Southampton Brewery
Southampton, NY
Available: nationwide
This is Soutthampton brewmaster Phil Markowski’s interpretation of how an imperial porter would have tasted back in the 18th century.
ABV: 7.2
ABW: n/a
Color: n/a
Bitterness: 35
Original gravity: n/a
Sometimes you just need a breakfast beer, and Southampton’s Imperial Porter is definitely a good candidate for those morning wake-up calls. It pours a deep, rich brown with a khaki head that sticks around longer than distant in-laws over the holidays (and in a much more pleasant way). Aromas of malty sweetness and roasted barley barely make their presence known before the first sip. But the flavors make up for the lightness in the nose, with bursts of toffee, caramel, mocha and just a hint of bitterness, making a cup of this a great morning quaff. Or any time of the day, for that matter.
This ruby-colored beer is so laid back I was tempted to dub it the Perry Como of imperial stouts and porters. The flavors are good and balanced but you just wish they could be a touch more active. Toffee and chocolate are prominent, along with some brown sugar, but it’s all quite restrained, certainly for the strength. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the beer―the bitter, velvety finish of toffee and chocolate is enjoyably moreish―but, unlike with the Allagash beer, this time I do want more, if only just a little bit.
Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.
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