Iron Hill Ring of Fire Porter

BCTC 08. Aroma is sweet and sour with cocoa and some heat. Taste is an upfront light tingle with a nice mouthfeel and sweetness. Heat lingers and finishes with a nice burn.

Bottle shared by GMCC2181, thanks Gabe! Ckd and Cgd mini bottle. Very aggressive opening that Gabe handled like a pro, well done Gabe! Large tan head, fizzy and lasting. Hazy brown appearence. Nose was smokey, roasty and nasal clearing, ahhhh tabasco. Med/light body, plenty of carbonation though a tad oily on the tongue, warm also. You could (surprisingly) detect the underlying brew, light roast,chocolate notes. Tabasco notes, heat was sorta interesting though not a brew you,d want to drink alot of. Warming, lightly smokey finish. More of novelty (agreed Frank) beer than anything. Thanks Gabe!

At the SSSSLT, an exciting bottle opening by the generous GMCC2181, who tamed the cork beautifully but just couldn’t contain the volcanic spewing of bubbles that transpired for about ten minutes (good thing he didn’t ship this and saved it for SL!). Obvoiusly, poured with a huge head, about 90% of the glass, big bubbles too, foamy, tannish in color, longstanding retention (although after 10mins or so, the bottle poured reasonably). Body of the beer was brown in color, much like their standard and excellent pig iron porter. The aroma was normal roasty chocolate, good stuff, no tabasco yet though, maybe some tingling going on in the nostrils. The flavor was excellent, the best pepper type beer I’ve had, roasty chocolate notes, but a nice complementary tabasco richness that added some heat to the sips (but not ridiculously, as I’m not into suicide hot wings, etc...) around the whole mouth and tongue. In addition to the heat, the mouthfeel obviously was lively with carbonation tooo. Gabe, thanks for the opportunity on this one, a very fun experience, and one which has me no longer wondering why folks mix peppers in beers.

Old rating. Aroma was a little weird. Had a little chocolate to it and maybe some tobasco. Finished spicy and burned the tongue.

13 oz. corked & caged bottle. Pours a dark chestnut brown color with a glimmer of dark crimson that shines when backlit. A massive, billowing head of tan colored foam displays excellent retention, random splotches of lace remaining on the glass. Aromas include chocolate malts, rich cocoa, powdered milk (lactose), vanilla, and hints of peppery spice. I expected it to blow me away with Tabasco heat, but the spicing is very subtle on the nose. The flavor, however, is a different story. What starts out sweet, with smooth cocoa notes and caramel, quickly takes a turn towards spicy as the Tabasco laden wood develops a building heat. By the end of the bottle, the spice causes the lips and throat to tingle quite a bit. The palate is medium bodied and velvety smooth, finishing hot and peppery. This one is as unique as they come. I think they chose a nice base beer to experiment with, as I think the cocoa and the lactose really do well to balance out the heat.

Big thanks to Gabe (GMCC2181) for sending this one to me awhile back for my #300 rating. First, as others have said, watch out for the cork! It blew off and shattered on my garage ceiling, and the beer all came out as head. Once it settled down, it looked a murky black color, which I dug. Slight pepper in the aroma. But MAN the flavor is all tabasco. Way to hot and spicey when the beer was cool. Once it warmed up, there were nice notes of charred chocolate and smoke. Some real nice flavors on the palate, some dark fruits and carmel. The tabasco is just too strong though, it burned my tastebuds and hindered me from fully enjoying this one. Really glad I got the chance to drink this one though, I’d suggest picking one up to anyone as a one off special treat.

Poured a dark mahogany color with a thin, light tan head that left no lacing on the glass. Aroma of roasted malts, some sweet chocolate, a touch of burnt wood, and a bit of green pepper. Taste of sweeter caramel up front, then some cocoa, with a roasted coffee, green pepper, and finishing with a spicy tobasco finish. I kept this chilled, and had no gushing, just a large head. Thanks to Iron Hill for this fantasticly interesting beer!

Sample, from a bottle. Poured deep brown, capped with a moderate sized tan head. Aroma of chocolate malt, smoke, and hot pepper. Flavor is chocolate malt for an instant, which is quickly joined by chili pepper that burns the tongue a bit. Hefty chocolate malt supports the chili pepper for a long finish. The porter and pepper match very well. Much better balanced than the Ithaca "Tastes like Burning", that I had at the Extreme Beer Fest. I’d like to try this again.