Collective Arts Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Porter – Imperial Porter at 11.5% ABV (C$6.99 at Okotoks Co-Op, 355 ml, packaged on 25-Aug-2021, acquired 12-Feb-2022, reviewed 17-Feb-2022)
Appearance: opaque brown with a hint of ruby around the edges, one finger of fine beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, hint of liquorice, leather. (9/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate-low carbonation, sticky moderate duration slightly edgy warming finish. (4/5)
Definitely reminiscent of another certain “Kentucky”, at least in aroma and to some extent flavour. Unlike the other, though, this one has some structural issues, particularly regarding head development and retention. They might appear close in score, but trust me, at this level the scoring almost becomes logarithmic in nature, and there’s a world of difference in complexity and finesse encapsulated in that roughly half a point out of ten. The ABV is also just a hair aggressive, and I would normally suggest a year or two of cellaring to mellow – except this one was a can, and although I’ve come a long way in my attitude toward cans, I’m not about to even countenance cellaring one, no way, no how. (17/20)
This will be my 5,194th unique Untappd check-in.
8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
