Name of beer: 2011 Smoked Porter
Brewing Company: Alaskan Brewing Company
Brewing Location: Juneau, AK
Type of Beer: American Porter or “Smoke Beer” – ABV: 6.5% – IBU: 45
Beer Description (From website):
Style: Smoked Beer. Known as “rauchbier” in Germany, smoke-flavored beers were virtually unknown in the U.S. until Alaskan Smoked Porter was developed in 1988.
Flavor Profile: The dark, robust body and pronounced smoky flavor of this limited edition beer make it an adventuresome taste experience. Alaskan Smoked Porter is produced in limited “vintages” each year on November 1 and unlike most beers, may be aged in the bottle much like fine wine.
History: Introduced in 1988, Alaskan Smoked Porter has been credited with helping inspire an American revival of smoked beers. Alaskan Smoked Porter is one of the most award-winning beers in the history of the Great American Beer Festival and a perennial winner at the World Beer Cup.
Ingredients: Water, five types of malt, 2 varieties of hops and yeast with no adjuncts, no preservatives and no pasteurization. Our glacier-fed water originates in the 1,500 square-mile Juneau Ice Field. Prior to brewing, selected malts are smoked in small batches under carefully controlled conditions in a commercial food smoker using local alder wood.
Recommendations: Alaskan Smoked Porter may be enjoyed with smoked seafood, cheese and other robust foods and as an after-dinner drink. It pairs beautifully with everything from bleu cheese to vanilla ice cream and raspberries. This unique beer is also a wonderful flavoring ingredient in sauces, seafood dishes and even cheesecake.
The Beer Guy Review: Ok, so now that the review of the beer is complete (thank you Alaskan Brewing Company website), time for the rating. Ahhh, not so fast. I’ll give my review. In line with the continued trend of my not reviewing my favorite style of beer, the IPA, this week I present Alaska Brewing’s 2011 Smoked Porter, a Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal Award winner in the Smoke Beer category.
As the “Flavor Profile” states above, this is a limited release beer. Considering it’s brewed in November, I suppose I was quite lucky to find the bomber bottle at my local beer & wine specialty store in early May. I suppose I was even luckier that this beer got to age a half a year before I tasted it. But a smoked beer? I had never had one of these before. As evidenced in previous reviews, I’m always open to trying something new. And if this beer won a Gold Medal at the GABF. I knew I wouldn’t be messing around.
As expected, the aroma of the beer had a slight hint of…well…smokiness. The beer poured thicker than I had thought, almost like a stout, but ended up being an easy drinking beer with a medium head that slightly fizzed away upon pouring. The American Porter can take on many different types of taste such as chocolate, coffee or even Whiskey or Bourbon, if barrel aged in those types of barrels. This one heavily takes on the taste of the smoke from the malt smoking process noted above in the “Ingredients” section.
It’s a woody smoke, and my initial thoughts upon drinking the Smoked Porter were: spicy, bacon, beef jerky, KC Masterpiece. The beer has a bite to this that just makes me want to bite into a spicy, beefy, KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauced cheeseburger or somethin’. It’s quite tasty. This is definitely a man’s beer. I know a lot of flavors can be infused into a beer, but I was quite surprised that a brewer could infuse smoky barbecue flavors into one. Did you ever wonder what people up in Alaska drink during the cold, dark winters in the “Last Frontier”? No? Me neither, really. But I can imagine them drinking this beer, and drinking it at room temperature, as I did. As for the Beer Guy rating, I give it a:
This is a warm, comforting, smoky beer. Had I started these reviews earlier and tried this in December or January, I might have had an even better experience. But even for an 80°F day in Southern California, this one still passes the test. The Smoked Porter is not going to be for everyone, though. If you’re open for trying new beers, or new types of beers for that matter, give this a try if you can find it. Alaskan Brewing puts out some great beers. This is one of them. But you didn’t need The Beer Guy to tell you that…just look at all the awards the beer and brewery continues to rack up.
So, what do you think? Have you had this beer? Do you like it? Do you not like it? Send me a note at The Beer Guy’s mailbag, TheBeerGuy@lifeofdad.com. You can follow me on Twitter (@TheBeerGuyLOD) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TheBeerGuyLOD) as well. Take care, happy (and safe) drinking, and enjoy your weekend.
About The Beer Guy – A dad, husband, friend and drinker of beer. I review & blog about it all on LifeOfDad.com, the premiere social networking website for Dads. The Beer Guy enjoys IPA’s and Pilsner’s, but will really try any kind of beer. You may disagree on some of his opinions. Let The Beer Guy know. Reviews are published on Thursdays. The mailbag is open on Tuesdays. Read more here to learn about The Beer Guy, who he is and his beer rating methodology.
The Beer Guy, and Life of Dad, promote responsible drinking. Never drink and drive.