My '99 Kia pulled out of the dreary, cold New England sky and into the Portsmouth, N. H. parking garage at 8 a.m. on a Monday morning. As I exited the garage and turned the corner, I saw a line run all the way down the block. Men and women congregated, umbrellas opened, bundled up in coats, drinking coffee from the Starbucks down the street. Some of the hundreds of people had been there since midnight the night before and they stood first in line, proud of their brave accomplishment because the rain and wind had been howling for hours. Everyone was waiting for something-they were waiting for a beer.The Portsmouth Brewery releases its Kate the Great Imperial Stout 1 day of the year. The 9 kegs of it are gone within 6 hours. Take-home bottles make up the other half of the production and in years previous, were available for the first people in line. But this year, due to such high demand, the bottles were only available through a special scratch-ticket lottery. Without a ticket, on tap was your only hope to taste Kate.

Kate the Great is one of the highest-rated beers on BeerAdvocate, and bottles of it routinely trade hands for hundreds of dollars. It is one of the most hyped beers in the world and is incredibly hard to come by. Your only surefire way to get a sample is a trip to Kate Day in March. Having never tried the beer, I woke up at 7 a.m. and made the 1-hour pilgrimage.

We got in line, enjoyed some coffee and scones, and waited in the cold, rainy March weather for the Brewery to open its doors. Shop owners, unaware of the ensuing madness, were visibly frustrated by the number of people blocking their stores. How would you like it if crazy beer nuts camped out on your front door in a seemingly quiet town?

The town bell rang at 11 a.m. At that point, the doors swung open and seating began. The line crept toward the brewery, and by 11:15 a.m., we had been admitted to Kate Day. We found a place in the downstairs lounge, ordered a warm-up beer and waited for the tapping to begin.

My warm-up beer was a Bottle Rocket Red, a nice hoppy, yet refreshing India Pale Ale. Citrusy and piney in flavor but not cloyingly bitter, it was a great way to start off the day. Before I could finish this, the countdown began.

At the count of one, the tap opened and Kate began flowing to the sound of cheers, and soon after this the bartender brought us our glasses. This was one of my most anticipated beers and I wondered if it would it live up to the hype,

The beer poured dark black with a light brown head. Head retention was moderate; most of the foam was gone in about 15 minutes. Kate is brewed, and then part of the batch is aged on port-soaked oak chips. Head brewer and creator Todd Mott frequently tweaks his recipe year to year. Many around me were talking about previous vintages, and how they tasted in comparison to each other. Having never tasted Kate before, I didn't have any background other than the knowledge of what a port-aged stout tasted like.

I smelled a mix of chocolate, raisins, and oak. It was exactly how I imagined. Tasting it gave more of the same-sweet chocolate, dark fruit balanced by the oak. This bitter backbone almost gave off a tobacco-like flavor that blended quite well. Some stouts boast very roasted flavors, this one did not; it allowed oak aging to do the job of bitterness. The mouthfeel was thick, not as silky as I hoped, but it still contributed favorably to the experience. Served on the cooler side, the beer was extremely drinkable for 10 percent plus alcohol content. As it warmed, boozy heat came through and the drinkability was decreased. This beer was a sipper, not a bad thing, but I could really only find myself having a few at a time.

The conclusion: Portsmouth Kate the Great is a fantastic beer with a huge body and tons of flavor. Is it my favorite beer of all time? No, but it comes pretty close. I think some of the booziness makes it less palatable, but this is a minor point as a bit of age would take this off the beer. If you ever find the chance to try this beer, don't ask questions and just do it.