Stone Chipotle Smoked Porter

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Escondido, California USA

On tap at Stone. I loved this beer! Very dark with brown tints when held to the light. Super dense tan head. I got almost no aroma from this glass, which suprized me. Only the tiniest hint of malt. In the mouth the flavostarts super smooth, creamy and light. And then the peppers kick in. Wow. It’s a clean, high, sharp spiciness that really kicks in. It’s NOT for someone who doesn’t like spiciness. The clean spice hotness lingers. The flavors went very well together. It was much better than I expected, and I’d order it again. RERATE: Different batches have widely varying amounts of heat. Taste on April 11 was much more subtle. I actually preferred the spiciness of the other batch. Aging mellows maybe?

On cask at the Stone Bistro.. Pours black with a creamy egg shell colored head.. Aroma was hickory, smoke and beef jerky.. Flavor was smokey and roasty like the original with the spicyness coming at the end that burns the throat just a tad.. Good but I prefer the vanilla bean out of all the different variations.

Smokier than I remember the original being, hard to say though. Mild spiciness to the aroma. Pours dark with a small amber head. Flavor is smoky, a little salty, roasty, with a nice spice in the finish. I’ve had some really bad chile beers, but this one ain’t bad. Nice and thick too.

Had the privilege of trying this one at the brewery. Didn’t really see all that much difference from the regular smoked porter but it was still good. Maybe more chipotle flavor would make it even better.

I really liked this beer and was able to have it on tap at thier brewery. Surprisngly the chiptole really added some nice kick to it. I prefer this version over the normal smoked porter.

GLASS: Mug TEMP: Approx 45 degrees Served from a Stone 1L Growler Aquired via trade This pours a dark copper/amber color. It’s slightly murky looking. A very thin, tan colored, head forms and quickly recedes. There is not much lacing to speak of. The nose has a big smokiness. Lots of smoked malt notes. Hints of dark chocolates. Nice notes of wood smoke. Hints of char. Very good hint of spicey, smokey peppers. Traces of leather and tobacco. This is bigger and more smoke filled than ’regular’ Stone Smoked Porter. The smoke level is boosted, almost to the level of Schlenkerla. Good presence of smoked maltiness and campfire smoke. Lots of leather notes. Smoked pepper (chipotle) notes are very nice. The finish is smooth and mildly dry. Then the pepper heat kicks in. It’s really more of an aftertaste, but it’s really good and not easily overlooked. It’s enough heat to make you reach for another drink, to cool it down. The heat builds with each successive swallow, until you’ve got a nice level of burning going on your throat.....and yet, you still want more. Full-bodied, but with a mild level of carbonation that makes it seem thin. It would really benefit from a slight boost here. Smooth, but seriously lacking in creaminess. The heat build-up could certainly be a bit too much for some people, I’d think. I like it, though. I’d love for Stone to put out something like this on a semi-regular basis. Very good.

Growler (one liter) from brewery. Pours a Pepsi caramel black color with a thick and creamy beige head that lasts for a while, leaving great lacing. Aroma is on the subtle side -- only slights notes of roasted malt with some smoky pepper. Flavor starts out smooth with just a little smoke and the roasted malts at first. But the pepper quickly kicks in, the spiciness builds, and then lingers. Medium body and dry finish. Lingering spiciness in the finish which I quite like. This beer makes sense to me -- add the delicious smoked jalapenos to the already smoked beer. This is not a novelty beer, and actually quite well done. Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t mind if it had a bit more of the chipotle.

Not very spicy, i could barely taste the chipotle. It came through at the end very slightly.