Rogue Brewery Mocha Porter

My last beer at the Issaquah Brewhouse the other day… I decided to pick the Rogue Brews Mocha Porter after having a good experience with both Kona’s Pipeline Porter and the Dieu du ciel! Péché Mortel (Mortal Sin) Imperial Stout, both of which are outstanding brews.   

So, how did the Rogue Mocha Porter compare?  Well, it hung in there for a bit, but in the end it failed to impress.  It is really hard to beat the Peche… such a fine brew I have not had in a while and the coffee is definitely infused in a strong way.  The Mocha Porter was good, don’t get me wrong, but it just didn’t stand a chance.  Not to mention that Kona really nailed it with their own coffee porter. 

All in all, a great visit to this fine establishment… some good beer as always, so good company… I will be back again.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Wasatch Polygamy Porter

Ahhhh… last Utah beer of the trip.  This was actually tasted a few days ago, but I remember it pretty well.  As this was my last beer to taste, I thought I would make sure I nailed the review, so I took a few notes.  Here are my tasting notes for Wasatch Polygamy Porter…

• Clean and smooth
• A light porter, not to strong or heavy at all
• Very easy to drink
• Hoppy but not overly done
• Slight roasted flavor

Overall, I think Wasatch and Squatters came through at about 60/40 bad beer to good.  Not bad, but not good either.  I am glad I was able to find some beer worth drinking and that I finally have some understanding of the differences between Utah beer and some of the less restrictive states.  We came through it with a lot of beer tasting, but definitely worth it and a lot of fun. 

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Redhook Blackhook Porter

Ah… what a crazy Easter Sunday.  A fun filled day of cooking, eating, hanging out with friends, more cooking, more eating, a beer, a movie, and the blog.  Tonight’s choice was the only beer of the day… Redhook Blackhook Porter.  A fine, mellow porter that tasted just right with the home made tamales that I slaved away making for most of the day.  At least I was making tamales when I wasn’t at the neighbors enjoying their fine spread of turkey, chicken, asparagus, red beans and rice, pasta salad, potatoe salad, rolls, garlic bread, veggie trays, home made ice cream, strawberry shortcake, brownies, and that is about it.

This truly was a mellow porter.  It is rather low on the ABV at just over 5% and you can definitely taste the smokiness and hoppy bitterness that generally comes with the territory.  It didn’t have much of a head and if you held it up to the light, you could see through it to some degree.  A good beer, but not a stand out for sure.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Sam Smith’s Famous Taddy Porter

As black and peaty as a night on the Yorkshire moors, Sam Smith’s Taddy Porter brings to mind dark Victorian railways, forbodeing fog-shrouded ruins, howling hounds (of the Baskerville variety) and our old beer-drinking friend in the deerstalker, Sherlock Holmes. How appropriate, then, that the last time I remember drinking this was in the Princess Louise in Holborn, back in 1993 when I used to spend every day in a dark smoky pub somewhere in London. Fine little boozer, the Princess Louise - look her up for me if you’re ever in that neck of the woods…

Fifteen years, good grief - too long to wait for another taste of this fine black pint, with it’s deep chocolate head and an undercurrent of burnt toast that lets you know you’re onto something a little bit different.  Malty, too. I like that in a beer.

 

Whether it can compete with the Hawaiian version that Doug’s been raving about I don’t know yet, but it’s gonna be interesting to compare.

Kona Brewing Company - Pipeline Porter

I am in love.  Really and truly in love.  Kona Brewing Company’s Pipeline Porter has to be one of the best all around beers I have ever tasted.  Not joking at all.  I have my favorites, but this one could possibly take the top spot.  A very dark porter that isn’t too thick or cloudy.  More like the color of dark cola.  Poors very smooth… just looks good sitting there.  Then the taste.  So, so easy to drink.  I am not one that can chug beer or soda.  I just don’t like the burn and I can’t do it fast.  Pipeline porter, though, was more like drinking water.  Incredibly smooth with a perfect aftertaste.  Couldn’t taste the coffee beans, but it is possible they are the perfect ingredient here.  Highly, highly recommended.  At 5.4%, it isn’t a bad kick, either.

Po has one of these in his fridge, I believe… wonder how he finds it. 

**UPDATE** Since I still think of this beer frequently… especially when I am having a particularly nasty beer, I am going to make sure it gets the credit it is due and put it in the JustBeer Blog Hall of Fame.

JBB6 Rating: JustBeer Blog Hall of Fame

Stone Smoked Porter

So, with the new year comes a bit of a new rule.  While I have been enjoying 5 to 6 beers a night for the past several weeks, I am now supporting the spousal unit in a diet and will be drinking only one… not such a bad thing, as the drunk emailing I have been doing at 1:00am has almost gotten me in trouble, but I will miss trying 2 or 3 different beers each night.  Ah well… life moves on.

So, the one I chose tonight was from our good friends at Stone.  Their Stone Smoked Porter made it to my fridge because I enjoyed the other two beers from them (IPA and Ale).  The darker beers haven’t been my thing lately, but this was a good beer.  Doesn’t make me want to switch teams to the dark side or anything, but still a good beer.  Pretty smooth for a porter and filled me up.  Probably wouldn’t make it into my fridge again, unless I was really jonesing for a porter, though…