“Imperial Rye Porter is a dark ale with lots of character, brewed in collaboration with Terrapin.”
We love the idea of a collaboration. Bringing 2 totally different brewing techniques together ensures something interesting. As the saying goes….2 heads are better than one. Served in a beer tulip the opaque black pour whipped up a rocky 1 and a half finger brown head that maintains well. Good lacing. Although the aroma is slightly muted we could still detect subtle peaty undertones while dark chocolate, cocoa, rye, coffee and roasted malts were a little easier to uncover. Really smooth mouth feel for an imperial porter. Mildly carbonated with medium-full body. Initially some roasted malts and coffee come through before a dominant smoked aspect takes over. A bold hop dryness moves forward from the mid-palate and finishes earthy with a slight roastiness. Pretty good length. The 9% ABV was quite well buried, nowhere near as aggressive as we thought it would be. Essentially, it has the foundations set but it falls just short of an excellent porter. Take nothing from it though, it’s a highly palatable beer.