Port Brewing Hot Rocks Lager

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Dunkel
San Marcos, California USA

Bottle thanks to daknole. Pours a deep brown with a small tan head. Aroma of sweet bready malt. I don’t really get too much from the aroma...Flavor of the same sweet grainy, bready malt with a touch of roast. Some grainy sourness too (not too sour, just a hint of sour). Although not very complex, certainly quite tasty and super drinkable! My favorite dunkel thus far. 7/4/7/4/15 [3.7/5]

Bottle. Aroma of toffee, molasses, a bit of soda. Flavor surprisingly rich and malty after a somewhat lifeless aroma with roasted notes and a light pastry character. An herbal bitterness also picks up and at times comes to the fore even, battling the malty notes. Pretty good after a slow start.

22oz bottle, purchased at Healthy Spirits. Pours a deep, dark mahogany-brown color; light-tan head with large bubbles, mild retention, and patchy lacing. Quite relaxed aroma of caramel and basic maltiness; creamy, no hop character, very light smokiness. Medium body: creamy, almost oily presence on the palate, despite a fair amount of carbonation; medium acidity; kind of a muddled presentation as far as mouthfeel goes. Lots of caramel and dried fruits and very light hints of smoke (I thought this was going to be a full-fledged smoked beer, but it’s very light: hints of peppered smoked meat); solid maltiness, this is still reasonably light and crisp in the mouth; that oily slickness doesn’t do much for me, however; I would have liked to try this earlier on, but only just tracked a bottle down; plenty of cola and hints of vanilla mid-palate. Medium finish: caramel, cola, and lasting (albeit light) malty sweetness, with a touch of toast.

Port Brewing Company--Hot Rocks Lager--Tonya Cornett Bend Brewing Company Guest Brew--2009 Release--22 oz. Bottle--6.50% ABV--25 IBU’s? (4.4 / 5.0) Steinbock--Rich lacy espresso head. Clear dark bronze color hazes brownish with loose sediment. Toasted fig plum black cheery hop front. Roasted mild sweet toffee dark fruit chocolate espresso black bread hint malty body. Mild hop cloying malt rich satisfying smooth end. Sampled 7/29/2009. $5.99 Each.

Bottle. Pours a dark amber color with a small off-white head. Has a slightly roasted malty caramel aroma. Sweetish malty roasted caramel flavor with some bready hints. Has a sweetish malty caramel finish with some roasted hints in the aftertaste.

Bottle, bought @ Ølbutikken, Cph.
Pours deep brown, slightly hazy. Small, frothy/creamy beige head. Creamy in the middle, frothy along the glass. Fair duration. Light fruity nose, some caramel, raisins, soft chocolate. Medium carbonation, very nice creamy mouthfeel. Flavour is heavy nutty, hazel, walnuts, light roasted, some milky chocolate. Long, lingering bitter aftertaste. Lovely and very drinkable.

Bottle from Kris Wines, shared with MesandSim and suesbeerblog.
Pours a russet brown with a thin but lasting beige head, not quite the pale golden lager I was expecting. Has a sweet and malty nose, slightly earthy. Taste is similar, grainy, nutty, toasty malts and some caramel sweetness, kinda reminded me of a Belgian dubbel in a way. There’s a smokey, mineral element which one can only assume is a result of the unique brewing process, or possibly a little peated malt added for effect? None the less, it does the job. Ends with a subtle hoppage in the finish but falls a bit thin on the palate for my liking, however, that’s just me being picky. Tomme always does the business and I’ve enjoyed everything, including the ’Spoons colabs, from Tanya Cornett so far so my hat’s off to the both of ya for this intriguing brew.

A Mes rate. Bottle opened in Trojka.
Awesome russet brown colour with a thin but lasting beige head and lace. Good looking brew for sure. Nose of burnt sugar and really good malt. Really tasty Bohemian black lager type stuff. Lots of caramalt and hints of treacle offset by some grassy hops and faint citrus. Very well balanced and effortlessly drinkable. Something vaguely smoky about it. I’d like to know if that’s as a result of the unusual brewing process or if they have done it on purpose to add some weight to the name. Good fruity finish rounds it off nicely. An interesting and unusual brew. Would love to see a video of brew day. I like it.