Stone Smoked Porter

The first thing that hits you as you open is that trademark Stone hoppiness, wow! I’m not a big hophead so was a little apprehensive. Pours a very nice, deep brown with creamy head. Quite appealing. The smokiness was not apparent at first, but as I sipped the hoppiness gave way to a subtle smoke. I’m not a porter aficionado so I have nothing for comparison. This seems spot on for my tastes though. Not overpowering, very balanced. Tasty roasted malt ending with an almost inconspicuous smokiness. Hops still present but as an "also-ran" that doesn’t intrude. Slightly sweet and simple. Flows a bit thinner over the tongue than I thought. I expected a bit more density, but again I’m not porter savvy. 5.9% makes this a winner for drinkability and would go extremely well at a backyard barbecue. Would make an excellent gateway for those that think craft beer is only about extremes. A pleasure.

22 oz bottle from Ray’s. Pours nearly black with a two-finger tan head that slowly fades to a thin rim. Aroma is an interesting mix of roasted malt, chocolate, spices (oregano?), and of course smoked malt. Flavor is much the same with quite a bit of spiciness and a tiny bit of noticeable hops in the finish. The smokiness is a nice touch and not overpowering at all. The beer tastes like a delicious smoked piece of beef. Nice.

bottle: pours really dark with medium-thin tan head. medium-thin body, but full of well balanced flavor: smoky coffee and chocolate over tones. My first porter and I’m liking it, but aroma is a little disappointingly absent.

Was not sure what I was going to be getting from thsi beer. Is it a porter or a rauchbier? A darkbrown pour that collects into a blacker color in the glass with respectable head. Some seet ness on the nose is overridden by a taste of chocolate and coffee so bitter it is almost burnt. I used this as a replacement for espresso after I had dinner. The palate is thin enough for this to be one of the wide spread releses from stone and is easily enjoyed by most. The bitterness might have been a bit much for some though.

22 oz. bottle from Total Wine (Enjoy by 7/23/2009). Cola-like pour with a creamy beige head. Slightly smoky flavor with more dominating semi-sweet chocolate, a hint of coffee, and a faint note of grassy hops. Smoky malt flavor with a slight hop bitterness. Surprisingly thin even for a porter (certainly not rich like the description says). This is a very good porter but the body leaves me wanting a bit more.

so good, like every stone beer i have had the beers aroma was mostly coffee and hinted very subtly at chocolate the taste imo was very complex and amazing, strong coffee flavors with hints of chocolate and caramel which is very nicely ballanced by hoppy bitterness will definitely drink again very thick but not syrupy on the palate

Raisins and brown sugar on the nose, not strong. Clear dark cola colored, thin beige head, very minimal lacing. Smoky, charred oak and blackberry flavor with grass and coffee at midpalate. Charcoal and lemon grass finish. Interesting complexity, good transitions, and decent balance. Thinish mouthfeel that works for me. It tastes phenolic at times when warm. It sure beats the smoky overkill in rauchbiers.

Bottle. Not much head or aroma. tasty with smoky toffee flavor. Not my favorite Porter in the world but certainly not bad. Especially since its stocked at my grocery store.