Stone Smoked Porter

Bottle. Poured black with a creamy tan head that settled to a ring and left light lace. Hoppy aroma with a light smoked malt background. The flavor found chocolate, coffee, and a s decent smoke backing. Medium body and a coffee bitterness throughout.

As I pour most of the contents of my 220oz bomber into my awaiting glass, a deep earthen black-brown body greets my eyes while a soft tan head crowns and then fades into a thin film. Sticky lace mark her trail while a bouquet of smoke and wood waits for no one, rushing out to invite me in for a much closer encounter. Faint licorice, dates, chocolate and light notes of bitter espresso mingle amidst the smoke and wood. Mouth watering, I savor our first of many quaffs together which are surprisingly clean with a medium-bodied airiness. Wood and smoke pervades every beery pore, while subtle notes of soft milk chocolate, licorice, cream, and raisins keep her true to her porter roots. Faint bitter hops nips at her pleasantly dry finish. Each quaff is a rich bouquet of delicate smoked wood with nibs of chocolate, cream, and dark fruits passing through. Thankfully the smoke is not overwhelming, which would only serve to smother the beer and my palate. Instead, my Stone Smoked Porter has achieved a perfect balance of smoke and beer, in this case a porter. As she warms, more soft chocolate and coffee notes mingle amicably with the smoke and wood when suddenly, without warning, I find my glass empty.

A 22oz bottle of Smoked Porter sounds like a lot, but instead she is just the right amount. I could and did easily enjoy every single quaff of her smoky porter depths. I’m not sure how long she would age before the freshness of the smoke would start to subside, but maybe someday I’ll experiment and find out. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy as much fresh Stone Smoked Porter as I can possible fit in my fridge.

Pours to a high foamy head, dissolves well to leave a webby film. Slightly smoky aroma, but not too strong. Nice and dark. Don’t fast too much of the chocolate, almost more like a dark hazelnut, good malty mouthfeel. Not too much movement on the palate, but a decent finish. Good stuff.

Bottle.. Poured into a snifter. Light black in color that lets some light come through. Nice smoke, fire place aroma on the nose. Taste is roasted malts, chocolate and just a touch of smoke. None of the flavors dominate the others. Very well balanced. Nice creamy smooth texture. A little on the thin side. The commercial description describes this beer to the "T". Oveall a good example of a smoked porter.

Eye-wateringly expensive bottle at The Penguin’s Arms. Handsome jet pour collared with beige, collapsing to a marbled slick in swigs. Nose notably soft and lactic; mellow in the hop department with soap and blackcurrant but mostly milk chocolate, walnut, vegetal locust bean notes, alcohol, prune at a push. Caramel and soft casky tones in there. Sweet and lactic like a Belgian dubbel, but not especially porter-like and certainly not smoked or even roasty. A typical English mild of half the strength is charred to a cinder compared to this. Thick black milk with barely a tickle of fizz, luxurious creaminess; soapy alkaline licks. Slippery, heavy and a bit tiring after half a bottle, Considerably less hop and malt excitement than I was expecting. Chocolate, milky coffee, caramel and oak creaminess; wood, slate and boredom. Overall impression: dull and silky like Chimay, drank over a pint and hardly noticed.

Pours a nice head. Nice mouthfeel. Good flavor balance, except the smokiness is more than I’d like and while it doesn’t overwhelm, it sort of upstages the rest of the flavors. It’s good, but not exceptional.

You know how Porters and Stouts get better as they warm? Well, I finished mine about 3 hours ago and I am still waiting for it to get better. I didn’t taste anything that set this apart from any other porter I have had, even the smokiness requires a little imagination to pin down. If this was a Brown Ale, it may kick ass, but for the style I’d rather go Baltik. $9 per 22oz bottle at Abraxas, Miami Beach

22 oz. bottle. Pours a clear dark brown color with a small beige head. The aroma is caramel, mocha, smoke, and some char. The flavor is roasted malt, caramel, light coffee, and smoke. Medium mouthfeel, smmoth drinking. A very good offering from Stone. I think by itself this one does very well. When it is tasted side by side with the Alaskan, it seems to be weaker in almost every category.