No Quarter Smoked Porter Review

Appearance: Deep mahogany body with thick tan head, which persists nicely and sticks to the side of the glass. Opaque.

Aroma: Smoky but not the smack in the face of smoke that a classic rauchbier could have. It's mixed in with some sweet maltiness and earthy hops. Overall moderately intense aroma.

Taste: Sweet malty, smoke seems subdued to me. Kind of some bready, roasty notes, mixed with smoke. Quite bitter in the aftertaste but the bitterness does not taste as strong as a DIPA. The bitterness blends well with the other flavors, perhaps surprisingly. Not too removed from a more normal robust porter.

Mouthfeel: Thick and chewy. Low-moderate carbonation.

Overall: It's very good, but I don't think it's as smokey as some of my previous smoked beers. The flavors blend surprisingly well, since I didn't think a the smoke would go well with the high bitterness.

I am beginning to think that flavors in beer are often more about the balance of flavors than their strength. Here, although it's very bitter, my tongue cannot simultaneously perceive very bitter and very smoky - instead the kind of blend into one. This same recipe but with less bitterness probably would taste smokier. You cannot turn everything to 11.