379. Jackie O’s Bourbon Barrel Smoked & Portered

This beer marks the second growler from Jackie O’s that I brought back from my Athens Beer Week hijinx. Beer judging is all well and good, but everyone likes treats brought back from my travels abroad. And why else wander the world if not to sample and sup upon the fine wares of other regions? I certainly enjoy that component of my travels, I’ll tell you. As to the other beers we’ve had from Jackie O’s, here’s the list from an earlier post.

BB Smoked & Portered pours a deep chocolate brown with a light tan head; the nose is oaky, smoky, and creamy, with chocolate, coffee, and some dark fruit, including raisin, after the first rush of oak and smoke. Flavors start with chocolate and smoke with a bit of acorn; the middle is coffee and a bit more smoke, followed by light bourbon and oak flavors. The finish is creamy and rather clean with a return of the acorn and oak; there is a bit of lingering alcohol flavor on the palate, but nothing distracting. BB S & P has a medium to heavy body with a chewy and creamy mouthfeel; the carbonation is minimal but lightly present on the palate—combined oaky and tannic bite that dries out the palate, the beer finishes rather dry. In fact, it smells far sweeter than it tastes, but it has a very mellow and nuanced body. There are also some roasted flavors in the middle that work well in rounding and building the complexity of the flavor profile. Overall, this beer is a study in balance and complexity—it certainly doesn’t taste or drink like a 9.0% ABV beer, even though there is a bit of alcohol flavor. BB S & P is smooth, easy drinking, and delicious. We wish we could get a couple of bottles of this to sit back on and see how they aged. While the smoke would probably drop out, some of the other flavors might get richer with age. We’ve also been wondering what their regular porter tastes like—after all, if it is the base for this beer, then it’s got to be good. We’re already looking forward to our next trip to Athens, and another chance to visit Jackie O’s for some great beer.

From the Jackie O’s website on June 9, 2010: “The BB (Bourbon Barrel) aged Smoked and Portered was kegged last week after close to 5 months of aging. The barrel mellowed out nicely. The smoke is still the initial characteristic that jumps out. Underneath lies some great oak and subtle bourbon notes. The body is fairly light for a porter but still carries some weight.”

(7/14/2010)

368. Heavy Seas Smoke on the Water Imperial Smoked Porter

Another big bottle from Heavy Seas; while it is sadly not another cask, it was certainly much tastier than our last beer from them. As with the Below Decks, Smoke on the Water is part of the Mutiny Fleet. This is our fourth beer from Heavy Seas, including Heavy Seas Cabernet Barrel Aged Below Decks, Clipper City IPA/Loose Cannon Cask and Loose Cannon 420 Cask.

More sweet World Cup action to accompany our beer...

Smoke on the Water (cue repetetive power chords) pours a rich dark chocolate with a minimal cocoa head that quickly reduces to a ring around the edge of the glass. The nose is a nice balance of roasty and chocolate, with a touch of rauchbier smokiness that has just a bit of bacon-y greasiness. Flavors start with a sweet chocolate with a bit of roasted malt in the background before moving into smokiness in the middle along with lighter cocoa flavors. The smokiness picks up in the final third, along with bitterness and dryness, although there is a touch of lingering roasty chocolate sweetness to accompany the smoky dryness. Smoke on the Water has a medium body with a chewy yet dry mouthfeel—it’s chewy and sweet on the palate at the start, but a bit flat, dry, and crackery towards the end even as the smoky slickness picks up. There is also a slight touch of sourness at the end from the smoke flavors. Smoke on the Water has a good flavor and mouthfeel throughout, although it does shift from front to back. Carbonation is medium to low; it rounds and shapes the beer, but doesn’t have much bite or variation on the tongue. There is a bit of warmth that emerges as the beer warms, but nothing that changes much in regards to the profile. Smoke on the Water is an enjoyable beer—the smokiness is well-balanced, and the light touch of greasy slickness from the smoke is well done. Tasty and delicious.

From the Heavy Seas website: “This first time release boasts complex roasted malt flavors with a hint of smoke. Available in 22oz bottles and limited draft.”

ABV: 8.0%

(7/3/2010)

357. Deschutes Black Butte Porter XXI

A big bottle of something special from Deschutes tonight—their 21st Birthday Reserve of Black Butte Porter. Can you blame us? Since we’re headed into the home stretch with our year-long blog, it’s time to bust out some of the gems that we’ve socked away. Nothing says victory like ransacking your basement of all of it’s gems. This is our sixth beer from Deschutes—the list includes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Hop Trip, Inversion, and Red Chair IPA. In sadder news, Black Butte Porter XXII just got cancelled. How bad does that suck?

Described on the label as a “porter brewed with chocolate beans and coffee added with 20% aged in bourbon barrels,” Black Butte XXI pours a rich cherry wood color—rich brown with subtle red highlights—with a white head that quickly disappears. The nose is subtle and complex; dark fruits mixed with cocoa, oak, and vanilla, and just a touch of alcohol in the background. The oak and vanilla dissipate after a couple of minutes, allowing the fruitiness to dominate the nose. Starting with a rich dark sweetness that has molasses and chocolate flavors, Black Butte XXI moves into sweeter and fruitier flavors in the middle—cherry, currant, and prune— although still accompanied by chocolate. The finish is sweet, with some alcohol flavor, and a touch of roastiness from the coffee that helps transition from the middle to the end, merging well with the chocolate and sweetness. Black Butte XXI has a medium to heavy body with a rich, smooth mouthfeel; the carbonation is medium to light, and only contributes minimally to overall palate sensations. The alcohol flavor and tang pick up significantly as the beer warms; the taste is good, but still a bit sticky on the palate, although since we are drinking this before the “Best After” date, we shouldn’t be surprised—while nice now, this beer should age well, allowing the beer to dry out a bit and marry the flavors into more of a seamless whole. Very well done; rich, balanced, and nuanced across the profile with subtle notes that we’re sure will continue to develop, which is good because we have another bottle of this in the basement.

From the bottle: “XXI. What does 21 years of hardcore experimentation look like? Witness the imperial version of our Black Butte Porter. Three types of chocolate malt. Three varieties of Northwest hops. Cocoa nibs from the Dominican Republic. Locally roasted Ethiopian coffee. Painstakingly aged in bourbon barrels. Joyous abandon in a bottle. After 21 years we recognize the safe path, we just refuse to take it.

From the Deschutes website: “This masterpiece is a tribute to Black Butte Porter, the revolutionary Deschutes Brewery beer that has excited beer enthusiasts since 1988. This special Reserve Series release is a colossal version of Black Butte Porter. Our brewers enhanced Black Butte XXI by adding some Theo’s Chocolate cocoa nibs from Seattle, dry-hopping it with 100 pounds of Bellatazza’s locally roasted coffee, and then aging a portion of it in Stranahan’s Colorado whiskey barrels. These regional partners provided quality artisan ingredients that give this commemorative beer a truly handcrafted complexity. ”

ABV: 11%

IBU: 55
Best After: 10/17/2010

We do like that Deschutes has beers with “Best After” dates. Ah, so rich.

(6/22/10)

151. Stone/Maui Brewing/Ken Schmidt Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter

Since this is a collaboration beer, we’re not sure where to locate our focus—we’ve had Stone (Pale Ale and Vertical Epic 09.09.09) during our current run, and we’ve tried Maui Brewing Company beers in the past—they’re one of the innovators of craft beer can use, and they had an awesome t-shirt for Penguin Imperial Stout that we tried to buy when we were in Maui, but they only had extra smalls left. Sorry, but skin tight t-shirts are not our forte. And let’s not forget Ken Schmidt, who got to live every home brewer’s dream. Since that makes it 2-1 in favor of Hawaii over California, we’ll go with the island state—well, that and the Kona Coffee, macadamia nuts, and coconut. Stone, you get props for the organizational focus, but beer sounds more Hawaiian than Californian.

Made by homebrewer Ken Schmidt, Garrett Marrero of Maui Brewing, and Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing, KCMC Porter has a chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt nose with toasted nut and macadamia aromas rounding out the profile. It pours a deep chocolate brown with orange highlights and a minimal tan head. KCMC Porter has a smooth rich malt front with some sweetness and chocolate, moving into roasty and coffee flavors, and finishing with very light coconut notes at the end, and also some light burnt/roasty notes & a little warmth from alcohol. The mouthfeel is rich with some creamy toastiness in the middle to end that mixes well with the coconut; the medium body and lower level carbonation keeps the focus on the flavors in the beer. The burnt aromas do increase in the nose with warmth. Overall, there were more burnt notes that we would’ve expected in a porter; still, nicely balanced, but not perfectly to style. KCMC Porter was better and more nuanced that we expected, although the sweetness does cover over a good portion of the coconut in the flavor profile.

ABV: 8.5%

Today was the final BJCP class, but I was flying home from Seattle and Thanksgiving so I’ve got nothing to report. The test is on December 5th; I’ll keep you all posted.

(11/28/2009)

101. Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

From the Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, MD.

Gonzo Imperial Porter has a roasted malt aroma with alcohol notes as well; it is an opaque black with orange highlights and a brown creamy head. The front has a burnt roasty malt to start, moving into a chewy thick middle with more roasted and chocolate notes, and finishes with some bitterness from the hops, some molasses flavors, and some lingering astringency. There is no real fruit presence in the flavor; the mouthfeel is slick and viscous as well as a bit thin with some creaminess across the palate. For the IBU load, there is not a lot of bitterness; either that, or the bitterness gets lost in the roastiness of the malt profile. The finish is not the best—tad too drawn out, and the lingering astringency detracts from the overall enjoyment of the beer. Overall, while not a bad beer, it is probably on the least likely to drink again list.

From the Flying Dog website: “Like Hunter S. Thompson...Gonzo Imperial Porter is deep and complex. This turbo charged version of the Road Dog Porter is mysteriously dark with a rich and malty body, intense roasted flavors, and a surprisingly unique hop kick. With Gonzo weighing in at 7.8% ABV, it will bite you in the ass if you don't show it the proper respect.”

ABV: 7.8%
IBU: 85
OG: 22° P

(10/9/2009)