Central City Brewers + Distillers Imperial Porter Imperial / Strong Porter at 9.0% ABV (C$7.89 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)
Appearance: clear deep brown with two fingers of dense mocha head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dark roasty malt, pithy citrus, boozy dark fruit, light smoke, faint chocolate and coffee. (6/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, moderately strong bitter. (6/10) Palate: full body, low carbonation, lingering warming finish. (3/5)
A bit… Well… “Harsh” might be overly emphatic. “Enthusiastic”, certainly. But there is an edge verging on solvent. It might more accurately be described as citrus, presumably due to a starts-with-C hop choice – which is normally something I’m all in favour of. In this case, though, I think I’d like it better with an earthier noble hop like Tettnanger or Hallertau. (12/20)
6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
