Fuller’s Imperial Porter (2019)

Style: Imperial Porter London, England ABV: 10 IBU: 40 500ml bottle

Tasted on 19/3/22 Best by 12/29 Price: 65R$

I’ve finally got round to getting one of these in and although it was expensive, it’s a lot less than I’ve seen it in other places. It looks classy with its cute and elegant box and Fuller’s do this kind of beer with a lot of flair so it should be excellent. I also got the imperial IPA and stout in for the same price; I’ve had Fuller’s RIS a couple of times before and it’s really great. This is the 2019 vintage so it’s had three years to age and develop.

From the pour you can see the difference between this one and the RIS, this is much clearer and seems less thick and gloopy but it is still very dark but with more brown and reddish glints and the head is a light beige which is fine and creamy. It smells great with lots of coffee and black treacle. There’s also bitter chocolate and lots of roast malt character but it does differ from a RIS, it’s less smoky and heavy and although it’s clearly a heavyweight it does have a subtle lightness.

It is, however, very thick and chewy in the mouth with light and fine carbonation. It’s lovely and smooth with a certain creaminess. Of course, it is strong with a rich, dark malty character and the black treacle adds a smoky, bittersweet flavour. there’s some expresso and dark chocolate too and great lingering dry aftertaste. It’s lovely and warming too and perhaps after three years ageing it’s achieved a great balance of flavours.

It was definitely worth it and I’d get it again for the same price. It’s a lovely beer, tons of character and expertly brewed.

Score: 4.5

Garimpero/Van Been Hook

Style: Imperial Porter Campinas, SP, Brazil ABV: 8.1 IBU: 31 500ml PET Growler

Tasted on 4/9/21 Bottled on 4/9/21 Price: 26R$

This was a lucky discovery on ifood, it’s an imperial porter with rum by Garimpero in collaboration with Van Been, both pretty decent breweries and although it might be a bit warm for a strong dark beer, I’ve got some lighter ones lined up for after. It’s got a big light beige head which is fine and creamy and it’s a very dark brown colour but paler than a stout. It has quite a light and subtle aroma, at least at first, there’s some rich and sweet malt with hints of dark chocolate but not much smokiness and you get a boozy punch from the rum with dark sugar and raisins. As it warms up a but some more aromas are revealed and there’s a creamy vanilla note and abit of black toffee. Apart from the rum, it doesn’t smell too boozy or strong.

The carbonation is very fine but appropriate and it feels soft and creamy in the mouth. It’s a very smooth beer but with lots of flavour and character. It’s creamy with vanilla and caramel but there’s a lovely light smoked flavour which hints at a medium roast sweet coffee with touches of chocolate and raisins.. The rum makes it appearance at first as lightly tart vinous flavour but also imparts brown sugar and booze. It doesn’t really taste so strong though but there is some warmth and the lingering flavour is of a roast and smoky bitterness, alcohol and warmth.

It’s quite a light imperial porter but that isn’t a bad thing here as there’s a lot of flavour but it’s delicate and not in your face, even the addition of rum is quite subtle. I like it and it’s very drinkable and well made.

Score: 4

Locomotive Wafer de Avelã

Style: Imperial Porter Rio Negrinho, SC, Brazil ABV: 8 IBU: 40 473ml Can

Tasted on 12/12/20 Best by 30/6/21 Price: 25$

It seems a while since I’ve had an imperial porter and one by a new brewery too. It’s another one from the south but they don’t seem to have the German influence that many southern breweries have. This has hazelnuts, vanilla, cocoa and oatmeal and aims to mimic the flavour of a wafer, and why not.

It’s thick and black with a creamy beige head which is fine a slowly recedes leaving the semblance of a coffee’s froth. It smells creamy, rich and nutty with a bit of coffee and more chocolate. It almost smells like a dessert as it is definitely more on the sweet side, so I’m hoping the flavour may be more balanced.

It’s very thick, smooth and creamy in the mouth with just a light tingle of carbonation. It’s quite a gentle and smooth beer for its strength and it’s clearly a porter mot a stout. It’s sweet and milky with lots of vanilla and nuts but it isn’t sickly and the light bitterness is just right to balance things. There’s no harshness and it isn’t even very boozy, just giving me a glow.

There’s not much surprise it’s on the sweet side but thankfully, it isn’t cloying at all and it’s giving me good first impressions of Locomotive.

Score: 4

Way Uh! Cumaru

Style: Imperial Porter  Pinhais, PR, Brazil   ABV: 10.1   IBU: 68   355ml bottle

Tasted on 26/8/20   Best by 6/21   Price 22R$

Here’s another from Way, who can make good beers but sometimes they come out a bit shoddy and they seem to have a good deal with Clube do Malte, as they sell a lot of their beers. This one looks promising an Imperial stout with cumaru, a flavour I’ve come to enjoy in beer as well as in chocolate, juices and ice cream.

It has a very velvety beige head which is thick and lush, taking its time to settle down and it’s very dark brown, thick and opaque. Its aroma doesn’t jump out at you but it is pleasant, it’s roasted and there’s lots of rich chocolate with the cumaru present and coming out as a mix of vanilla, lemon, pineapple and cocoa. It has a light coffee aroma but it’s more chocolate. It’s delicate, rich and aromatic.

It feels very thick, creamy, chewy and heavy in the mouth with lightly prickly carbonation. I like this one, very good first impressions. It’s well-balanced, rounded and clean and bursting with flavour. There is lots of bitter chocolate and black coffee as well as the cumaru flavours which are nicely mixing without being either too strong and overbearing nor being negligible. It is abit on the boozy side which is to be expected and it’s nicely warming, also the balance is more dry and bitter despite some early sweetness and creaminess,

This one works for me and it’s pretty much how I’d hoped and imagined it to be. Way seem to have a thing for porters as they’ve got quite a few in their portfolio and this is definitely one of their better if not best ones.

Score: 4.2

ZalaZ & Bold – Festival ZalaZ 2019 – Da Fazenda Ao Copo

Style: Imperial Porter  Paraisópolis, MG, Brazil   ABV: 8.5   IBU: 48   500ml bottle

Tasted on 11/4/20   Best by 7/20   Price: 30R$

This is one of a series of collaborative beers by Zalaz, this one is with Bold (one of my favourite breweries) and although I’d love to try the whole series, this seems to be one of the most appealing to my tastes an imperial coffee porter.

It has a huge creamy beige head which seems not to be dying down and it’s a dark porter, getting on towards a stout in its darkness but with a few more ruby glints. I’m getting the coffee and a light cocoa aroma and a touch of roasted malts but there is also what seems to be a bit of a sour aroma, which certainly would be disappointing. It’s lightly creamy too but I’m hoping the taste is better than the aroma, as I was looking forward to this one.

It’s very smooth and creamy in the mouth with tight and prickly carbonation which is, however, quite low. Thankfully, I think the sourness came from the coffee, but it does have quite a bit of caffeine acidity, which dries the mouth. The coffee here is fruity and tart and almost seems unroasted, so it’s like the sensation of eating the red coffee berries rather than roast coffee beans. It doesn’t taste too boozy but it’s pleasantly warming.

It’s a bit of an odd one and I was expecting something else, in this case the traditional rich roast coffee would have worked better, but it isn’t bad either.

Score: 3.8

Dádiva + EAP Double Blueberry

Style: Imperial Porter  Várzea Paulista, SP, Brazil   ABV: 10.3   473ml can

Tasted on 12/3/20   Best by 7/20  Price: 30R$

Dadiva and EAP have collaborated on this one to make a potent double blueberry porter. I’m not too sure about blueberries and porters but as it’s Dadiva I’m expecting they can make it work.

It has a light beige very stable and smooth head which is fine and creamy and it’s a dark brown colour but far from black with red glints. It has a strong smell of cassis and ribena, with a cakey malt sweetness and hints of cream and vanilla, so it’s really reminding me of papaya ice cream with cassis, that delicious Brazilian dessert. There’s a background roast aroma which is reminiscent of a light roast coffee with a touch of milk chocolate. It’s an unusual aroma for sure but does kind of work.

It feels thick. heavy and creamy in the mouth with very low carbonation, which is appropriate. It’s a good one, with lots of levels, first it’s the cassis and vanilla but this evolves to a more chocolate flavour which then ends in a dry bitter coffee finish. It tastes quite strong but the 10% plus is well hidden. It has a bit of a cough medicine taste to it, which I actually don’t mind.

Another delicious strong beer from Dadiva with a helping hand from the best beer bar and emporium in Brazil, probably.

Score: 4.3

 

Dádiva Medio Tiempo

Style: Double English Porter    Várzea Paulista, SP, Brazil  ABV: 8   473ml can

Tasted on 12/2/20   Best by 9/20   Price: 35R$

An oddly appropriate summer evening for a strong smoked porter as it’s actually pretty cool. Thankfully, I keep coming across new Dádiva beers and I like the sound of this one, it has 25% of smoked malt and has vanilla and American oak in the mix, although I don’t think it’s aged so probably just oak chips during fermentation.

It pours nice and thick, so at least it isn’t one of those wishy washy porters, it’s very dark and opaque with a dark beige head which slow dissipates and leaves a smart and even cap. It smells like rich and roast malts with a light smokiness. There’s black treacle, vanilla and bitter chocolate too, with a touch of coffee thrown in. The smokiness is very present but not at all overwhelming and it’s a very interesting and curious aroma.

It’s pleasantly thick and chewy in the mouth with quite light carbonation. It’s got a lot going on here, with the vanilla and oak up front and a sweet burnt syrup. The smoke pervades throughout it all with chocolate and coffee notes sneaking through at the end it’s quite bitter and the hopes shrine through. I might have enjoyed it even more without the vanilla, an aggregate which is a little overused these days.

As always with Dádiva it’s a mighty fine beer and a great example of a porter but would have been better without the vanilla.

Score: 4.2

 

ZalaZ Ybyrá Una – 2017

Style: Imperial Porter  Paraisópolis, MG, Brazil   ABV: 10   IBU: 54   375ml bottle

Tasted on 28/2/19   Best by   Price: 30R$

I guess this is an imperial porter as the style remains elusive on the label, anyway it’s a strong dark ale that’s been aged for about a year in oak barrels which were used first for whisky and then for cachaca, it also has coffee added to it. It promises to be a delicious brew and the ones I’ve had by this brewery before have generally been of high quality.

It pours with a big frothy beige head which was quite surprising and the head stays stable for a good long while before eventually receding to a foamy layer. It looks opaque and has a very dark brown colour. The barrel ageing is very apparent and there’s lots of wood and vanilla and a boozy whisky aroma mixed in with a sweeter cachaca note, the whole thing is almost spicy in nature. There’s also a creamy air to it and some sweet caramel and syrup and a touch of milk chocolate and light roast coffee and the mix of flavours also reminds me of coconut.

It feels heavy and thick in the mouth almost like syrup and it has low carbonation which just gives a light prickle. It has a strong whisky and cachaca flavour which is oaky and lightly peaty with an almost saline flavour, there’s tons of vanilla and sweet coconut too and only a light  roast and toasty taste with the malts adding more sweetness, it’s not such a bitter beer but the booze and barrel makes it pretty dry on the aftertaste and there’s plenty of warming with this one.

Maybe the barrel is a bit too dominant here and I’d like to have seen a bit more roast and toast flavours to offset the booze onslaught but it’s not a bad beer just not quite balanced with acidity running a bit too high.

Score : 3.7

 

Dogma Modern Dogma

Style: Imperial Porter  São Paulo, Brazil   ABV: 9   IBU: 40   310ml bottle

Tasted on 2/1/19   Best by 3/20   Price: 30R$

The first beer of the year has to be a good one for sure, so here’s another Dogma, this time in collaboration with a San Diego brewery called Modern Times, it’s a nice and strong Imperial Porter which I tend to enjoy a lot, maybe even more than Imperial stouts at times.

It looks bang on in the glass with a smooth beige head and deep brown colour, which is lighter than a stout for sure. It smells roasty and toasty but also relatively light and balanced with plenty of malt sweetness coming through. As its full style suggests (Imperial Mocha Porter) there’s plenty of chocolate and coffee in there. It smells very smooth, creamy and fresh and maybe there’s a hint of nuts in there too and a just a little caramel and syrup.

It feels thick, smooth and creamy in the mouth with a very full body and just light tingly carbonation. This is everything I love about an Imperial Porter, it’s rich with a very full taste but extremely well balanced, at first I thought it might err a bit on the sweet side but then the bitter roast coffee flavour kicks in and it actually ends up being quite dry. It has a creamy flavour with some light nuts and a bit of toffee and maybe there is a bit of maple syrup.

Another great one from Dogma and definitely one to rival Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea which is my benchmark for this style, I don’t know if it’s better but it’s in the same league.

Score: 4.5

Jupiter Golias

Style: Imperial Porter   São Paulo, Brazil   ABV: 11   355ml bottle

Tasted on 21/7/18   Best by 6/23   Price: 30RS

This a beer to celebrate five years of Júpiter beers a brewery that has some fine brews and this sounds like it could be another; a potent 11% imperial porter aged in amburana and balsam barrels. The night is a bit chilly now so it’s ideal for a beer like this.

It’s very viscous and thick and is a very dark, rich and opaque brown colour. It doesn’t have much of a head but what there is is a light coffee brown; fine and creamy. It has a very heady aroma and I think what I first get is the woody barrel, giving bits of vanilla and even maybe cachaça. There’s quite a lot of sweet caramel and burnt sugar as well as creamy chocolate and roast coffee. I think there is a hint of cinnamon too but anyway it’s an elegant blend of aromas.

It’s very thick and slick in the mouth with very little carbonation. This is a really great tasting beer with great first impressions. It’s full of flavour and very well blended. With a boozy cachaça opening flavours melting into a creamy chocolate and coffee tone. It has a very good bittersweet ratio which starts sweet but the aftertaste is bitter like coffee beans. It also has a bitter toffee taste and the amburana really works well with this one. It’s very warming and you know it’s a strong beer but it’s not overly boozy.

Another lovely beer by Júpiter (and fittingly I’m listening to Holst’s the The Planets suite) and most suitable for this blustery, coolish night.

Score: 4.3