Archive for the category “Smoked Beer”

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
19 Dec 2013

Burnt Fog – Track 7 Brewing Company

7.6% ABV
Purchased at Track 7 Tap Room ($3/8 oz. pour) and served in pint glasses.

This smoked porter pours a murky dark brown-black with a mid-sized, white sand head, and boasts a delectable aroma of pan grease, hickory smoke, and blackened bacon.  True to its name, Burnt Fog is filled with charred and smoky flavors on the first swallow, most notably in the form of burnt leaves, bacon, and mild tobacco.  It remains pretty sweet and drinkable throughout, never too heavy or smoke-choked, with some walnut-like bitterness on the finish.  Track 7 Brewing’s take on the smoked porter doesn’t offer the fleshy flavors of BBQ-ed meats so much as the char, smoke, and grease residuals, with coffee grounds, candied nuts, and English-style malts also making appearances.

toasts-4   4 Toasts

BurntFog_Track7

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Beer Review, Smoked Beer, Stout and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
31 Oct 2013
2 Comments

Vampire Slayer – Clown Shoes Beer

vampire_bttl10% ABV
Purchased at Taylor’s Market in Sacramento ($9.99/22 oz. bottle) and poured into mini globe glasses.

Vampire Slayer pours midnight black with a fun-sized, caramel candy-colored head and intricate spider web lacing on the glass.  This imperial stout from Ipswich, Massachusetts-based Clown Shoes smells of smoldering wood (the malts were smoked with hickory and ash), caramel, and a little milk chocolate.  The first swallow is rich and chocolate-y up front, but that fades into a long and bitter finish dominated by burnt wood and coffee grounds.  It’s a dark and delicious beer, and a masterful storyteller at that – on later swallows, caramel and root beer flavors emerge on the front end, while firewood and bitter coffee stay planted on the finish.

toasts-4.5   4.5 Toasts

Vampire_ClownShoes

toasts-4.5   4.5 Toasts

Posted in 4-5 Toasts, Beer Review, Imperial Stout, Smoked Beer and tagged , , , , , , ,
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 , , , , ,
30 Oct 2012

Otto Ale – Victory Brewing Company

8.1% ABV
Purchased at Pangaea Bottle Shoppe ($10.49/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into mason jar glasses.

This abbey dubbel/rauchbier hybrid from Pennsylvania-based Victory Brewing Company pours a date-like ruby brown with a tight, off-white head.  The strong and distinctive nose offers plenty of wood smoke and cured and dried meats, along with some coy touches of dried fruit and airy grass.  Smoke and cured meats also dominate the palette, mostly in the vein of pepperoni and salami, and the first swallow offers a nice bite if you like smoky beers.  Its abbey influences are revealed with a healthy dose of dates and juicy raisins on the aftertaste, preventing the smokiness from overwhelming the tongue.  Otto has a nice mix of sweet, smoky, and savory flavors and an unimposing mouthfeel, but adjust your ratings accordingly depending on your preference for smoked brown beers.

    4 Toasts

   3.5 Toasts

Posted in Beer Review, Dubbel, Smoked Beer and tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
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 Apr 2012
2 Comments

Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale (Rogue Ales)

5.6% ABV, 30 IBUs
Purchased at Alley Katz and poured into pint glasses.

His Notes:

This collaboration between fellow Oregon mainstays Rogue Ales and Voodoo Donuts pours a murky orange with a fairly sizable off-white head.  There is a strong maple glaze smell on the nose, sweet on the verge of treacle, with a little smoky bacon the edges. You get more bacon on the first swallow (several different types of smoked malts were used to create the bacon taste), followed by spot-on glazed donut flavors, with very little in the way of traditional hop/malt/yeast flavors.  It’s essentially a novelty beer, but it’s also surprisingly smooth and drinkable, and not as grossly sweet as the sugary nose suggests.  Still, this is a special occasion-only brew, and the ideal food pairing is probably an actual glazed donut.

  3.5 Toasts

Her Notes:

    4 Toasts


Posted in Beer Review, Smoked Beer and tagged ,

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