Imperial Porter (Brewmaster Series) - Long Trail Brewing Co.

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Recent bottle. Surprisingly good IP by this brewery. Black colour, enormous head with big brown lace. Malts are roasted. Taste is hoppy, and that carries you through a voyage of hoppiness, of roast, a little mollasses. Taste is citrus, minority of wood chips. Average mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2009 02:11:12 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.4/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Tootsie Roll brown that is right on the border between opacity and lucency when brightly backlit. Sunshine brings out tangerine and maraschino cherry colored accents. The coffee milkshake-like crown oozes character and is all kinds of sticky, while an attractive array of lace puts the finishing touch on a great looking beer.

The aroma was predictable given the ingredients list. Roasted and chocolate malt comes through loud and clear, as does the citrus and pine of an outstanding lineup of American hops. Nugget, Centennial, Simcoe and Amarillo are present to the tune of 56 IBUs. This should be mighty tasty beer.

Imperial Porter doesn't taste much like a Baltic porter. To be fair, LTBC doesn't call it one. It tastes like a highly-hopped American stout or porter. Imperial is a bit of a stretch, but that doesn't mean it's less than good. And drinkable. Given all the lupulins, are we sure that Long Trail hasn't relocated to the West Coast? The contrast between sweet, bitter and tangy is sublime.

A little more malt would have turned the flavor knob up another half turn and would have wrested some control away from the little green cones. Not that I'm complaining. Flavors include bittersweet chocolate more than coffee, as well as a tropical fruit juicy blast that would seem out of place if the beer wasn't so delicious. Drinkability just got bumped.

While not bad at all, the mouthfeel is too light and is too loosey-goosey for the style and the ABV. It promotes rapid consumption, but something more lush and perky would have pulled this score up another notch.

Brewmaster Series Imperial Porter is at least as good as Double Bag, which is the best Long Trail beer that I've had to date. Some might not care for the style-busting hoppiness, but a generous amount of the right hops makes pretty much everything better.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2009 15:36:42 | More by BuckeyeNation

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle picked up at Rick's in Alexandria and served in a snifter.

Pours dark brown with a huge off-white head with large carbonation bubbles. This leaves some spotty lacing after some excellent retention that went with the several-finger head. The nose is roasty with some dark fruits, plums, and mild chocolate. Really strong on the plum/prune character. The taste gives fairly-strong dark fruit component and then adds in some roasted malt without too much else. Medium body and a dry finish. Very strange. Overall, just way too heavy on the dark fruit flavors, even when a bit expected in a Baltic Porter.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 14:16:27 | More by Thorpe429

brentk56

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: A nice pour, with a rocky tan head that sits atop the nearly pitch black liquid; a curtain of lace drips down the sides of the glass

Smell: Roasty black bread and chocolate with a charred, but piney hop character

Taste: Toasted black bread, with a chocolate and piney hop character that develops by mid-palate; after the swallow, the hops overwhelm the malts, though there is some residual chocolatey sweetness that lingers in the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Certainly not a Baltic Porter (and there is nothing on the brewery's website that would lead one to believe that they think it is a Baltic Porter, either), so I didn't rate it as such; still, it is rather unbalanced and I would like to see the malts stand up to the onslaught of the hops better than they do

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2011 18:26:48 | More by brentk56

oberon

North Carolina

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had the Brewmaster Series DIPA and enjoyed it and was glad to get my hands on this,a good baltic porter is one of the finger things in the beer world in my mind.Poured a deep cola color with a large blooming tannish colored head atop that left alot of froth behind as it settled slowly.A mix of earth,wood, and sweeter molasses in the nose,even a passing piney hop presence comes through,very nice.Big and roasted on the palate,that woody element comes in along with some lighter earthiness,not to sweet with light molasses and vanilla showing through.There is quite a hop presence to this big porter keeping it quite dry,the big roast though is,to me, the biggest component of the beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2009 23:13:22 | More by oberon

WesWes

New York

4.2/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours a dark brown/black color with a thick frothy tan head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is great! It has a tremendous coffee and roasted malt character along with a really nice hop aroma; maybe too hoppy for the style. The taste is good. It has a smooth chocolate and patent malt flavor along with a very hoppy finish. It's extremely flavorful with multiple layers of complexity. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a very good imperial porter. I love the hop character. It's the primary focus here even though porters are traditionaly malt driven.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2009 00:40:53 | More by WesWes

metter98

New York

4.09/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

A: The beer is jet black in color and poured with a finger high dense tan head that died down, leaving a thin film of lacing covering the surface and a ring of large bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of roasted malts in the nose along with some hints of coffee beans.
T: Flavors of dark roasted malts dominate the overall taste, which also has just about a moderate amount of bitterness from the underlying hops. Hints of chocolate malts are also detectable.
M: It feels nearly medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer packs in lots of roasted malt flavors but is very drinkable and hides any traces of alcohol exceptionally well.

Note: 2011 Vintage

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 03:15:06 | More by metter98

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a mug glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a large beige head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, some dark fruit and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out with a strong and hearty roasted malt character along with flavors of dark chocolate, black coffee and dark fruit. There is some smokiness in the background and a very faint touch of alcohol sneaks in as well. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium-to-heavy body, medium carbonation, finish is dry and slightly sticky.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, slightly filling, good kick, very good representation of style, this is a very solid beer worth drinking for a long time if you're in the mood for the style.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2011 03:02:59 | More by TheManiacalOne

Gavage

New Jersey

4.05/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: black in color with a 1" tan colored head. Moderate lacing develops during the session.

Smell: chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts are easily detectable.

Taste: big roasted malt profile with loads of bitter chocolate, coffee, prunes, mild alcohol tones, and a nice bitterness.

Mouthfeel: medium-heavy in body. Lightly crisp to start, smooth and a bit dry late. Aftertaste is long and warming as the flavors linger in the mouth a while.

Drinkability: this beer was super fresh which made me drink it a bit faster than I normally would. Flavorful beer that hits the style nicely.

Serving type: on-tap

10-06-2009 23:50:46 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. bottle, poured into a snifter glass:

Pours black with a thin tan head that lasts, leaving some rings and spots of lacing.

The smell is hoppy for style - citric and herbal - pungent, with chocolate.

The taste is of chocolate/caramel/coffee with a pungent, somewhat "green" hop accent.

Medium-bodied with alcohol well-covered.

There is something a bit "raw" here. I do love my hops, but here I don't know that it melds so well with dark maltiness. Still, it is well-priced and certainly worth trying!

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2009 23:02:38 | More by jwc215

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours pitch black with with cola brown highlights when held toward the light, head had a light kahki tan hue nice evenly spread lacing. Aroma has citrus herbal leafy hops with dark chocolate malts flowing. Flavor has roasted malts with dark bitter chocolate and hars coffee edges, but there's also some strong hop bitterness and herbal/citrus qualities left on the tongue. This is the hoppiest dark beer I've come across really super hoppy flavors within an imperial porter, it's great definitely an American take on it nothing like a Baltic porter. Fuller bodied sturdy carbonation leaves dark bitter roasts and hoppy bitterness with a dry finish. Overall a very nice drinkable hopped up strong porter, you can't really go wrong with this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2010 03:16:40 | More by WVbeergeek

smcolw

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Rocky, tan head. Deep dark brown color where only a minimum of light passes. Good ring lace on the glass.

Chalky cocoa aroma. Semi-sweet chocolate. Light alcohol in the background.

Starts off mild with darker caramel malts. This fades with the black patent component that kicks in a couple of seconds later. There's some solid hop bitterness in the swallow. A long aftertaste of bakers chocolate and bittering hop.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 23:42:57 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4.35/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks goes out to jwc215 for this brew.

22oz. Bomber

Pours a very nice black color, nice carbonation, very nice thick/creamy tan head, with some nice thick/creamy sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, with a very nice chocolate/toffee/coffee note. The taste is malty, nicely sweet, with tons of chocolate/toffee/coffee. Medium body. Very drinkable, this is a very tasty brew. I've had a few very tasty brew's from LT.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2010 01:05:12 | More by Wasatch

jdhilt

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a three finger khaki head that fades slowly, leaving chucks of lace. Totally black color, no highlights. Medium carbonation and medium-heavy bodied. Roasted chocolate nose and flavor is roasted chocolate with bittersweet chocolate finish. Smooth. Higher ABV is hidden. Decent imperial porter. $5.99 for a 22oz bottle from Concord Coop Concord, NH.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2011 23:34:05 | More by jdhilt

Billolick

New York

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber with 072809 etched onto the bottle. Bottling date info perhaps? Pours real dark, dark tan head, nice frothyness and retention, with fine spots and strands of lace. Pungent nose doused with notes of chocolate, coffee and piney hops. A load of chocolate on the tongue. Bold and quite flavorful. I'd love to try this one with vanilla dessert to let the flavors battle it out. Hops quite evident and adding nicely to the complexity. Fine brew, nice for an after dinner sipper or with a bold dessert. Simply yummy, dark beer lovers rejoice and go get some of this stuff, clearly well worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2009 22:48:54 | More by Billolick

jlindros

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Light fluffy slightly darker colored head of 1 finger. The beer is almost black with a slight dark brown pitch to it.

N: Sweet malts, stout like actually, dark malts, roast, black patent. With that is some earthy hops, slight sweet brown sugar, caramel, a little coffee, and a slight creamy milk chocolate.

T: Some sweetness with lots of coffee and roast. A slight earthy charred malt bitter flavor comes through too with lots of brown sugar, molasses, caramel, and some earthy hop bitterness. The bitterness combines between the charred malts and some hops.

M: Medium body, slightly syrupy, with decent carbonation.

F: Still sweet with lingering minerality and earthy charred malt bitterness. A slight earthy hop bitterness also comes through. There is also quite a bit of lingering coffee and roast, with a little caramel and brown sugar too.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2010 17:10:24 | More by jlindros

mdfb79

New York

3.78/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into my Duvel tulip.

a - Pours a dark dark brown with one finger of tan head and high carbonation evident. Little bit of lacing.

s - Smells of coffee, chocolate, roasted malts, toasted malts, dark fruits, and a hint of alcohol.

t - Tastes of coffee, bitter chocolate, bitter hops, roasted malts, alcohol, and a hint of vanilla.

m - Medium to full body and moderate carbonation.

d - A pretty nice porter. Would have liked the taste to be a little sweeter but very solid and would definitely try again.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2010 22:31:16 | More by mdfb79

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap @ the Long Trail Brewing Company (Bridgewater's Corner, VT) on 9/26/10. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a VERY dark amber/near brown, with some ruby hues coming out along the bottom, and is topped with about a finger of rich mocha colored head. The aroma smells of cocoa and caramel notes that meld with roast and coffee character and even has a bit of dark fruit and herbal hop character thrown in for good measure. I'm digging the complexity here but this overall seems like it could go a little fuller in the nose.

The taste is chocolate roast, some sweet toffee sweetness, and a good bit of coffee character, which adds an almost astringent twang to the profile. A dab of dark fruitiness and some green citrus also mixes in and adds to the tangy flavors here. This finishes with some leftover sweetness and earthy bitterness, leaving some sticky grit behind in its wake. The mouthfeel is fuller bodied, with some sharpness to the carbonation but is otherwise fairly smooth, which helps compliment all of that sweet and tangy character. There is some warmth in the body and a gentle boozy haze that hangs on the breath but the alcohol here is relatively well hid.

I've enjoyed these Brewmaster Series entries for the most part and this one was no different. This was a full flavored and bodied Porter that was complex enough to keep me interested and smooth enough to stay a steady sipper during the duration of the glass. I just wish that I had picked an extra bottle of this up from the gift shop.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2010 18:28:02 | More by Kegatron

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep dark brown that almost pitch black and completely opaque with only the slightest of mahogany edges when held to a light source and a two inger frothy creamy light tan head that has excellent retention, only slowly fading into a lasting cap that coats the pint with rings of chunky, soapy lacing.

Deep roasty aroma with lots of dark bitter chocolate, roasted coffee bean, burnt toast, toffee, oatmeal and very earthy, piny hops. Surprisingly prominent hop character, especially for the style but the roasted dark malts still shine through.

Chewy medium body that is very hop forward, probably too much so for my liking with a lot of dry earthy bitterness that lingers throughout over a roasted dark malt body into a very dry bitter finish. Slight citrus character to the hops as well but mostly just dry and piny. Very roasty dark chocolate malts with hints of burnt toast, coffee bean, licorice, oatmeal, hazelnut, toffee and more bitter hops. The hops are way to bitter and dominant and they overpower the silky roasted choaolte malt flavors that I usually love in this style. An interesting take on the style but not something I would seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2009 08:00:41 | More by corby112

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear and very dark brown with wide, coppery chestnut edges. A fluffy, dark tan cap hung around for a while, leaving some chunky lace clinging to the glass. Good porter aroma, lots of dark malt, caramel, and grapefruit hops. Notes of chocolate held thing together nicely. Hop bitterness was pronounced, resinous, and overpowered the malts somewhat. Citrusy throughout, mostly grapefruit with some citrus pith/rind as well. Malt sweetness mingled with fruity sweetness, but chocolate and roast character was mostly absent. It finished with a hint of alcohol and warmth, plus lingering citrus bitterness. The malt had almost completely fallen away by this point, leaving only a slight sweetness on the palate. The texture was great, full bodied with creamy carbonation and a light dryness from the hops and dark grains. I have to say that I was a bit let down by this beer's flavour. I could tell it was highly hopped from the aroma, but hoped that the malts would still provide enough balance - which they didn't. I still enjoyed it, but feel that it would have been much better if it was more balanced.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2010 20:34:37 | More by DrJay

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Dark brown like a rich Colombian coffee, although opaque it is ornately underscored by a garish strike of auburn. The beer's head first puffed up like a blowfish and then soon after dispelled like a puff of smoke, but not before it managed to leave behind plenty of evidence attesting to its former presence.

Conventional porters exude a rich malty sweetness but this isn't your conventional porter: it's hopped with a vibrantly citric, fruity, bright cast of hops and it flaunts it big time. Sure, there is still the semi-sweet chocolate and the heavy roast malts, plenty of them actually, but something delightfully tropical sneaks in there as well.

Talk about the Green Mountains! Hops factor into the taste as well. Bitter grapefruit, pineapple and pine bark seem at odds with coffee, molasses, nutty chocolate and dark fruits, but it turns out these tones compliment rather than contrast. The tongue is being tugged at both arms, one by sweet caramelly malts and the other by bitter resiny hops.

It's like indulging in a particularly fine chocolate ganache, drizzled in a balsamic-caramel reduction and paired alongside a fresh-pulled shot of espresso. Blackberries and cantaloupe on the side. It is rich and satisfying, but not so filling that I won't race my way through the second half of this bomber. The alcohol hasn't made a peep.

I love porters (especially the bulked up ones like this). My personal tastes aside, this is not the first truly spectacular offering I've had from this Brewmaster Series. People *should* be falling over themselves to get these releases. The brewery *should* be making them year-round offerings. I *should* shut up already and enjoy what's left in the glass.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2010 04:56:39 | More by biegaman

Brad007

Vermont

4.43/5  rDev +8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a pitch black color with a brown two-finger head into my fluted glass. It leaves a bit of lacing as well.

Aroma is cream and a bit of bitter coffee as well. A bit of chocolate is present with also some alcohol warmth.

Taste is nice with coffee, chocolate, caramel and cream all making their presence known. Very creamy especially in the very middle.

Mouthfeel carries over with the lingering of flavors mentioned above and a dry finish.

Very nice! Easy to drink and enjoy even at the abv listed. It's what I feel an imperial porter should taste like. A bit like a stout in some ways but again, easier to drink.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2009 02:26:58 | More by Brad007

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is a big (American) porter... I don't think they've seen anything like this in the Baltic... but I love it.

A: Black with a tan head, some retention, excellent lacing.

S: Piny, floral, citrus, alcohol, molasses, brown sugar.

T: Licorice, dark rye bread, dark chocolate, piny, citrus, molasses, solid bitterness, warming alcohol.

M: Well-attenuated, smooth, moderate body.

D: An excellent sipper.

Had another one at the beginning of March 2010. The hops are fading a little, so the nose is tamer. I might be inclined to up the flavour to a 4.5. This one is nice.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2009 02:32:20 | More by Derek

gford217

Georgia

4.13/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bomber courtesy of VanillaMike poured into a tulip.

Pours completely black with almost no light penetrating underneath a huge fluffy tan head that recedes very slowly and leaves a thick clump of foam on top and tons of lacing. A gorgeous looking beer overall.

The aroma is a nice balance of sweet and dark chocolate as well as roasted black malts and some coffee. But the most surprisingly thing to me is the huge hop presence that I absolutely wasn't expecting in an imperial porter. There are some sweet oranges and pineapples and some softer pine.

The taste has a really interesting bitterness up front that is partly bitter citrus hops and partly roasted coffee. This gives way to the dark malt backbone with some chocolate notes and a finish that is flush with floral hops and leaves a serious hop bitterness, unlike anything I've experienced in a porter taste.

The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied for a big porter but the unique hop presence makes up for that a little bit.

I was surprised by both the uniqueness and the quality of this beer. It's probably not the best porter I've tasted but it's definitely the hoppiest and that really adds to the complexity and overall appeal for me. Very, very good.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2009 03:47:13 | More by gford217

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I purchased this bottle from Wegmans -enjoyed chilled from a willybecker.

The color is black and opaque with a thick 3 finger medium tan cap, thick lace clings and bead is ultra fine with very good retention.
The smell is fruity and roasty with slightly hoppy aroma with a light woody scent and an intensely chocolate note in the malt iwth light citrus accents. Thick, viscous feel with moderately high carbonation and medium bitterness with a subtle roast and light creamy tinge with a subtle warming of alcohol in the texture iwth light drying finish and moderately spiced throughout.

The taste is toasty with a lithg brown sugar flavor with subtle citrus tinges and mild woody notes up front. The taste has more roasted coffee in the taste with light grapefruit coming from the hops as it warms with a mild amount of grain astringency and slight bit of bittersweet cocoa and a honee aspect in the woody/roasty finish w/ a mildly sugar taste as it warms with slight stone fruit element in the finish. Overall a nice hoppy porter with light alcohol flavor and pretty smooth for an 8.3% Imperial porter

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2012 15:00:45 | More by Slatetank