Brewery: Stone Brewery, Escondido, CA

Brewery Description: “Stone Smoked Porter is dark, rich and complicated. A porter is substantially darker than a pale ale, but not as black or opaque as a stout. Our Stone Smoked Porter has a captivatingly deep mahogany color, complimented by silky dark tan head. Rich, full bodied and robust. Smooth, with chocolate and coffee-like flavors balanced by the subtle “smoky” character of just the right amount of peat-smoked specialty malt. Terrific with meats and desserts!”

Brew Style: American Porter, 5.9% ABV

Recommended Glassware: English pint, Stem, Mug, Stein

The Ugly Truth: For me personally, Stone Brewery is one of the best breweries in the country hands down. They may actually be my favorite brewery now that I think about it. I think my top three are probably: Stone Brewery, Brewery Ommegang and I would have to say Samuel Adams/Boston Beer Company. And sadly, living in exile in North Carolina as I currently do, I can’t buy their fine products in any local stores. I’m hoping that changes soon. Now that I have that out of the way, on to the beer.

Smoked Porter poured a strong black in color, with a substantial thick head to it that was light brown in color. The aroma had a light smoked nose to it, with noticeable hints of chocolate and coffee present. Very nice aroma, gave a nice preview of the tastes to come. I found the beer to be very smooth, light on the bitterness in the beginning but increases towards the finish. Strong chocolate and coffee tastes to it, which blended very well with the smoky flavor that was prevailing throughout the overall experience. I thought the body was medium, with a texture to it that almost reminded me of Guinness to a degree. Really great flavor, very deep range to it. There’s hints of subtle flavors coming in at the finish. If you let it in your mouth for a bit, they really start to come forward. Some subtle caramel/toffee flavor starts coming in. There is another flavor that I can’t quite pin down. I know this will sound completely weird but as I was drinking this I started craving this really good venison mince meat pie that my mother makes that is typically soaked in bourbon. Definitely a beer that would go well with red meat or game. Again, Stone Brewery doesn’t disappoint.

Verdict: I’ll go with a 9 out of 10 bottlecaps for this one.

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