The name sold me on this brew, and with most Evil Twin offerings I was expecting it to be good. Some of their brews have been great, and some I thought missed the mark for my tastebuds, but this one seems like a can’t miss. Adding sour cherries to an imperial porter had me salivating on the spot so I grabbed a bottle which my local Hy-Vee had marked down to $7.99 from the original $13.99 price tag. 

I shared this bottle with a buddy of mine and before drinking it I went ahead and read some reviews on Untappd from some people whose opinions I respect and half of those fine folks found this beer to be a bit medicinal and didn’t care for it while others thought it to be one of their favorite porter style beers they’ve had. Here’s what I found:

Off the pour with a decent sized tan head. Dark black color and quite a bit of lacing around my glass. The aroma wasn’t dominated by the cherry at all but much like any imperial stout/porter; chocolate and coffee were very present. The taste right away was a bitter chocolate with a small amount of dark fruit present. Not a cherry overload, but I was hoping for more cherries than what I got. Maybe the “cherry on top” in the title suggests a tad bit of cherry flavoring and not a more abundant amount, so if that’s the case, my bad.

Overall, it was decent. At $13.99 a bottle I would pass as I was hoping for a little more than “decent”, but the $7.99 price tag made me feel better about the purchase. Was this something that needed to be fresh? If so, that’s my fault. I think a Founders Porter or Deschutes Black Butte could satisfy my porter needs just as well as this imperial, if not better.

REVIEW

STYLE: Imperial Porter

ABV: 11.5%

PURCHASED AT: Oakland Road Hy-Vee

POUR: Dark black with a thick, tan head.

AROMA: Dark chocolate and coffee.

TASTE: Dark chocolate and coffee with a touch of dark fruits.

Ratebeer.com rating: 98/100

Beeradvocate rating: 92/A

Overall: C+

My recommendation:I might take a little flack for this rating but it just didn’t do it for me. It was decent. That’s the bland word I would use to describe it. A lot of great porters out there that I would buy over this.