Perkuno's Hammer
Imperial Porter
Review Date 7/3/2000
Try?
Re-buy?
I have been holding
off for something special, and though I had quite a few ideas, all became clear
to me tonight when I walked into the Grey Lodge Pub on Frankford Avenue in
Philadelphia earlier this evening and saw Heavyweight Perkuno’s Hammer on
the beer list. I love the Grey Lodge. It’s a cozy neighborhood bar with about
ten or eleven wonderful beers on tap, and doesn’t try to sell more drafts than
it can handle. I have been to bars with 2, 3, 5, 10 times as many taps, but I’d
be hard pressed to find one I enjoy sipping a pint in more than the Grey Lodge.
Finding this beer here tonight is a good reason why. This is a very hard to find beer, brewed by the Heavyweight Brewing Company in Monmouth, New Jersey with the assistance of beer writer and Epinions contributor Lew Bryson. I had heard about the beer but never thought I would be trying it since the batch size was so small. I drank two pints of this wonderful brew, a testament to it’s quality since the Grey Lodge had a most impressive lineup tonight including Victory Whirlwind Wheat (I had picked up a case earlier today), Neversink Oatmeal Stout (had a pint, delicious!), Flying Fish Farmhouse Ale (had this one too), Yard’s Philadelphia Pale Ale (missed it for the second Perkuno).
Perkuno’s Hammer is a Baltic porter, a bottom fermented, highly alcoholic, very rich and flavorful example of the style. Most porters are ales, and thus top fermented. In body, most of these beers are closer to Imperial Stouts. This one is deep black in color with a huge creamy tan head and loaded with notes of rich dark chocolate in the nose and palate. There’s a hint of prune and a rich roasty finish with a warming alcohol punctuation.
Some of this was bottled; if you get one don’t even think about matching it with food. Have a long drink of water, cleanse your palate, and enjoy this beer…it deserves to be appreciated on it’s own.
Finding this beer here tonight is a good reason why. This is a very hard to find beer, brewed by the Heavyweight Brewing Company in Monmouth, New Jersey with the assistance of beer writer and Epinions contributor Lew Bryson. I had heard about the beer but never thought I would be trying it since the batch size was so small. I drank two pints of this wonderful brew, a testament to it’s quality since the Grey Lodge had a most impressive lineup tonight including Victory Whirlwind Wheat (I had picked up a case earlier today), Neversink Oatmeal Stout (had a pint, delicious!), Flying Fish Farmhouse Ale (had this one too), Yard’s Philadelphia Pale Ale (missed it for the second Perkuno).
Perkuno’s Hammer is a Baltic porter, a bottom fermented, highly alcoholic, very rich and flavorful example of the style. Most porters are ales, and thus top fermented. In body, most of these beers are closer to Imperial Stouts. This one is deep black in color with a huge creamy tan head and loaded with notes of rich dark chocolate in the nose and palate. There’s a hint of prune and a rich roasty finish with a warming alcohol punctuation.
Some of this was bottled; if you get one don’t even think about matching it with food. Have a long drink of water, cleanse your palate, and enjoy this beer…it deserves to be appreciated on it’s own.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
