Smoked Porter 3 Review

My third attempt at the smoked porter style follows the recipe in Brewing Classic Styles. My previous two attempts to brew this style sadly didn't turn out as smoky as I was hoping. Probably the smoked malt had in both cases lost some of its smoky flavor during storage. Fortunately, the malt used in this beer was likely fresh, as the beer is indeed smoky.

Appearance: Very dark brown but not quite black. Tan head that fades fairly quickly but leaves lacing where the glass meets the beer.

Aroma: Smoke dominates, but I do get some earthy hops in there. I don't get the
bacon-like smoke that some smokey beers have.

Taste: The taste is less smoke-dominant than the smell. I get some chocolatey or coffee like notes blended with the smoke. It does not have any bacony notes; in fact I would say the smoke is quite noticeable but not acrid or meaty. There's some sweetness in there too. The aftertaste is dominated by smoke and does have a slightly acrid note, in addition to some earthy hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Chewy, medium-low carbonation, pretty thick in body. But I don't think it has as much thickness some of my brews with oats.

Overall: To my palate, a medium smokey porter with a good balance between smoke character, coffee or chocolate character and sweetness. I like it quite a bit. A good beer for the fall and winter.