Alaskan Smoked Porter

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Co
Style: Smoked
Juneau, Alaska USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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This is one of my favorite beers and I treated myself to a 1999 vintage that I had hidden away. The pour is a deep ruby brown with a nice 1" head. Smoke, cocoa and caramel on the nose lead to a great smoke flavor. Not a heavy beer for me, but just tasty!!

2011 edition. I’ve had earlier editions too. I’m a lucky man to find this on tap in the lower 48. Pint tap pour, black with a thin lasting head. Moderate smoke aroma, hints of sweetness. Malt sweetness forward, moderate sweetness & hints of roasted malt. Medium-heavy body, light hop bitterness. Yum, a Wisconsin "not bad".

One of my all-time favorite smoked porters. I remember the first time I tried it at home, and my wife asked for a taste. SHe wrinkled her nose, contorted her face, and I told her to spit it back in. That’s how good this beer is. The only way I can describe it is like the taste of charcoal briquettes after a steak has been cooked over them. Tasty!

SMOKE! Lots and lots of it! Very dark, almost black color. head fades quick. Finishes super smokey and lingers in the back of the throat forever. Love it!

Toasty, chocolate aroma with a just-right amount of smokiness. Head is small and isn’t retained long. The alder lends it a very similar smoke to hickory, but doesn’t take center-stage. It just adds to the overall sensation without making it taste like one big smoked ham. Chocolate comes through with a nice bitterness at the end. Surprisingly light for the style. One of the best smoked beers I have had to date.

This beer was one of the best beers i have ever drank. It is the same look as guiness but has more of a smoky taste.

Pours an almost oily looking color. Used oil. thin off-white, creamy head. Fades quickly and leaves ample lacing behind. Let’s get a whiff of this. Hmm. Smoke. Didn’t see that one coming. A little malt and a bit of alder. Oily. Tastes much like the aroma at first. Smoky and smoky. A bit dry, but ample sweetness to balance it out. A very viscous mouth feel. A good mixture of dryness mixed with the sweetness in the mouth as well. Overall a very, very good beer. I wish I could get more of this and horde it. That and get a bit fresher to compare. I drank an ’08 ’vintage’.

Bottle 66 cl, thanks to Tim. 2011. Okay, time has stopped. Had some years ago the 2009 version, and I stated as the best smoked ever had. No way. Time has passed, beers so, and I’m in front of the Alaskan Smoked Porter again. In consequence, my expectations was really high. And wasn’t disappointed. Indeed, OVERTAKED. ABSOLUTELY. Where do we start? Appearance is blackier than black, with a balanced beige foam; you could pour even from 10 cm and it doesn’t override glass. This just for starting. Aroma is the triumph of smoke. High complexity that begins to provola (smoked cheese from South of Italy) and finish to bacon. But isn’t aggressive, elegance is even that of smoked fish, salmon, tuna. Also you’ll find a gentle dark fruits bouquet, some sugar notes too. And crisp, incredibly crisp. Taste? Oh my, rarely I’ve found such a drinkability. Carbonation brush perfection, texture is oily, body light to medium, malt astonishing and full of ashes, coal, wood, shorter in chocolate. herbs and young plums. Finish is initially thin, but after grows like a big wave from distance to the only goal of harshing; dries all your mouth not with an hop slaps, but like young fruit or whiskey or licorice or burned bread crust. It lasts incredibly for minutes, trust me. You’ll chew and chew with nothing, but you’re forced to without disturbing. And warms softly throat, no booze at all. What should I say? Not rated as Westies or top class IRS/DIPA, but one of the best beer in the world as well. Add its drinkability, its availability (in the US), its plain and straightforward character, its perfection among malt, carbonation, aroma, flavor and finish, its configuration for aging, and you’ll understand.

UPDATED: OCT 25, 2008 2007 Bottle. So I get to San Francisco with my wife and we’re both pretty jet lagged, but on the way to the hotel I see a BevMo so I gotta run over. I grabbed a bottle of this even though I had an 06 ready to rate yesterday that’s still in the fridge back in PA, so here’s my rating of this year’s. Good looking dark brown color with a tan head. Aroma is dominated by very smoky malts, some chocolate, coffee, chicory, and some hops. Flavor is of a thick barbecue sandwich – lots of smoke here with some roasty, chocolate-sweet malts, a nice hop backing, and thick bread soaked in BBQ sauce. This is not only a tasty and full bodied smoked, it has a nice thick-porter thing going on – much like Dark Horse Black Bier or Olfabrikken porter. Nice, full mouthfeel – I can tell why this one is a classic. I have a feeling I’ll like the older one even better

Absolutely amazing! 2005 version in a bomber. Served in my pint glass staring at 50 degrees. Appearance: Pours a beautiful dark midnight black (completely opaque) with a 1-2 figure chocolaty brown head. Mediocre lacing and decent minimal carbonation. Smell: Wow! It’s a combination of my humidor, a campfire and some mesquite smoking chips. A bit of charcoal and some underling burnt caramel malts. Taste: I have never tasted anything like this before. I loved it! It had a distinct smoke flavor font, middle and end. I had this beer beside and after some homemade Baked beans (thanks juzy for the recipe) and B&J Brown bread. What a heavenly treat!!! As soon as I put the kids to bed I am going outside for a cigar just to finish off a great evening. The taste (along with the fantastic smoke flavor) has a very definitive dark roasted chocolate malt character and a sweet dark fruit flavor like mild currants and prunes. There is a bit of a bacony quality as well. The woody earthy attribute is fantastic and this tasty beer is incredibly easy to drink. Each sip begs for another. It is great for thinking about and even better for drinking. It is magnificently balanced with sweetness and also the evident hops, all lying under the campfire smoke. Mouthfeel: A nice strong malt backbone lends way to a splendid creaminess and a slight hint of bitter tingles from time to time, immediately washed down by more smooth creamy full-bodied beer. Drinkability: This is so incredibly easy to drink it is nearly mind blowing! This beer is definitely something special. I often put a cork back in the 22 oz bomber, saving the second half for the next day. This beer I corked but before I knew it I was re-filling my pint glass. I wish Alaskan Smoked Porter were available in my area. It would certainly be a regular in my house. Hope this is helpful. Cheers!