Cosmic Ristretto is a Baltic Porter brewed with espresso and Belgian candy sugar. The head is foamy rather than creamy. There’s coffee and licorice on the nose. Tons of coffee and molasses in the middle, brown sugar and star anise in the finish. The body is medium and the alcohol is a relatively high 8.2% ABV. This is an exceptional beer.
I give it a 4.9 out of 5.
First, a note on chipotle. For those who aren’t familiar, a chipotle is a jalapeño pepper that once ripe, has been dried and smoked. Clearly the right kind of delicious little treat to add to Stone’s Smoked Porter for a extra kick. Now, I’ve had chili beer before, but this is better. The nose is malty and smoky, quite similar to regular Smoked Porter, with just a slight hint of pepper. The middle is immediately spicy, with chili oil or wasabi in front of strong chocolate notes. The pepper fades through the finish and the sweet and smoky malt flavors, still strong on chocolate take back over, with a little coffee coming in at the end. The body is light to medium weight and the alcohol is a nice moderate 5.9% ABV. The spice is strong with this one, and you should really be a fan of a little heat to enjoy it. So, if you’re the kind of person who looks for the hot sauce with every meal, this is definitely the beer for you. Really well done.
I give it a 4.6 out of 5.
Tonight I’m back to a porter, and this is one of the classics of the style. Fuller’s London Porter The nose has roasted malt, and a hint of raisins. The middle has coffee and a bit of cocoa, and the finish has some bitter herb notes balancing the molasses sweetness of the malt. When I think of a porter, this is what I think of. The body is medium to heavy, and the alcohol is a light 5.4% ABV.
I give it a 4.6 out of 5.
Coco Loco Porter is NoDa Brewing’s latest offering in a can. It’s pours with a generous head and a dark brown hue as befits a porter. It’s brewed with cocoa nibs and coconut, and both the cocoa and the coconut are present in the nose, with lovely warm cocoa in front and faint coconut in the background. The middle is velvety and chocolaty, without being sweet. A hint of sweetness does come out in the finish with some toasty malt to remind you this is a porter. It has a medium weight body, and a nice 6.2% alcohol level. It’s an excellent porter that relies on the chocolate for flavor without undue sweetness. One of my new favorite porters, I’d say.
I give it a 4.7 out of 5.
Bell’s Porter is interesting in that it isn’t as heavy as a typical porter. They describe is as being somewhere in between a brown ale and a stout, and I’d agree that this is the target they’ve hit. The body is medium weight, and the flavors are not overly strong, but the profile is definitely in-line with a porter or stout. The nose has chocolate and toast. The middle is roasty had has a bit more chocolate at the end, and the finish is slightly metallic with some savory grain notes. It’s on the lighter side alcoholically as well at 5.6% ABV. A very pleasant interpretation of a porter.
I give it a 4.2 out of 5.
Porter is a classic ale style that brings to mind visions of heavy, dark, malty beer; beer that could serve as meal replacement. Founders Brewing Company’s version of Porter, named simply “Porter” doesn’t disappoint. Founders has become one of my all time favorite brewers as they churn out good beer after good beer, and this is no exception. The appearance is perfect, an oily black with no hint of transparency, and a thick mocha brown head. The nose has notes of coffee, cocoa and wood. The body is heavy, and the middle has flavors of well roasted coffee, brown sugar, and a bit of chocolate. The finish has a tiny bit of alcohol and a little of that brown sugar sweetness left over. The alcohol level is a moderate 6.5% ABV. Now, I’m a hop-head, and there isn’t anywhere in this beer that the hops come forward, but I still appreciate this beer for what it is, and that’s a classically heavy, malty, rich porter.
I give it a 4.7 out of 5.
People’s Porter is a classic English Porter from the good folks at Foothills Brewing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It’s dark and roasty and chocolatey and lovely, but not too heavy, or particularly big, at 5.8% ABV. This is the sort of beer you drink when you want a dark, roasty beer but not a meal, or a dessert. It’s bursting with great flavors, the aforementioned chocolate, along with coffee and a nice nuttiness in the finish. This is a very well executed English Porter, and highly recommended.
I give it a 4.1 out of 5.
Red Thunder is the result of aging Victory Brewing Company’s Baltic Porter, called Baltic Thunder in once-used wine barrels. What you end up with is fine, mature, boozy porter with more refinement than you’d get from aging in whiskey barrels. The nose is super malty and sweet, with notes of chocolate. The middle has cocoa, plums, and figs, and the finish has some grape notes and a bit of smooth alcohol befitting an 8.5% ABV beer aged in wine barrels. The body is quite heavy, and there’s a nice dryness to the finish. This is a wonderful porter, and should hit right in the wheelhouse for fans of barleywines and big malty stouts.
I give it a 4.6 out of 5.
Browsing through the beer section at the Earth Fare, one of the local grocery stores I frequent, I saw a bottle of Stone’s Smoked Porter that I’ve passed over my last few trips, and decided to give it a try. It’s rich dark brown in color, and a medium to full bodied beer. There’s chocolate in the nose, cocoa and coffee in the middle, and it has sweet, milky finish that fades to a faintly bitter last note that gives you a hint about the hops. I really didn’t find a lot of smoke in my example. Other than a bit in the nose, to me, this was closer to a chocolate or milk stout than anything. This is not as outrageous as some of Stone’s other offerings, but it’s a really nice, smooth, flavorful beer, and would be a great option for someone who isn’t into hoppy, bitter beers. I like it a lot.
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