Alaskan Smoked Porter

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

Tan foamy head, full dark body with smokey aroma not unlike liquid smoke. Very savory and inviting. Obvious smokey taste that made you want something to eat. Unique type of beer for me and very good. The one we drank was a 2006 yr.

The Alaskan Smoked Porter was one of the very first beers I purchased when I arrived in Seattle. It’s fame had trickled into Colorado through scattered channels, and bottles of it were everywhere in Seattle - about as ubiquitous as hipsters, but a little less judging. It’s a predictably subterranean dark beer. You’d be better off using echo location to peer inside your glass. The nose immediately comes off as smoky, even burnt, redolent with charcoal, seared steak and mesquite wood. I’m immediately hungering for a medium-rare ribeye, but dinner’s still lingering in the stomach, so I keep feasting on the porter. The second sampling of the aroma introduces more eats, and fewer incinerated smells. Cumin, coffee, a hint of raisin make appearances. I wade into the beer, now up to my mouth, catching jerky spices, black pepper, cumin, cured meat and enough raisin to balance against the spicy and savory flavors. The palate is well weighted for this heavy flavor profile, burly enough to carry the assemblage of tastes on its mouthfeel palanquin with confidence. It is a perfectly drinkable beer, and I think a welcome introduction to Alaskan Brewery’s capabilities. I eagerly await the 2009 batch of this affordable, densely flavored porter.

06 Bottle from dirtymartini, thanks Larry. Poured a deep brown/black color with an inch and a half, dense beige head that slowly receded to a thin bubbly layer and left some nice webby lacing. Aroma of smoke, some brown sugar glazed meat, chocolate, light roast, some charred wood, and a bit of light fruitiness. Smooth, lightly sweet entry leads into a light bakers chocolate and a light woodiness followed by some sweet (brown sugar) meatiness paired with a moderate smokiness and some soft undertones of vanilla that finishes with a lightly dry woodiness and a bit of lingering smoke. Low carbonation and moderate mouthfeel with a pleasing dryness on the finish. Overall, a very enjoyable beer. The smoke could have been a bit more assertive, and I imagine it was when it was fresh. I am glad this is available in Colorado now, it’s a nice beer.

500 mL bomber. 2008 version. Pours a deep brown almost black with a thin, tan cap with good retention. Aroma of smoked bacon, barbecue pork, unsweetened chocolate. Taste is meaty with charred bacon bits, cocoa, molasses, and dry hoppy bitterness showing through in the finish. Nice medium body. Creamy on the palate. Very interesting.

Poured almost black with a nice head on it. The aroma was nice and smokey with hints of chocolate, very interesting and probably the best part of the beer. The flavor was chocolatey, malty, with just a hint of smoke, it doesn’t really come through on flavor. Very nice and very drinkable, something different.

Pours dark brown, almost black, with a sparse off-white head that has no retention or lacing to speak of. Aroma of cedar smoke and sweet malt; flavor develops smoked and roasted malt, slightly oily finish with a hint of bitter chocolate. Fairly rich mouthfeel, only slightly carbonated.

I love the smoke usage on this beer. A nice toasty aroma with some coffe and smoke. Pure smoke, no meat, no bacon, just burnt toast and smoked malts. Smooth and rich and very well balanced.

Bouteille de 22 oz partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez moi. Arôme: Odeur de fumée. Apparence: La couleur est noire opaque. Présence d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de fumée avec une pointe de café. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement onctueuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Présence de fumée en arrière goût. (Rating #2336)