Shipyard Pugsley's Signature Series: Imperial Porter

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Another great product from Shipyard at the LCBO. Pours a dark brown colour with ruby highlights. The head is huge, beige, frothy-creamy, had long retention and small spot lacing all over. Fresh aromas of coffee at first pour, with eventually the alcohol sticking out with notes of vanilla, roasted malt, chocolate and dark fruits. Wet, almost watery, medium-thin body. Thankfully, some mild dryness from the hop comes and saves this a bit. Mild hoppy taste, with some roasted malt, hints of coffee and vanilla. Quite easy to drink, as this is not heavy, but decent dark scent and flavours.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

650 ml bottle- pours a dark brown clear ale in the glass, puffy 3 finger tan cap - laces the glass decently. Modest carbonation. Aroma is roasty and malty, some grassy hops, very demure nose to this. Flavor is big - Porter on steroids... big roast, decent hop balance, alcohol totally hidden....long rich roasty finish, warming effect. I like porter and prefer it over stout and I love this big porter.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

625ml bottle
7.1% ABV
King/Spadina LCBO Outlet (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
September 28, 2012
Part of the Shipyard feature at the LCBO. The beer pours a solid dark brown with black edges, and a generous creamy tan head that lingers. The aroma is sweet malt, roast, vanilla, nuts, and chocolate. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Flavour is roasted malt, bitter coffee, and dark chocolate. A bit thinner than I had hoped, but flavourful.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bomber shared with d3atlanta. Big black pour, tight tan head, good lacing. Roasted malts, hint of coffee, brown sugar, cocoa in the aroma. Mouthfeel is a tad thin for an Imperial, even a porter. Nice flavor though: rich roasted malts, cocoa, java, lightly burnt brown sugar, earthy hops finish and linger. Pretty nice brew; alcohol is well-hidden.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

This is a good beer by general beer standards, but by porter standards (or imperial standards in this case), this beer falls a mile short. A dark brown pour with a bubbly head. Aroma has roasted malt and coffee and the flavour has similar notes. Very thin for the style which kills most of the attributes.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottled@The 2nd ES/CS Beer Tasting. (thanks K.K.!). Deep brown colour, mediumsized beige head. Aroma is roasted malts, some toffee, dark dry fruits, mild coffee and some ashes. Flavour is roasted malts, dark chocolate, coffee, toffee and some mild ashy and yeasty notes as well. Mild leatheryness as well. Very pleasant.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

22oz bottle -

Picked up after a recent trip to BevMo had this one being poured during their weekly tasting. A bit pricey, so I don't think the guys at Shipyard are doing their fans any service by selling high. It's a nice beer, but the price tag doesn't warrant the $8-9 price tag.

Easy to call this a paint-by-numbers porter, because it really does fall into that standard porter/stout kind of label. Roasted malts in the flavor and aroma, chocolate equally as noticeable but I really enjoyed the molasses like bitterness to the beer, yet still keeping some level of sweetness around to keep it balanced. The smokey notes also drew me in to really enjoying my pint of beer. No trade of alcohol or hotness anywhere around this beer. However, because of the price I do knock it down a notch, because there are other porters equally as tasty for about half the cost.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This isn't quite worth the price tag, but is still a good beer. I can't really tell the difference between an "Imperial" or "Baltic" porter, but I seem to like them both :). I am seeming to prefer Shipyard's stouts and porters over their standard lighter ales. This is my first of their signature series. May just stick with their regulars for less coin.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Aroma is not strong, but it does tempt the taste buds. It is more sweet than smoky, being mainly chocolaty and molasses-ish with a yeasty overtone - rather unusual. It pours an opaque dark chocolate brown with a fairly thick pale beige head. Flavor is smokier than the aroma and mainly of sweet chocolate with a molasses undertone and nutty and yeast hints. Texture is smooth as glass and just a little fizzy, leaving a slightly sweet finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color porter with a large light brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of lightly sweet black chocolate with some light dry coffee. Taste is also dominated by some creamy black chocolate with a lightly bitter finish. Creamy palate with fuller then average body with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol makes this beer even more enjoyable. No the most complex beer out there but well done for what it intended to be.