Stone Smoked Porter

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Porter
Escondido, California USA

This porter has a plain look to it. It does not look bad. I love the black opaque color, but the head is an off-white. I am not ragging on it, but a porter with such high praise should have a better looking head. Anyways, there is a nice rich smoke, and coffee aroma. This porter is pungent. I don’t have to stick my nose in the beer just to catch a whiff. There might also be some leather in there to accompany the smoke taste. Pretty good aroma. Wow, what a great complex taste. There is a lovely roast aftertaste that hits the back of my throat. This is strange I have never had this type of roast flavor last this long. Generally, the bitter takes over, but with this the smoke just lasts. Nice taste of wood and coffee, as well. A little watery, if you ask me. I think it could be a bit smoother and thicker. Overall, a nice porter, but it is surely not the best I have tried. I think what saves this is the lasting roast flavor. I think this is like a nice looking car that is actually not as good as its hype. I would recommend trying it, but only to try.

22 oz bottle. Pours a dark brown with a big foamy tan head that has very nice retention and good lacing. Aroma is chocolate and roasted malt with a touch of smoke. Flavor is a very nice melding of the normal roasted chocolate flavors of a porter and just a hint of smoke thrown in to play off the other flavors. This is a very nice balance. The smoke is not too overpowering like you find in some smoked porters. Very nice mouthfeel and very drinkable. Yet another reason to love Stone.

Draft at Redlight. This was possibly my favorite of the beers at the Stone Orlando Kickoff. Pours black with a standard chocolate and coffee smell and taste. Tastes like a great porter, but then the smoke kicks in. Just a light amount of smokiness at the tail end finishes this off nicely. Very good smoked porter.

Bottle. Pours black with tan head. Aroma is coffee, smoke, chocolate. Flavor is mostly coffee and bitter chocolate, with smoke flavor present in moderation. Finishes clean, but leaves a bit of smokey aftertaste.

The aroma is about what I expected. It’s smokey, toasty, malty, nutty, and mildly alcoholic. The appearance is red/brown with a nice foamy head. The taste is like the aroma with a bitter finish. The palate is OK but not as thick as I was hoping for. Overall it’s pretty good for a smoke but I don’t really like it.

Pours jet black with a blood red hue. Head is crisp, thin, and tan. Smells of charred oak, some roasted coffee. Tastes smokey, burnt coffee, and rich. As it warms, a little more coffee comes out. Aftertaste is semi sweet and smooth. Lots of lacing.

great beer, not overly done on the smoke nor on the porter side of cocoa and coffee. it has a fair amount of both the balance works very well

More like a smoked schwarzbier or black lager, in that it’s sweet but not roasty, except in the finish, which is good. Aroma has some ham, as does flavor. Flavor has good peaty flavor. Enough clean bitterness in the finish with some good pine roughness. Flavor starts out poor and watery, but improves as it goes.