Archive for the category “Porter”

29 May 2014

Talon Smoked Double Porter – Mendocino Brewing Company

talon_bttl

10% ABV
Purchased at Curtis Park Market ($6.99/22 oz. bottle) and poured into pint glasses.

This “smoked double porter” from Mendocino Brewing Company pours a black tea-like dark brown with a slight sandalwood head, while the nose mixes burnt kindling, savory smoked bacon, and just a little bit of Band-Aid.  That slightly medicinal aroma is thankfully absent on the palette, and instead the first swallow offers waves of maple, candied nuts, and some chocolate flavors, with a second charge dominated by bitter wood smoke.   The smoked bacon component is also present, but Talon mostly contrasts that maple and praline sweetness against birch and hickory woodiness, and the result should please fans of this style.

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

 

Talon

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

Posted in Beer Review, Double Porter, Imperial Porter, Porter, Smoked Beer and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
12 Nov 2013

He Said Baltic-Style Porter – 21st Amendment/Elysian collaboration

 hesaid_baltic_can8.2% ABV
Purchased at Curtis Park Market ($11.99/4-pack of 12 oz. cans) and poured into tulip glasses.

This other half of the He Said four-pack is a “Baltic-style porter brewed with pumpkin and spices”, and it pours a coffee bean dark brown with a slight, cola fizz-colored head.  It offers an aroma of flaky-crusted pumpkin pie up front, backed with some black licorice and candied ginger.  The first swallow is very spice-heavy, including ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and something sharply herbal (according to the website, the spice additions are Vietnamese cinnamon and caraway seed).  There is a black licorice twist to the finish that introduces the “Baltic” aspect, which might be one high concept too many for He Said’s overcrowded flavor profile.

toasts-3   3 Toasts

HeSaid_BalticPorter

toasts-3   3 Toasts

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Baltic-Style Porter, Beer Review, Collaboration, Porter and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
29 Oct 2013

Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Porter – Uinta Brewing (Crooked Line Series)

jacked10.3% ABV
Purchased at Pangaea Bottle Shoppe in Sacramento ($15.99/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into pint glasses.

This oak-aged seasonal offering from Utah-based Uinta pours a fairly clear chestnut brown with a fluffy and persistent light tan head.  Oak Jacked smells of pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and sweet baked breads, with buried wine and tropical notes.  The first swallow is velvety and the flavor profile is beautifully spiced, mixing pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, maple, and roasted nuts, with the sweet and bitter taste of pumpkin innards and spiced apples on the periphery.  It has the perfect amount of autumn spice to cut through the brown sugar and pumpkin sweetness, with oak and alcohol giving depth to the long and warm finish.

toasts-4.5   4.5 Toasts

Uinta_Pumpkin

toasts-4.5   4.5 Toasts

Posted in 4-5 Toasts, Barrel-Aged, Beer Review, Porter and tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
16 Nov 2012
1 Comment

Smoked Porter – Stone Brewing Company

5.9% ABV
Purchased at Nugget Market ($4.19/22 oz. bottle) and poured into pint glasses.

Stone Smoked Porter pours a murky black with a frothy, light brown head, and a pleasing and subtle nose of hickory smoke and cured meat, very similar to jerky.  Wood-smoked malt dominates the palette, but the taste is surprisingly subtle and velvety, with a light and pleasing mouthfeel.  There are some black pepper notes on the retreat, along with roasted peanuts and enough hops to make their presence known.  The smoky flavor of Stone Smoked Porter is charred and bracing, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome on the tongue, and would probably pair perfectly with BBQ-ed meat and even smoked fish.  There is enough caramel-nut sweetness on the aftertaste to make this a palatable dessert beer as well. (4 ½ toasts

    4.5 Toasts

   3.5 Toasts

Posted in Beer Review, Porter, Smoked Beer and tagged , , , , ,
01 Oct 2012

Smoking Wood (Bourbon Barrel-Aged) – The Bruery – SoCal Taster

13% ABV
Purchased at The Bruery Tasting Room ($7/6 oz. serving) and poured into tulip glasses.

This bourbon barrel-aged version of The Bruery’s Imperial Smoked Porter pours an incomprehensible black with a quickly settling, brown sugar-colored head.  With its intoxicating nose of bourbon and slab bacon,  Smoking Wood is quite possibly the best-smelling brew I have ever sniffed.  It packs a walloping first swallow of whiskey, barrel wood, and delectable smoked and dried meats, up to and including prosciutto, salami, and pepperoni.  Smoking Wood is rich and velvety but also immensely well-structured, a beer that seems almost specifically tailored to my “ultimate beer” mantra of “full flavors in perfect balance”.  The jerky-like taste is given amazing body and complexity by the barrel-aging process – it’s zesty, rich, challenging, and inviting all at once.  I will dream about this beer for a long time.

    5 Toasts


   5 Toasts

Posted in Beer Review, Beer-cation, Porter, Smoked Beer and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
02 Jan 2012

Firestone Walker’s Reserve Porter

5.8% ABV
Purchased at Taylor’s Market ($5.99/22 oz. bomber) and poured into pint glasses.

His Notes:

Firestone previously released a “Robust Porter” in their single-bottle Reserve Series, but this 2011 vintage is simply labeled “Porter”, an all-too-telling sign of its tepid nature.  It pours a black coffee color with a sandy brown head, and smells of slightly scorched grain, watered-down alcohol, and tea bags.  The taste is initially heavy with rich toffee and mocha java flavors measured against mild hop notes, with a coffee-like bitterness lingering on the tongue.  This is a severely watered-down version of the English porter, with a creamy mouthfeel reminiscent of a nitrous tap pour, even out of the bottle.  At this price, however, it’s recommended only for fans of weak coffee or strong tea.

   2 Toasts

Her Notes:

   2 Toasts

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