Finisterra Imperial Porter

Finisterra Imperial Porter is named for the Ancient Roman name for Portugal, signifying the end of the known world. The beer, an onyx black ale with a short tan head, clocks in at a muscular 8.5% and 50 IBUs. It comes from Lisbon's Dois Corvos.

Finisterra has a rich and boozy scent, with notes of mocha and raisin lounging beneath luxurious roasted malt aromatics. The flavour is sweet, initially, and then wanders down a bitter back road. Again, roasted malt is the driving force, but there are also leather, tobacco, dark chocolate, and coffee elements. 

The result is a tasty imperial porter that is strong, but not obscene. It has loads of flavour, but it isn’t too rich to sip on a sweltering afternoon (indoors, mind you).

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Collective Project: Imperial Porter

At 8.6%, the Collective Project: Imperial Porter has some heft. Sold in 473mL cans with a wacky monster design, this powerful dark ale comes from Collective Arts Brewing out of Hamilton, Ontario. As one would expect, the Impish Port is a black ale with a sudsy cream fuzz.

For the nose, this ale has molasses and chocolate notes. The flavour has an odd balance—it’s quite sweet on the front end, but finishes with a boozy espresso bitterness.

While the front end is a bit too sweet, the hops ‘n’ java end note picks it up, making this an enjoyable IP. The can says that this is a “limited release”, so I’m sure I’ll buy another couple of cans before my time runs out—this is a beer I’ll be glad to revisit. And at south of $5 per tin, there is some pretty substantial bang for your buck.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Victory at Sea Imperial Porter

Before leaving San Diego's Ballast Point Brewing, I wanted to be sure to try one of their dark ales, so I went with the one I thought had the best name: Victory at Sea Imperial Porter. Given its potency--10%--I had a sensible 8oz. pour. My beer showed up looking black, with some ruby highlights. According to BP's tap list, this big porter was brewed with vanilla and Caffe Calabria coffee produced in San Diego.

Mocha is the most obvious aromatic note. The beer smelled strong and sweet, with coffee and chocolate leading the way. To my palate, Victory at Sea was rich in roasted malts, coffee notes, and booze. Lots of vanilla, too. It moves from very sweet to slightly bitter, and left me feeling WAY mellow and pleased with myself.

Rich and full, but a touch too sweet, I found Victory at Sea to be an enjoyable, filling beer. The heavy use of vanilla in the process way a bit much for me, but the coffee flavours came through beautifully.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Yazoo Sue

Yazoo Sue is an imperial smoked porter that hails from Nashville, Tennessee. It's brewed by the Yazoo Brewing Co.  Sue is sold in a great looking jumbo bottle, contains a weighty 9% alcohol, and has a formidable 93 IBUs. Apparently, it's smoked with cherry wood. I paired this stuff with a nice Toscano cheese.  It was a top shelf combo.

Sue is a tar black brew topped with a tan head. Its smoky aroma has a faint chocolate bent. It's a smoky, malt-forward ale. It moves from sweet to bitter, and there are a decent amount of cacao notes. Sue finishes with a healthy bitterness.

Every time I have a brew from Yazoo, I find myself impressed. This big beer is no exception.  Flavour to spare, strong as hell, and huge format bottles. This is a high quality craft beer.

My magnificent friend K.C. turned me on to this stuff. K.C. is a major booster of the Bitter World, and a great addition to good times everywhere.  Thanks!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Raven Mad Imperial Porter

This bold, beautiful porter comes from the Bridgeport Brewing Company of Portland, Oregon.  It is sold in a spooky, large format bottle, and weighs in at 7.5% alcohol.  The label says that this foreboding brew is comprised of 50% porter aged in whiskey barrels and 50% unbarreled stout.

Raven Mad pours an opaque black colour, topped with a thick and creamy tan head.  It has a fierce, chocolatey aroma underscored by an unusual tobacco note.  The taste is quite bitter for a porter, with a hop kick lurking beneath its dark, malty body.  There are also some notable dark chocolate notes.  The aftertaste is makes me imagine being in a Southern roadhouse--there are notes whiskey and tobacco smoke.

This brew was really enjoyable.  It was strong, moody, and impressive.  It was really evocative--I could almost hear honky tonk music being piped in though a jukebox.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.