Left Hand SmokeJumper

Serving date: 2009-03-15. Best before: December 2010. Served in snifter. Very dark brown, almost black. Considering the style and high ABV the the pale brown, thick and creamy head is rather big and leaves plenty of lacings. The smell is mostly of smoked meat (ham), some sweet chocolate notes, roasted malts. Beneath the massive smoke aromas, light hops are also present. The taste has some big and powerful, but not overpowering, smoke flavors: smoked meat (ham, bacon), burnt wood/forest fire, charcoal, peat. Some general roastiness. Plenty of sweet flavors as well: chocolate, soft chocolate nougat, light caramel, coffee, some malts. Some saltiness (might be the smoked bacon). Again, faint hops are present. Seems like there is a very good porter base in this brew. The finish is considerably bitter and contains some caramelized sugar, burnt wood and spicy alcohol (however, the alcohol hides rather well). The taste of smoked sausage lingers on for quite a while in the mouth. Full body, light carbonation. Feels very smooth and calm. It gets a bit sticky after a while. A very good smoked beer. Complex smoke aromas coupled with an equally complex porter profile makes for a pleasant drinking experience. It gets a little to much after a while though and the palate takes quite a beating. A bomber is just slightly to much, but great for sharing. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

bomber - 2008 vintage; thick, dark brown and cola clear along the edges; thin, soapy off white head; smoked malt, roasted grains; aromas are quite rich with a dry smoke and meaty quality to it; lots of roast too and super dry in the finish; more of a smoked than a porter and generally I like the opposite; some chocolate and malty sweetness, but this had a little much on the smoke for my liking

22oz Bottle, purchased somewhere in the Philadelphia area. Dense, creamy deep woods smoke, with plenty of freshly smoked whitefish and lake trout. Rich, woodsy and mystical. Absolutely enticing. Falls in a thick murky dark brown, with plenty of jiggling, creamy sand-colored head. Flavor, again, reminds me immediately the luscious maple-smoked fat on the belly of a piece of lake whitefish, taking me home to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A wash of porter chocolate, ale alcohol, and bright well-complimenting water minerals follow, adding balance and depth. The smoke starts to fade here, giving way to the darker malt characters, some yeast esters, and satisfying alcohol and sugar. The smoke quality is incredible, but it’s a bit too light for me. I’d like to see it sustain through to the finish better and not lay down to the porter malts so much. Nonetheless, certainly an enjoyable beer.

Bottle. Pours near black with a thin head. The aroma is roasty and smoky with a light sweetness. The flavor has really nice smoky notes with a roasty finish and a light sweetness. Very good.

This beer smells insanely delicious, smoky bacon is a favorite even though I don’t eat pork anymore. Appearance is a hard to see through dark black but the head was smaller than I expected. The taste contains a lot of the great flavors from the nose but was a bit bitter. Overall, the beer was very interesting but I’m not crazy about the style other than the nose.

2008 BOTTLE CONDITIONED (Says on the label) Nice dark black liquid. Three finger head of light brown foam. Great retention and fairly good lacing. No denying that this one is smoked. Smoke is the first thing you smell, and it’s quite prominent. Also, some leather. Smells of top quality smoked bacon, actually. Some roasted malt presence. Slight caramel notes. It’s like liquid smoke. Wow. Nice herbal hops bite. Roasted grains. Some dark chocolate notes. Nice undercurrent of coffee. Hints of smoked pork. Trace notes of vanilla and caramel. Good molasses presence. Good full-bodied porter. Slight oily-ness is sneaking in. Nice level of creaminess. Fairly impressive, actually. A smooth easy drinker, as far as the body goes. The dominant smokiness would probably keep me from drinking more than a couple in one sitting, though.

From the Bottle at TAG Restaurant, Denver 22/09/2009 Smoky roast aroma. Dark red coloured and strong in alcohol with a little dryness in a hoppy and bitter smoked roast malt finish.

An almost opaque molasses pour, with a nice, thick brown head that reduces to a thin cap, leaving sparse lace. Some tobacco, smoked peat, bacon, jerk spices, and rich malts to the nose. The flavors center in on smoked meats (bratwurst), peat, dark malts, bitter chocolate, and dark fruit esters. Smoky bitters and jerk spices close the finish, lingering nicely. A tad of alcohol is noted, but superbly integrated. A smooth, yet rich mouthfeel with a full body and light carbonation levels, this is an excellent impy smoked porter! Perfect for the colder months.