Stone Smoked Porter

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Porter
Escondido, California USA

A dark almost black pour with a coffee colored head. Aroma is nice and malty with notes of chocolate. Body is lighter and smooth. The smoked character comes through with the malt with a slight bitter taste. Smooth and flavorful with a light finish.

Bottle from Utobeer market stall. Pours black with a beige head. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, dark fruits. Nice. Good robust flavours of chocolate, smoke, licorice, caramel, coffee. Finishes smoky with a good hoppy bite. Tasty.

Draft at the Big Hunt in Dupont area, Washington DC Light chocolate and coffee aroma. Dark appearance with a light head. Matly, semi-smoky taste. I liked this porter, but it might not be my prefered type of porter - perhaps the Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter is better for me, or I need a desert to go with this Stone Smoke one.

Overall one of the best porters. Smooth, wonderful flavor and aroma. Rich and dark.

RnH: share with Pwn3d... pretty much echo his words: "Dark brown/ black pour, leaving this beige head. Taste of tobacco, smoked malts, nutmeg, dark chocolate... thin, easily chug-able body, as per the style."

Hmmm, perhaps the first Stone beer that hasn’t blown me away instantly. I mean yes it’s a good beer, but unfortunately nothing ground breaking. Although I will say I think it’s probably a little on the cool side, so I will wait for it to warm up a little, and then may re-rate. But for now: Looks pretty good in the glass, I think my 3 seems harsh, but I know how appetizing Stone beers can look, and this is about average for them I’d say, so it rest on a 3 for that reason. Deep brown/red around the edges with very dark brown/black center, small creamy looking tan head. It has a lovely aroma but it’s a tad subdued. There’s vanilla, cream, wood chips, milk chocolate, mocha on the nose and a sort of earthy dustiness. Flavour is complex but quite subtle, which in a way is quite nice as it proves that Stone aren’t just about big expressions, though that’s what I love them for. Lots of earthy smokiness, like ash or oak smoke, very tasty. This is definitely a beer that grows as it warms. There’ more vanilla and cream with more bitter notes like coffee and dark chocolate and then some quite fruity background flavours alo the lines of dark sultanas or prunes. Finish is very well balanced with a touch of sweetness but a definite bitter edge. Doesn’t dry the palate out too much although the initial flavour is quite dry, but somehow through the mids into the finish a sweeter syrupy texture takes hold to balance everything out. All in all a very good beer that has everything I want but for some odd reason, just misses truly exciting me. I think on closer inspection the downfall maybe the texture/conditioning/carbonation. The beer could perhaps be creamier, there’s a almost too present "fizzy" quality as it washes over my tongue... Look don’t get me wrong it’s a great beer, but I’m marking on a very high level here and for Stone this is what I would call a flag ship bench mark style of beer.

Nice smoked porter. Pours dark black with amber hue and a nice frothy head. Aroma has some coffee, toasted malt and a nice smokiness. Plenty of coffee, chocolate and smokiness in the flavor as well. I don’t like this one as well as the Alaskan Smoked Porter, but still very good.

8th August 2008. On tap at GBBF. Lovely rich fruity porter. Chocolately, mellow mellow smoke. All very well joined up in to quite a sumptuous porter.