Shipyard Pugsley's Signature Series: Imperial Porter

 Imperial (adj): of superior or unusual size or excellence.

I feel as though from my perspective, that stouts were like the younger sibling of the porter and garnered all of the attention, even that of yours truly. I was a stout fan before I even knew the porter existed so that goes to show you just how much of a stranglehold the stout has had on the beer world. The porter has taken somewhat of a back seat to the stout because there is no doubt that Guinness has made the stout a household name and no company has yet to do that with a porter, even though almost every brewery across America makes them and many of them are delicious. I however, in the past couple years as a beer drinker, have begun to appreciate the subtle differences between the two similar styles and have found myself torn when it comes to picking my favorite. When it comes down to it though, it all has to do with which brewery is doing it and what they're trying to accomplish. 

We start off this porter filled weekend with a release from the Shipyard family of ales out of Portland, Maine. Their Imperial Porter from the Pugsley Signature Series which includes a delicious IPA, a Barleywine and their famed Smashed Pumpkin seems like a good way to kick off the weekend as this has been one of my favorite breweries since the words 'craft beer' entered my vocabulary. 

Appearance/look: Black with a thick off white head that dissipates after a short period of time though remains in some form throughout the beer. Dark coffee look to it that allows for absolutely no light to penetrate (I'm not kidding here).

Aroma: Subtle yet sweet and fruity, subtle being the key word here. Most porters seem to have that low key aroma to them such as light toffee, and a hint of chocolate, no real alcohol smell comes through which I find surprising considering it's an imperial but at 7.1% ABV it is lower on the totem pole of imperials. There is however a slight hint of hazelnut at the end but I feel as though the carbonation of this beer takes over the the smell a bit.

Taste: Malty and full of carbonation. Most of the flavor notes come through during the after taste which consists of the aforementioned hazelnut and chocolate but again, the carbonation seems to take over on this beer. The flavor is there as a porter and the mouth feel is chocolaty, malty and very tasty but not what I've experienced with porters in the past. It is slightly sweet at the beginning and finishes dry and clean.

Overall, not a bad beer by any means. The flavor was there, the subtle aromas were there; for a regular porter. I expected more from an imperial; big flavor, big aroma, big punch and yet this beer delivered a more basic flavor, basic aroma and a basic punch. I have enjoyed regular porters that have packed more distinct flavor and aromas into them. I find this particular fact surprising considering that Shipyard has been known for being at the top of their game when it comes to replicating true English style ales.

The word imperial, as stated at the start of this review implies that the beer will stand above the rest, that it will offer something that you would not find in a regular beer of whatever style it is building upon. Unfortunately with this Imperial Porter, the style is there, but is not enhanced. I give this beer a 5 out of 10. It met its mark as a porter, there is no doubting that, but the amount of carbonation and lack of solid flavor and aroma does not put it into the realm of imperials in my book.

Beer reviews are just like any other form of media; full of opinion with many of them being wrong or just plain silly. I am not a licensed professional and there are no titles given out to best beer reviewer. Reviewing a beer is like listening to a song; each person finds a certain meaning from it and whatever meaning they find; isn't wrong, it's just a feeling.