Alaskan Smoked Porter

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

22oz 2005 Vintage. Decent pour into trusty Piraat tulip yields a nice deep brown beverage with dense tan foam that sticks around for a good while. leaving very nice lacing. Aroma is straight smoked dark malt, just absolutely phenomenal. Flavor is just damn fine out of this world delicious. I can’t not drink this beer without thinking of the first time I had it. I had searched high and low for about 5 years before wandering into Pizza Port Carlsbad in the middle of January 2005, there between all the tasty delights PP had to offer was my white whale. Let me tell you, there are very few things that can beat finding the very one that you are searching than to find it a pub in southern california in January when it’s 70F and you’re 2 blocks from the beach. Even in rainy ass Pittsburgh during humid ass August, this beer still just hits me as beyond world class.

Good, dry smoke at end of palate. First tried in 2001 at the Great Canadian Beer Festival (GCBF) and it was served slightly too cold. Just got a bottle as a gift (2006 vintage) and look forward to taking new notes. Re-rate from draught version at Duck Island in Seattle. Pours dark opaque black with small creamy head. Aromatic essence of smoke with strong backbone of malt in the nose. Exceptionally creamy and delightful mouthfeel. Rich, roasty, bitter aftertaste with mellow smoke and well-blended flavors. Stunning brew.

22 oz bottle, 2005. Impenetrable dark brown kicks up a tan head and leaves a lace ring. Smoky dough with faint raisin. Quite mild. Taste is figs and prunes with subtle smokes notes of cigar and sausage. Solid molasses toffee base. Medium body with brief zesty carb. Finish a little oily but clean with coffee beans. Sweet and smoke balance nicely. What a fine brew.

Poured a thin yet almost opaque blackened color. No head. Nose and flavor reminiscent of a campfire and smoked salmon. Quite complex and distinguished. Far more exciting and quaffable than most other rauch or smoked brews I have experienced.

A very hearty beer. Deep, dark brown, and pours out "like tar". Aroma is a little smokier than flavor.

Dark brown with ruby coloured edges, beige head, good retention, some lacing. The aroma is very smoky, meaty, molasses, some chocolate, woody. The flavour isn’t as smoky as the aroma would make you believe, some meatiness, more porter characteristics, dark chocolate, burnt malts. Smoky and lightly bitter mouthfeel, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes dry, lightly bitter, chalky. An excellent smoked porter, highly drinkable. Seems to have the perfect amount of smoke all the way through.

650ml bottle shared by <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?U target=blank>beerhugger, thanks Steve.
Opened on March 16, 2007.
Vintage 2004.

[437-20070725] 650mL (Vintage 2006, w/ jerc, tuqueboy). Rich smokey malt aroma with notes of band-aid. Dark brown red body with a quick tan foamy head. Very smokey bacon, slightly meaty flavour that’s mostly malty with a bit of coffee and chocolate and a hint of medicine. Full body. Very interesting, nice for the category. (7/4/8/4/16) 3.9

[1039B-20080112] 1pt6floz (c/o HogTownHarry, w/ him, garthicus, jerc, mds, Radek Kliber; Vintage 2006). Iodine earthy bandaid smoke aroma. Dark dark brown body with a quick foamy light tan head. Smoky earthy roasty malt flavour has a bacon finish. Full body. Very nice balance. (9/3/9/4/17) 4.2

Bomber, 2005 vintage. Pours black with dark-brown edges, and a dense velvety beige head. Aroma is semi-sweet dark and roasted malt punctuated by smoke and charred wood. Flavor has a bit more of the malt, which is quite complex, ranging from sweetish notes to bitter chocolate, wood, and considerable roastiness, plus a hint of smokiness. Gets better with a more balanced and complex mingling of flavors and aromas as it warms. This is excellent, though not really a rauchbier in the usual sense -- more of a quality strong porter with some smokiness added to the mix, so you might like this even if you don’t like smoked beers in general. Highly recommended.