Nimbus Porter (Smoked Porter)

pours a nearly black dark brown with a thin tan head. the level of smoke in the aroma is light and doesn’t mask the other smells... umami, chocolate, dark roast, scalded cream and brewed coffee. the flavor has a mild savory character, roasty grain/malt, cocoa, some wood and well integrated smoke. although the flavor is a bit subdued it is quite good. there’s a good porter in there. slightly sour finish. medium to full body. velvety smooth mouth feel. i don’t think this is a smoked beer... more of a porter that happens to be smoky...

On draft at the brewery. Pours a deep black with thin tan head. Aroma is slight, but of roasted malt and light smoke. Flavor is roasted malt, slight biscuit and just a little smoke. Very smooth and nice finish, just hoped for a little more smoke character.

I had this a few months ago on draft at Nimbus brewery after a long trip out from ca. was happy to see a fresh new Nimbus handle as there were 3 addition specialties on tap. this was a true pleasure to drink all the way through. the malts are silky smooth and round out the forward hops really nicely. the sweet molasses gave this an insane nose and added superbly to this hidden gem~ thanks for the pours Mike, well crafted brewing

Pours dark brown with a light tan head. Light roasted malt aroma. Not much smoked aroma though. Flavor is a light chocolate and roasted malt flavor. Barely taste the smoked malts. Balanced flavor and a smooth medium body. Pretty good beer

This beer sits in my pint glass with a frothy, though typically draught thin, dark tan colored head. The beer is an almost black, amber color that shows brilliantly clear, ruby highlights when held up to the light. The aroma is initially sweet with crystal malt notes being prominent. It finishes with roasty notes of burnt malt and toasted grain. I don’t get much in the way of smoke though; at most it adds to the malty complexity that defines this beer’s aroma.

The taste is rich and creamy in consistency, even more so because this beer is only 5.5% alcohol. A rich, approaching satiating, malt sweetness is found up front and even lingers on through to the finish. There is a spicy hop character towards the finish that is magnified a bit by the carbonation; this helps to balance out the huge malt character. Notes of chocolate and roasted coffee beans are quite noticeable and quite enjoyable as well. The smoke character is subtle, but definitely contributes; it adds another layer, upping the complexity and richness of this already great malty beer.

There is a soft, almost berry-like fruit character to this beer as well that manifests itself about half way through my pint and toward the end of a sip of this delectable brew (perhaps contributed by the British ale yeast). This is a damn tasty brew, especially as a Porter. I could certainly wish for more smoke character, in fact it really needs more to even be called a smoked Porter, but that would ruin the balance that this beer has found as a Porter. In the end this is perhaps mislabeled on the tap as a Smoked Porter, but the signs and the description call it a Porter with some smoked malt added.

<font size=-4>Sampled: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/nimbus-brewing-company/1017/>Nimbus Brewing, Tucson, AZ<font size=-1>