Last time I was on Long Island, in the North Fork, I was at the tastingroom and had myself a glass of Southampton Imperial Porter.
Located in Southampton, NY, the Southampton Publick House is a landmark for beer. Since the 1800s, beer has been created and served in the Publick House’s previous incarnations as a speakeasy, watering hole and restaurant.
During Prohibition, on the site where Southampton Publick House stands today, the original proprietors operated a proper restaurant while hiding a speakeasy in the back that served smuggled spirits and beer. Thirsty restaurant patrons would disappear for a short while, typically returning with a much rosier disposition.
Over the years, legendary figures of the 1920s like Babe Ruth, Clark Gable and Gary Cooper mixed right in with the regulars.
Current owner Don Sullivan bought the historic building with the goal of adding a brewery to honor the rich beer tradition of the owners and patrons who came before him. The Southampton Publick House was reborn in 1996 and began serving great food and superior quality craft brews in a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Southampton Imperial Porter is an aggressive version of English Porter, which was called “Imperial” because this type of strong Porter was exported to the Imperial Courts of the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) by the British in the 1700’s. Imperial Porter is rich and strong with an alcohol content of 7.2% by volume. It is brewed with 7 different malts to give it a great complexity of flavor.
This is a big, flavorful Imperial Porter with notes of chocolate,toffee and caramel which come through as advertised. And the lace that forms around the top of the glass lets you know that you are in for a treat, as this is a big bodied beer. Awesome!