Grand Imperial Porter - Browar Amber

rtepiak

Poland

3.68/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

the first polish beer i had in poland that i want to write home about...

a very consistent example of the style. nice and black with a off white head. cherry/tawny dark in color up agaisnt the light... not particularly cloudy. nose is quite toasty... with a bit of chocolate and lots of nougat and mollasses. palate is all that a tad sweet... a tad smokey sour... a tad bitter. nice balance in the finish.

the body is mild but a nice density... not too thick. a dessert that one can have three. very smooth and drinkable.

had it again about a year later and it lack a lot of the dimension that i was expecting. overly sweet and not distiction of chocolate like before. just more so heavy handed sweet.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2010 23:03:31 | More by rtepiak

swierczt

Connecticut

3.63/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured into Chimay goblet. One inch thick off white head that dissipates quickly. Mahogany in color. Looks like a dark robust cup of coffee.

Smell of sweet malts. A bit of caramel.

Malt sweetness hits you right away. Fruits come through (plum and figs). Sweetness subsides a bit and fades to dark chocolate and a bit of coffee in the finish. Warming effect/booziness of the 8% ABV was not at all apparent.

Very light mouthfeel. Moderate carbonation.

This beer is a great after dinner sipper or beer to pair with desert. I would not have guessed that this offering was 8% ABV. I probably wouldn't drink more than 1 in a session. A great surprise at a fantastic price!

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2010 17:30:55 | More by swierczt

StevenBilodeau

Connecticut

3.65/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Pours into a glass, with a very light brown, off white head, that dissipates like soda. Good lacing, and taste. The flavor is of dark coffee, hint of dark chocolate, and a thin malt base, which conveys some hidden sweetness, maybe fruit. This beer is excellent and I recommend it to any one whom likes strong dark beers.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2010 22:12:54 | More by StevenBilodeau

alpinebryant

Connecticut

3.88/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a brandy snifter , day old coffee colored, sweet toffee smell, coffee scent, strong malt and sweet aroma. Huge head especially for a Porter.

Tasted strong coffee flavor , chocolate malt and some black patent, very sweet with toffee / caramel flavors and unfermented sugars. slight tanginess from coffee

Mouthfeel was medium bodied, not too thin, possible to drink more than one of these in a night, which cannot be said for all 8.0% abv drinks. I welcome the sweetness and coffee essence

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2009 02:59:32 | More by alpinebryant

far333

Connecticut

3.38/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Translucent chestnut colored with a thick off-white head that slowly sizzles down like root beer. Leaves a nice cap of foam with legs reaching up.

Aroma of dark malt and plum, some cocoa and caramel.

Flavors of rich roasted malt, caramel and toffee. Tending toward sweet, just shy of cloying. Notes of prune and plum, brown sugar, molasses and vanilla. Slight tinny finish.

Thin mouthfeel, a little slick and watery. Not much body.

Interesting flavor, but a little too sweet and slick. Not too drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2009 03:00:42 | More by far333

bgjohnston

Connecticut

4.38/5  rDev +20%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is just the sort of happy accident I hope for when I try a beer I know nothing about.

Pours very dark coffee color with a generous light brown head. Smell caught my attention right away: fruity, sweet, promising.

Taste delivers straight on, with a strong, dark roasted malt flavor, like a good dark roast coffee sweetened with a generous helping of dark chocolate. It is still sweet enough that it seems right to call it an imperial porter and not a stout, as I think drier for stout.

Mouthfeel is smooth and very big. I wanted to drink this one alot quicker than I should, as the alcohol is not very noticable. The flavor is so big, though, you will get much more out of it if you sip and enjoy.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2009 01:07:42 | More by bgjohnston

laituegonflable

Australia

3.65/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

If there were a BeerFly entry for the Little Bottler opposite Granville Station in Sydney I'd file a report, but somehow I don't think there is. Anyway, that's where I picked this one up.

Pours a very dark brown with a red tinge, ochre head that froths delightfully around when poured. Head becomes a thin crown, but lacing is a beautiful sheet of sticky beige. Looks, great, looks porterish. 2 thumbs up.

Nose is delightfully rich and complicated, like Anna Nicole Smith. Strong espresso character with a tart, plummy edge, but also something so sweet behind it, it's a muscat character, liqueury and syrupy. Perhaps a little too sweet for me, but otherwise fantastic smell.

On the palate, that sweet, fortified wine character takes over and renders this very sweet indeed. Has very little roasted character, but notes of sweet cherry, grapes and fruity syrup runoff. Finish is slightly darker, but never reaches any charcoaly bitterness which I was expecting. It's just thick and syrupy, particularly on the feel, a little heavy in the mouth.

Overall, this has some very nice flavours that just don't quite hit the spot with me because it's all so thick and rich and sweet. But it's very enjoyable and a unique brew I'm very happy to have had. I'm very pleasantly surprised by this Polish Porter, but ultimately where it comes from is immaterial - this is just a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2009 01:01:13 | More by laituegonflable

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.28/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a deep reddish black, with an initially tight-bubbled head of crema foam, which collapses against the edges of the glass, leaving some truly excellent lacing. Shame about the retention, but otherwise a fine looking beer.

Very toasty, roasted grain character. Lots of dark bread, organic sweetness, and even the tantalising hint of smoke and port. Really extremely sweet and sweaty, quite organic, roasted and dark. Not bad at all.

Smooth and incredibly sweet on the palate. Dark fruit mingles with dark chocolate, not unlike a Bavarian black forest cake. Again, there are hints of smoke and deeper things, but the rich, heavy, christmas pudding type brandy-soaked fruit sweetness wins out without even trying. A very heavy and full-flavoured brew. Mouthfeel is extremely good, a smooth and thick chewy texture that works in perfect harmony with the rich sweetness on the palate.

An extremely flavoursome and very heavy beer. Very, very sweet - would make an excellent complement to a dark, sweet dessert. I enjoyed it a great deal.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2009 11:39:01 | More by lacqueredmouse

ADZA

Australia

3.23/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This beer pours a jet black coca cola colour with minimal carbonation which leaves a nice one finger cappicino laced head that dissapears quickly to an oil slick right across the top of the glass with nice sticky lacing down the sides of the glass,it has aromas of sherry,chocolate,coffee and blackberries with a hint of maltiness in the background with a little hoppiness aswell and alcohol,it tastes not bad quite a strong mouthfeel with a sweet,maltish finish that definately overpowers any hops in this brew that leaves you with a sweet coffeeish alcohol warmth in aftertaste,an average baltic porter that wouldnt really recomend that you rush out and buy.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2009 13:08:06 | More by ADZA

atis

Finland

4.05/5  rDev +11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Got this one in Warsaw

Pours dark brown with dense yellow-brown one-finger thickness head. Leaves dense slowly downlsiding lacing.

Aroma is rather mild roasted coffee, caramel and a bit of dark chocolate. Taste is much more powerful - a bit bittery coffee, dark fruits, sweetish caramel, might be a bit of cocoa, hints of rye bread and very well hidden alcohol. Aftertaste is pleasant sweetish roasted. Mouthfeel is about medium and low carbonation.

Overall, a good Porter.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2009 12:07:34 | More by atis