Santa's Little Helper - Port Brewing Company / Pizza Port

goschool

California

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: The pour is black with a frothy light brown head that starts out fairly large before fading away.

Smell: The nose is loaded with roasted malts. There's dark chocolate, brown sugar, molasses, Pacific Northwest espresso, and a healthy does of booze.

Taste: This is super chocolaty and I'm all about chocolate in beer. Right off the bat, the flavor profile delivers with semi-sweet chocolate, Southern Italian espresso, dark spiced rum, molasses, anise, and a shot of grapefruit and pine at the finish. The taste is slightly sweeter than the aroma, but no less intense.

Mouthfeel: It's full-bodied and oily, but not too sticky, with plenty of carbonation.

Drinkability: This is a wonderful imperial stout. Most of the time, when I can taste and feel the alcohol in big beers, it hurts drinkability, but every once in a while, I kinda enjoy abusing my palate and sobriety when the beer is this good. It must be the chocolate.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2008 08:33:23 | More by goschool

mikeburd1128

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -0.2%

05-12-2013 16:49:43 | More by mikeburd1128

Casey3236

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.2%

05-12-2013 03:10:42 | More by Casey3236

superspak

Michigan

4.15/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 8/27/2012. Pours dense pitch black color with a 2 finger dense and fluffy tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big dark chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, toast, brown sugar, char, candi sugar, raisin, light coffee, and earthy hop spiciness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark malt notes with moderate hop balance. Taste of big dark chocolate, roasted malt, pine, char, caramel, toast, brown sugar, coffee, and roasted earthiness. Fair amount of roasted pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, char, toast, brown sugar, coffee, pine, and earthy spiciness on the finish for a while. Very nice balance and complexity of roasted flavors, dark malt sweetness, and piney/spicy hops; with no cloying flavors after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and full bodied; with a creamy, slick, and lightly prickly mouthfeel that is very nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very excellent Russian imperial stout. All around nice complexity and balance of roasted/dark malt flavors with moderate piney/spicy hop balance; and very smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 03:35:44 | More by superspak

Kelp

New Hampshire

4.25/5  rDev +6%

05-04-2013 20:16:06 | More by Kelp

josephwa

Minnesota

4.75/5  rDev +18.5%

05-02-2013 16:55:41 | More by josephwa

browniewithnuts

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -12.7%

04-20-2013 03:10:04 | More by browniewithnuts

vfgccp

New York

3.94/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Killer looking stout. Towering khaki head with thick clouds of lace. Near-solid black with just the lightest rim of cola highlights.

S - At first whiff it feels relatively simple, but a second look shows some remarkable complexity. Light white booze and burnt caramel. Nutmeg, edge of cinnamon, andes mint chocolate, candy cane, and allspice.

T - Spicy for a stout. Dusty mint, burnt chocolate, charred coffee beans. Allspice, booze, gingerbread, and raw licorice root.

M - Medium frame.

O - Great appearance and nice complexity in the nose. Nice spice notes in the flavor profile, but I'm ambivalent about the mint flavors I'm picking up in the beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 02:36:24 | More by vfgccp

deadonhisfeet

Kentucky

3.79/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

2011 vintage acquired via trade. Poured from a bottle into a DFH snifter. Pours out dark brown, not quite black, with some light getting through. It's almost like an extremely dark Scotch Ale. On the nose I get some dark fruit, vanilla, oak, and bourbon. Sadly, I don't get much in the way of roasty notes. Still nice.

The beer is full-bodied and has intense flavors. I don't get roasty flavors out of this one. No noteworthy coffee or chocolate notes. None of the flavors one expects from an imperial stout. There's plenty of toffee, plums, figs, and of course, bourbon. There's lots of nice bourbon flavor to be found here. It's not hot, but it is definitely warming. The feel is good, though a bit thinner than I like in this style, which seems to contribute to the booziness.

This beer drinks more like an American (very) Strong Ale or barleywine. It's good, but I swear if it didn't say ``Imperial Stout'' right on the label, I wouldn't have been able to identify the style. I'm sure the age has something to do with it, but I wouldn't think that roastiness would vanish and bourbon flavors would intensify and the color would fade. At any rate, a very enjoyable beer, but not one I would trade for again. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 11:31:25 | More by deadonhisfeet

kels

Virginia

3.93/5  rDev -2%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Cheers to Carly for this unexpected gift! Don't get to see much lovely Port brew out here in Virginia.

Pours a lovely super dark chocolate brown, completely opaque with an assumed heaviness from the way it holds the rich skim of cocoa-powder brown foam. The head hangs around throughout the drink, little chocolate-milky bubbles studding the surface and stringy rings of lace hang about the walls of the glass.

Smell is powdery - a little Nestle Quik going on with a medium-bodied coffee roast. A hit of something vegetal sneaks in there and messes with my senses.

Holy mouthful of roast! Excellent boldness of the roast with a smooth and dry finish. Hit of chicory-like flavor. No hint of any cocoa in the taste. Hops are surprisingly notable in a dank way that seems to contribute a little to the veg in the nose. Carbonation higher than expected for the style. Helps lighten it up but interferes with the ability to get the full effect of the taste.

Overall pretty enjoyable beer. Definitely something worth sharing.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2013 01:14:01 | More by kels

buzzy

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%

03-30-2013 01:19:03 | More by buzzy

CasanovaCummins

Nevada

4.25/5  rDev +6%

03-26-2013 00:39:03 | More by CasanovaCummins

Sparky44

Illinois

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-24-2013 17:55:11 | More by Sparky44

e30todamax

Virginia

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-23-2013 19:40:34 | More by e30todamax

samEBC

Belgium

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-18-2013 20:11:14 | More by samEBC

saeh

France

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%

03-16-2013 06:22:26 | More by saeh

THECPJ

Delaware

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-15-2013 17:53:19 | More by THECPJ

nrs207

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-12-2013 23:58:26 | More by nrs207

spycow

Illinois

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-10-2013 19:43:11 | More by spycow

BGsWo22

New York

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-09-2013 20:33:13 | More by BGsWo22

heavenlyStash

California

4.25/5  rDev +6%

03-08-2013 06:46:32 | More by heavenlyStash

EricTheRed

New York

4.25/5  rDev +6%

03-08-2013 03:40:47 | More by EricTheRed

orangesol

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%

03-07-2013 19:53:17 | More by orangesol

Seanniek91

New Hampshire

3.85/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Served from a bomber into a Grey Sail pint. Got as an extra back in November.

Appearance- Black with 2 finger mocha head that left nice lacing.

Smell- Slight coffee, chocolate malts, light hop presence, mild caramel, booze. Nothing thrilling.

Taste- Booze up front, coffee, malty sweetness, finishes semi-bitter cocoa. Taste doesn't really linger around.

Mouthfeel- Very light and carbonated. Why, I have no idea. Finishes clean with mild heat.

Overall- Not bad by any means, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 20:02:13 | More by Seanniek91

Seaba

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.2%

02-28-2013 19:06:42 | More by Seaba