The autumn weather of the past several weeks has got me into mood for some nice, dark, roasty beers. As I have perused the shelves of my favorite beer stores over the past few years I’ve noticed Stone Brewing Companies’ Smoked Porter repeatedly, but for some reason never actually drank one. I have enjoyed a number of Stone’s other beers such as Arrogant Bastard Ale and Ruination IPA, so I decided to give it a taste.
Stone Brewing Company was founded in 1996 by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. The pair initially met in 1989, and realized that their tastes in beer were similar when both attended a class on tasting beer taught at UC Davis. Steve was already an experienced brewer at this point, and Greg an accomplished business man, so they decided to open a brewery together a few years later. The brewery has since moved from its original site in San Marcos to a larger facility in Escondido where they now operate a larger brewing system with a capacity of 70,000 barrels per year, with room to expand.
The beer poured black with a finger of light brown head, which revealed a clear, deep red hue when held up to the light. The head had a fairly coarse texture, but the retention was surprisingly good. The aroma consisted mainly of a roasty maltiness which was accentuated by a slight smoke character and some faintly bitter, burnt notes from the malt. When tasted the beer had a surprising sweetness; not overly sweet, but I had expected a much drier beer. The sweetness actually provided a nice touch, since it offset the bitterness. The body was actually fairly thick, but I did not notice this at first due to the fairly high carbonation level. The aftertaste was quite bitter, and the body left a sensation of something thick coating my mouth. The smokiness came out towards the end of the taste, lingering on with the bitter notes.
This beer turned out to be significantly different than I expected, which is in part because smoked porters are not a recognized style of their own, but mostly my fault. The Beer Judge Certificate Program recognizes only one distinct style of smoked beer (Classic Rauchbier), with all others lumped together in “Other Smoked Beer”. This being said, smoked beers have become a bit of a fad recently at some local breweries (Victory has had both Smoked Porter and Smoked Weizenbock on tap, in addition to their Rauchbier), with one of the common variants being a Smoked Russian Imperial Stout. For some reason this is what I expected, and I was very pleasantly surprised by restrained character of the Stone Smoked Porter; its far more like a Robust Porter than a Russian Imperial Stout.
Porters are generally served in pint glasses or a stein, which is quite convenient for most people. I would recommend pairing this one with pretty much anything that has been smoked (yes, bacon does pair well with pretty much everything), but I think it will go well with some slightly sweet things as well. Cured or seasoned meats, especially sausages like bratwurst, should go well with this beer, especially if you are willing to fire up the grill for a late-season barbecue. One thing that is suggested on the Stone website that I will try the next time is chocolate; I think the roasted malt character will blend nicely, especially with the darker varieties.
Overall, this was a smooth and well balanced beer that I would recommend to anyone who wants to try a porter. The beer is surprisingly approachable, with the smoked character adding some complexity to a very good robust porter instead of trying to overshadow it.
Size: 22 oz
Price: $7.95
ABV: 5.9%
Look: 4/5
Smell: 4/5
Taste: 4.5/5
Mouthfeel: 3.5/5
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