Seattlest Beer of the Week: Full Sail Bourbon Barrel Aged Top Sail Imperial Porter

Does anyone remember when Full Sail Black Gold Bourbon Aged Imperial Stout came out in early 2006? That was the last Bourbon aged beer distributed by Full Sail, and wow...what a beer it was. It was a big stout with tons of flavors imparted by the barrel, and it remains one of our Top 10 Beers of All Time.

Step forward to February 2008, and Full Sail is doing it all over again with their Barrel Aged Top Sail Imperial Porter. We can only hope it's in the same ballpark as the Black Gold...

Full Sail brews their normal Top Sail Imperial Porter once a year, which is a very special beer in its own right. They took some of their 2007 batch and threw it in Kentucky Bourbon casks for 10 full months, and now they've sent it off to all of us lushes to drink.

The 22oz bottle pours black as motor oil and gains a perfect, lofty, dark brown head that's screaming at us to drink it. The bourbon and oak come through heavily in both the aroma and taste. The aroma is possibly one of the most inviting ever with vanilla, chocolate, oak and alcohol all mingling together. The taste has moments of dark fruit and chocolate, but it is dominated by bourbon, espresso and sweet roasted malt. At 9.85% alcohol by volume, it seems we're not just getting an overdose of alcohol taste from the bourbon barrel. This beer has sat around for a year already, but it could use a couple more to even itself out. It is a very thick beer that might get stuck in your throat to enjoy throughout the evening, if you're lucky.

Overall, this beer rocks. It's a big, bourbon aged bottle of goodness that's ready to drink now, but begs to be held onto for some time. It is definitely in the same ballpark as Black Gold, but maybe on the other team. Ask us in a couple of years, and it might be winning the World Series.

You should be able to find this beer in 22oz bottles this weekend at your favorite local bottle shop/grocery store. There will likely be a couple kegs of this pouring around town, and we'll let you know when we hear about it.

By the way, if anyone has any Full Sail Black Gold sitting around still...we'll gladly take it off your hands.