Stone Smoked Porter (Stone Brewing Co.)

Attention Stone sales reps in New England!!!! Please see this review as yet another blatant attempt to push the distribution of your products north to the great state of Maine. We promise to drink hefty amounts of your beers and thus keep your sales managers happy, hell you might even get a bonus and then you can take your whole family on vacation up to scenic Maine! Think about it...

Pours a ridiculously dark black color with a nice big (some would say huge), thick, rich fluffy light caramel colored head. Held to the light a little redness shines through but other than that, this one is black as night.

Smell is creamy coffee, dark chocolate, caramel, burnt sugars, dark malts and a nice hint of hoppiness. Its a bit hard to separate out the smokiness as this one smells very rich and roasty, like a nice cup of coffee. That smoked malt smell is somewhere hidden in there but I can't seem to find it. Regardless, this is a great smelling porter.

First sip and the first thing I notice is how smooth this beer feels in my mouth. Its like iced coffee. Tastes of bitter chocolate, coffee (of course) and some smokiness definitely stands out but its in no way overpowering. Its actually quite a nice balance with the smokiness. The West Coast hops are present as well in the finish and provide a nice bitter dryness. Wow, this is good.

As far as smoked porters go, Stone's definitely stands out as one of the best. Another one to try and get your hands on are Alaskan Smoked Porter (arguably the best in the world).

BEER FACTS

Name: Stone Smoked Porter

Style: Smoked Porter

Brewery: Stone Brewing Company

Location: Escondido, California, USA

Container: 22 oz. bottle

Malts: ?

Hops: Chinook & Mt. Hood

ABV: 5.9%

IBUs: 53