little one dimensional.

MF- slick mouthfeel with a medium body. Higher than average carbonation.

D- decent drinkability.

Overall it has big solid flavors but lacks the depth for it to be a truly phenomenal brew. Tastes like a chocolate with a bourbon center.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 01:27:06 | More by Viciousknishs

musicforairports

New York

3.83/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bomber dated 2012 poured into a mini-snifter.

Pretty much black. Nice brown head forms, but goes quickly. Very little lacing.

Smells of bourbon and coffee. Some metallic notes.

Flavor has nice oak and bourbon notes that don't overpower or carry a strong alcohol bite. Behind it is some coffee and strongly roasted, somewhat bitter malt notes. A bit thin, but enjoyable.

Appropriately carbonated and on the lighter side of medium for an imperial porter, but barrel-aging seems to do that.

Overall this one is worth trying. It's interesting to see these barrel notes in a beer with a lighter malt bill than a 10 percent-plus ABV imperial stout.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2012 03:17:15 | More by musicforairports

UCLABrewN84

California

3.9/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours an opaque black with a tan head that settles to a film on top of the beer. No lacing on this one. Smell is of dark roasted malt, coffee, vanilla, wood, and bourbon. Taste is very much the same. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good porter with a nice barrel aged presence.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 01:26:07 | More by UCLABrewN84

Wasatch

Utah

4.38/5  rDev +24.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2012 Vintage
22oz. Bomber

Pours a nice black color, nice carbonation, nice little fizzy tannish head, which leaves some nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is big and malty, nice touch of bourbon, woody, nice touch of vanilla, some toffee/chocolate, with some nice tones of caramel. The taste if very nice, malty, very nice notes of vanilla, very nice touch of bourbon, slight woody taste, a very nice balance of toffee/chocolate. Medium body, the alcohol is hidden very well. Very drinkable, another great brew from FS that is here in Utah, highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2012 18:35:18 | More by Wasatch