Ithaca Gorges Smoked Porter

Dark dark brown, almost black. Head evaporates after 30 seconds. No light passes through. Nice light coffee smell, roasted malt. Hint of mild hop sweetness. Mild smoky aroma. Smoky accent to the roasted malt taste. Coffee is not heavy, but a nice mild touch. Malt is toasted, not burnt. Hints of alcohol come in. Crisp and quite good. Has a steamed top layer. Medium body. Dry but a little creamy. Leaves a roasted film on the tongue. Hightly drinkable. Smoky, not overly bitter.

On tap, at Mugs Alehouse, on 22nd July 2009. deep red almost black; hazy with a pale brown diminishing head. Plenty of roast malt with a smoky bouquet comprising mainly cigar smoke notes. Delicious.

Wow it sure is tough to follow such an eloquent descriptive rating. Bottle from LilBeerDoctor. Thanks! Nose has light smokey aromas, BBQ/Hickory notes, roast, light dark fruit. Pours dark brown almost black with a thin head that dissipates quickly. Flavor is initially lightly smokey with hints of sweet bbq. Dark fruit comes in a little, and it finishes light and roasty. Some lingering dry smoke/roast on the palate. Seemed a little thin to me, and carbonation was a tad to light IMO, but a decent brew.

Shared with my girlfriend, got this via trade on beerspot. Porus black with a tanhead. Nose is sweet and smoky. Taste is sweet, smoky and clearly a porter underneath the smoked. Nice.

On tap at Zeno’s Pub - State College, PA. Pours a clean mahogany-stained brown, with a creamy tan head. Aroma has a peculiar tint of dry chocolate, hazlenut powder, and a bit of charcoal ash. Nice and unique. Porter flavors come first. Crystalline cocoa sugar, melted brown sugar, a bit of vanilla, and some ice cream. Smoke is an afterthought. As a smoked beer, this is a pretty good porter. Body is dry, balanced, but holds up to the alcohols and roast crispiness. I like the hazlenut character of this beer, but the smoke is practically non-existent. If it shows at all, it’s a greasy, sooty, charcoal character that’s ashy and thin.

Bottle sample. Cloudy amber pour with a thin tan head. Sweet malt and caramel nose with a hint of bacon. Somewhat hammy flavor with some malt and a hoppy finish.

On tap at the Pony Bar, NYC. Body is garnet-amber, brownish at edges. Short medium tan head. Aroma is smoky malt/beef jerky, raw brazil nuts. Flavor is sweet caramel malt, some cocoa powder, much fainter smoke flavor, and lively carbonation that brings in a creamy mouthfeel and some hoppy bitterness/aftertaste. Nice session porter

Bottle. Pours brown with a small tan head. Aroma of smoked meat, sweet roasted malt. Flavor is not quite so smoked, sweet and roasty initially with a touch of smoke in the finish. Slightly on the sweet side. Admittedly not a great smoked, but a decent porter nonetheless. 7/4/7/3/14 (3.5/5)