Posts

Smokin Bees Whisky Honey Smoked Porter – ABV 10%

smokin bees

Billed modestly as a classic porter with smoky overtones of a single malt whiskey, Smokin’ Bees has a honey sweetness and floral hints to a roast malt backdrop.

Look: Black pour with brown head.

Aroma: Sugary sweet with roasted malts. You can really sense the 100kg of wild flower honey added at the end of the boil, which gives it a beautiful sweetness and floral notes.

Taste: More sweet honey and toffee, plus smoked malts and some spicey accents

Food Pairing: We’d never suggest drinking beer this strong for breakfast, yet we can’t help thinking about pairing it with pancakes, smoked bacon and maple syrup.

Verdict: Delicious heavy sweet beer with artwork of bees smoking cigarettes by Nomad Clan. Part of Northern Monk’s Patrons project – it’s like no imperial porter you’ve tasted before.

Primal Cut Smoked Porter – ABV 8.8%

Siren’s Head Brewer, inspired by blackcurrant purée, created this concept beer with smoked malts, barley and oats, for a coffee and soft fruit finish.

Look: The beer pours jet black in the glass

Aroma: Coffee, smoke and blackcurrant.

Taste: Roasted malt with coffee, chocolate and a definite meatiness. The alcohol is extremely well hidden in the rich soft body and the fruit subtle but becoming more noticeable toward the end.

Food Pairing: We think this BBQ sauce-style beer goes perfectly with a roast meat. Try it with beef and Yorkshire pudding for winning Sunday roast.

Verdict: Siren describe this as a high concept beer, and its definitely that. We don’t think you’ll have tasted anything quite like it.

Tsarina Esra Imperial Porter – ABV 10.1%

Cara and Munich malts combine with Premiant and Sladek hops to give a dark chocolate and charred wood aroma, with coffee notes and a velvety red wine mouthfeel.

Look: Tsarina Esra pours dark black with a thin head and lots of beige lacing.

Aroma: The smell is malt and woodsmoke and some caramel hints.

Taste: We get sweet plums, roasted malts and lots of bitterness the hops in the finish.

Food Pairing: Try pairing it with the Irish classic of Boiled Bacon and Cabbage. OK, so its not an Irish Stout – but we aren’t going let a small detail like that get in the way of a delicious food pairing.

Verdict: Another brilliantly balanced beer De Molen.

BA Orkney Porter Arran Bere Whisky Cask Edition – ABV 11.5%

Roasted malts dotted with sherry sweetness and a strong ABV – this BA porter is like Arbor’s Goo Goo G’Joob with a fruity twist. It’s that good.

Look: Swannay’s BA Orkney Porter has a good level of carbonation with a light brown head that quickly vanishes – just as you’d expect for beer with double digit ABV.

Aroma: A fruity porter and booziness the whisky barrels in absolutely perfect balance, with the overall effect being sherry trifle against a backbone of roasted malt.

Taste: On the palate you get even more of that Whisky coming through – but it’s boozy rather than peaty, so we think you’ll enjoy it even if Scotch isn’t usually your thing. T

Food Pairing: This beer works really well with red meats. Try it with a nice fillet steak, cooked however you like it.

Meneer de Uil Wardhead Barrel Aged Imperial Porter – ABV 11.4%

This American-style whisky cask-aged imperial porter, dedicated to 80s cartoon character Mister Owl, is quite simply Uiltje’s most-requested beer ever.

Look: Opaque black, with a tan head that lasts pretty well. Medium carbonation

Aroma: Deep rich malty base with some light whisky accents, plus hints of spice and liquorice.

Taste: More malts and whiskey smokey sweetness. Medium body made of dark chocolate, coffee and sugar with rich boozy tones.

Verdict: Dank u wel, Meneer de Uil (Thanks very much, Mister Owl)!

Leeds Lurking Cherry Coffee Imperial Porter – ABV 10%

A beautiful-looking porter that’s dark and rich, with similarly gorgeous can artwork by photographer Tom Joy, this is a collab with Other Half New York.

Look: Clear brown-black colour with a large, off-white frothy head. Soft carbonation and great lacing that lasts.

Aroma: Malty and sweet; loads of sweet cherry and chocolate notes, with some coffee beans underneath.

Taste: Huge roasted malt and coffee hits for persistent, bittersweet layers. More cherry notes fading to dark sweet malt. Medium- to full-bodied.

Verdict:  This is one lurker we actually want to stick around.

Midnight Imperial Porter – 12%

A no-holds-barred Imperial Porter with powerful boozy aromas dotted with some spicy accents and plenty of roasted malt and dark chocolate.

Look: Dark brown / black colour with large beige head.

Aroma: Big on roasted malt and dark chocolate, syrupy with some spice notes (cinnamon).

Taste: Dark rich chocolate, coffee and cocoa beans, roasted malt and even some forest fruits. A subtle hint of liquorice, all backed up with toffee and caramel to hide the alcohol well.

Verdict: Boozy, dark and dangerous. Just how an Imperial Porter should be.

Export Porter 1750 – ABV 10.5%

Brewed to an English recipe dating 1750, the Fuggles and Sorachi Ace hops plus Carafa and Caramel malts give this robust porter a huge fudge flavour.

Look: Just off-black and a little cloudy with a creamy beige head and small carbonation.

Aroma: Loads of fudge sweetness backed up with black coffee and dark chocolate.

Taste: Surprisingly hoppy with great complexity. More coffee, fudge and chocolate but with plenty of fruit, vanilla and caramel notes.

Verdict: A sturdy beast of a porter, as good as they come.

Monsters Imperial Porter – ABV 9.5%

Good, Bad & Ugly – ABV 8.9%

A Smoked Porter collaboration with Brouwerij Kees & Marble Brewery.