Rock Art Midnight Madness Smoked Porter

Brewed by Rock Art Brewery
Style: Smoked
Morrisville, Vermont USA

this is my favorite porter right now

The appearance is dark brown; light brings a reddish tinge, akin to a dark brown ale. Head lasts a few minutes, then becomes a layer of thin film. Specks of lace. Wonderfully deep roasted, nutty and smoky smell. Bready and dry. Slightly sweet accent of plums, but mostly roasted. Immediate smoky flavor, similar to mesquite, followed by bittersweet malts. The mesquite become an accent and the roasted malts and sweet stone fruits take over. Really nice. Burnt cookies with warmth. The feel is dry and ashy; sandpaper. It’s a very nice, dry porter. Smoky and rich.

Growler. Nice aroma with a slight smokeiness evident. Very smooth and drinkable with the smoke not being overdone.

Bottle - from sampler pack. Very dark. Excellent - great porter flavor and the smoke is only in the background - not overwhelming.

Bottle sample pours a dark cola brown with a thin tan head. Nose of smoke and toast, much more like a smoked bock than a porter, since I don’t see the malt character of a porter anywhere in here, but the nice thing is that the smoke character is real and natural, you can literally smell the kiln. Has a nice bite up front and a sharpness over the middle, again, like a bock. Overall it’s a delicious naturally wood smoked beer regardless of the missing or muted porter characteristics.

Growler: Clear ruby with a large creamy head. Smoked chocolate with some nuts, small bubbled, fizzy lively body. Starts and ends sweet with a weak ending.

Pours brown with a tan head. Smells ofd roasty malt and smoky. Tastes smoky with some molasses and licorice present. Better than the imperial version for sure.

Dark ruby brown with a light tan head. Sesame, soy and smoked malt aroma. Body starts lightly sugary sweet and dry with plenty of roasted and somewhat smoky malt. Finishes very dry and kinda thin, but not as smooth as it could be either.