Dark beers call for a different pace: a higher temperature, slower sips, and no rush. A practical guide with La Ninnola in your glass.
The most common mistake with an imperial porter is treating it like a lager: cold, quick, and drunk standing up. An 8.3-degree beer with notes of chocolate, coffee, and tobacco isn’t something you drink—it’s something you savor. Here’s how.
Temperature: Forget the fridge
Serve it at 10–13 degrees: take it out of the fridge twenty minutes beforehand, or keep it in the cellar. When cold, a porter keeps all its flavors locked away and tastes only bitter; at the right temperature, it opens up layer by layer—first the coffee, then the chocolate, and finally the sweet tobacco.
The glass: wide-bodied
A balloon glass or tasting goblet: the aromas of an imperial porter are rich and need space to breathe. Pour slowly, leaving a two-finger head of hazelnut-colored foam—that’s where half the aroma lives.
The sip: small and deliberate
Take small sips and hold them in your mouth for a few seconds. Look for the sequence: sweet, toasty notes on the entry, a full body in the middle, and, in La Ninnola, that jalapeño finish that arrives softly—a warmth rather than a heat. If you sense it, you’ve tasted it correctly.
The moment: the end of the evening
An imperial porter doesn’t start the dinner—it ends it. With a square of dark chocolate, a cantuccio, or nothing at all. It’s a beer for the armchair, not for a set table—the final word of the evening, and it’s only right that it be the most profound.