Twisted Pine Northstar Imperial Porter

Our Imperial Porter is a deep, robust ale brewed with only the finest ingredients. This winter seasonal has a full-bodied chocolate malty flavor with steady sweetness and a slight warming sensation. It pours black with a creamy brown head. Cellarable for 4+ years.

Awards: World Beer Cup Silver - Other Strong Ale or Lager - 2006

Colorado State Fair Silver - 2008

Colorado State Fair Gold - 2010

3.7

191 reviews

Boulder, United States

Community reviews

3.4 Bomber poured a very dark reddish brown, near black, with a dark brown quickly diminishing head and good lacing. Medium aroma of molasses, dark bread, prunes, chocolate, and sweetened coffee. Initial flavor light bitter with a moderate bitter finish of long duration. Tastes are licorice, soy sauce, molasses, unsweetened chocolate, dark roasted coffee, and resin. Full bodied, soft carbonation, and light alcoholic feel in the finish. This beer is sweet in the nose but hides the sweetness in the flavor.

3.5 The aroma is very toasted with chocolate, coffee, chicory, vanilla, and burnt rye bread. The appearance is dark brown with a thin head. Te taste is like the aroma. The palate would be thick if this was properly carbonated. Over a nice I/porter but under carbonation hurts it.

3.8 Very rich and smooth with a clean finish. Slight toasted with a strong malt content. Getting some mild cocoa flavor.

4.0 Sampled on 10/11/2012 at GABF. This Imperial Porter pours a medium black color from the tap. Small to medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is chocolate, coffee and sweet. A medium to full bodied Imperial Porter. The malts are chocolate and coffee and sweet. The hops are earthy. Decent carbonation. Nice roasty malts with a very smooth finish. There is also a touch of vanilla at the finish. Very nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

3.7 Pours dark brown color with tan head. Aromas of chocolate and roasted malts. Bittersweet chocolate and dark fruit flavors with some roasted malts, and hints of licorice. Medium to full body with moderate carbonation.

3.7 Tallahassee, Fl - Beer Stop (my annual obligatory visit to kick the tires) - 22 oz bombers. Pours a jet black with a thin but stick khaki colored head. Heavy aroma with some strong black earth accents, a hint of unsweetened dark chocolate. Flavor is bold, nice licorice accents, some hints of espresso, back end of unsweetened bitter dark chocolate. NIce thick viscous mouthfeel. Pleasantly surprised....especially considering where I bought it...things tend to "age" here.

3.7 Pours near black with a creamy khaki head. Aroma is sweet chocolate, molasses, and a bit of coffee. Taste is sweet chocolate, caramel, a little smoke, and just a bit of bitterness at the end. Coffee aftertaste. Silky texture with faint alcohol warming on the way down. Pretty good.

3.4 I had this on tap at the brewery. A very good porter. Smooth and easy drinking. Good stuff

3.6 My uncultured mouth thinks this is pretty good except it has a really dry boring cocoa aftertaste which it seems to me so many chocolatey beers have but then turn out to just be shallowly cocoa. But that isn't to say you shouldn't have some. This is nice in every other way.

3.2 On tap at Big Texas Beer Fest. Aroma of roasted and toasted dark malts. Perfect pour, dark brown, almost black, with a monster tan head, and great lacing. U salivating? Cus I am lol. Anyways, in your face taste of coffee, caramel, cereal, nutty malts. Overall, great brew

3.4 Tap @ Avery, doing the 10th Annual Boulder Strong Ale Festival. Pours black, no head. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee, cpices. Taste is malts, coffee, dark chocolate, caramel. Medium body, soft carbonation. 090312

3.6 At Avery’s 2012 Strong Ale Fest. black with a light khaki head. Great aroma of dark chocolate malt, slight smokiness, almost has an aroma like English sausage. Taste was rich and sweet with dark chocolaty malt, some pale grain, gentle hop bitterness, and a mild touch of mocha java. Neat, but something just isn’t doing it for me.

3.7 Appearance: Pours root beer brown with a thin ring around the edge. Aroma: Walnuts chocolate, oats, caramel popcorn. Taste: Roast, chocolate, nuts. Alcohol is well hidden. Mouthfeel: Dry for an imperial with modest soft carbonation. Overall: A very balanced decadent big porter.This would pair well with some chocolate covered nuts.

3.0 Dark, slightly tan head. A good light porter that has decent chocolate flavors to it. The bitterness is not overdone.

3.8 On tap at Falling Rock in Denver. Pours dark brown, nearly black with a thin mocha head. Nose of chocolate, roast grain and coffee. Good balance of sweet and roasty, which is similar on the tongue. A fair amount of chicory and licorice as well. Palate isn’t too thick or boozy. Nice.

3.5 2009 vintage on draft at the brewpub. Pours a deep dark brown color that’s almost black with a 1.5 finger beige head that slowly fades into a lasting ring. Spotty lacing left behind. Roasted malt aroma with lots of chocolate along with some toffee, caramel and licorice. Silky sweetness and subtle lactic cream in the nose. Medium bodied with a nice balance of roasted and sweet malt notes. There’s a strong chocolate presence up front along with hints of caramel, toffee and nut countered by faint spice, licorice and dark fruit. Well balance and easy to drink but nothing overly complex. This was the best beer I had during my visit to Twisted Pine.

3.4 A: The beer pours almost black in color with about a finger of khaki head. S: The aroma starts off with plenty of roasted malts. There is just a very slight acidity which is quickly followed by plenty of dark fruits, licorice, and dark chocolate. Toward the back end there is a light sweetness of molasses. T: Things begin much the same way on the palate. Roasted malts and dark chocolate with a hint of cocoa powder. There is a mild vanilla note as well as some molasses. A few notes of black cherry, too. M: Medium bodied with medium carbonation. O: Other than that light acidity to the nose, this was pretty solid overall.

3.8 22 oz bottle. Dark brown with a tan head. Nose is milk chocolate, green hay and caramel. Creamy medium body with a lively tang. Taste is dark chocolate, licorice, gin, malted milk and raisin. Finishes roasty with citrus peel. Close to a stout. Good but uneventful.

4.2 One of the best porters I’ve had yet. The aroma is delicious and makes you want to have more and more!

3.9 Bottled. Thx doodler for this. Pitch black coloured. Dense brown head. Aroma of liqourice, sweetness, chocolate, coconut, Spice. Flavour of sweetness. Roast, liqourice, caramel SMS then some. Medium to full bodied. Ends on a sweet and light roasted note. Pleasant. Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

3.5 22oz bomber split at tasting. Opaque black, oily non-head. Malty, smoky, chocolate aroma. Sweet and mellow like a Porter, but a little sweet in it’s imperialness. A touch watery, Twisted Pine style. Not exactly World Class, but still enjoyable stuff. Quite mellow, with big chocolate tones. OK.

3.8 Pours black with a slight tan head and little lacing. Aroma of roast, wood, chocolate, and pancake syrup. The taste is definitely sweeter than expected, and chocolatey, with a distinct molasses-like character. A very minimal bitterness peeks out at the end. The body is full and creamy. Quite nice, and the alcohol is pretty well hidden.

3.8 Bottle thanks to Cavie. Pours black. Tan head. Nose of roasted chocolate malts, vanilla and roasted coffee. Taste of roasted chocolate, coffee, vanilla, roasted black malt and light alcohol.

3.7 22oz bottle. Nice black colored brew with some tan head. Roasted malt and slight chocolate aromas - taste is sweet and smooth. ABV is well hidden. This is a very tasty Imperial Porter that I will be drinking again.

3.5 Shared by turdferguson. Pours a viscous dark black with some light and one finger of creamy mocha tan head. The nose is sweet and chocolaty, kind of papery and leafy. Imperial Guinness? Flavor is similar. Chalky and chocolaty with a good bit of residual sugar. Full bodied with a mild bitterness.

3.2 Bottle from Thirdeye11. Thanks Chad! Dark, dark brown with a sudsy tan head. Nose is sweet. Lighly oxidized caramelized sugar, light milk chocolate and dark fruit notes , stroopie waffles. Way too syrupy and sweet. Flavor is a bit more in check, but the underlying syrupy sweetness prevails over any of the dark roasted malts. Molasses. Flavor is very off. Slightly fishy (that’s a first), oily, salty, molasses, more sweetness and some astringent bitterness finds its way in somehow. Maybe this bottle had some age on it. Just too sweet (and fishy) for me.

3.3 On tap at the brewery’s tasting room. Imperial black colour (opaque), good lacing. Mollasses, a bit sour as you would expect from a baltic porter, but still a bit less than expected.

4.0 22oz bottle from blutt59, thanks Bob! Pours a black body with a finger-width, creamy, dark brown head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma is woody, richer, sweeter caramels and chocolate with a good amount of dark fruits and figs. Some meaty roasts with a light saltiness, leafy hops, vanilla, and licorice. Flavor is similar. Sweet and rich caramels along with a somewhat syrupy chocolate up front before a good amount of dark fruits come in. Some leafy hops and an even roast with a light hardness and some ashy wood balance the malty, fruity sweetness nicely. Finishes dry and balanced with a light, roasty and leafy bitterness. Lengthy aftertaste following a silky, somewhat syrupy, medium body and soft, light carbonation. Overall, a really impressive, nice drinking imperial porter. Fruity, fairly sweet and rich maltiness all balanced nicely with a woody, roasty, somewhat leafy hoppiness that finishes very well. Excellent beer.

3.9 Very dark brown pour with some red. A nice head that is much darker than typical. The aroma is lactic and cocoa. A creamy feel. The flavor is also lactic with chocolate but with a bit of anise. Some bittering hops are noted that also add a bit of spice. Alcohol is more than I care for but the warming makes a nice beer for a too cold February day.

3.6 Bottle, 22oz. It pours an oily, ruby-ish black body and a small, off-white to tan head. Meaty, chocolatey aroma with coffee and some licorice. The flavor is much the same, meaty maltyness, chocolate and some coffee. Full-bodied and oily on the palate. A nice beer indeed, but too meaty for my likings. Better fresh maybe? 100917