Epic Brewing - Smoked Porter Release #14

Smoked beers are among the most interesting beers.  Before the invention of electric kilning, all beers would carried this flavor from the wood fires used to roast the malt.  Some of these beers are aggressive and weigh heavy on the palette.  Others are light and refreshing.

Epic's Smoked Porter pours with an inch-or-so of head. It maintains about 1/4 inch of head as it laces down the glass.

This beer, perhaps, is midrange on the smokey scale. Many smoked beers need to be pared with food. But this beer goes down nicely on the palette without becoming overtaxing. Although, I'm not sure I could drink two in one sitting without a major palette cleansing in between.  By the time I finished the 22oz bottle, my mouth was holding onto a serious ashy aftertaste.


Malts include Muntons Maris Otter, Briess Two Row Brewers, Briess Smoked Malt (cherrywood), Briess 2-Row Chocolate Malt, Weyermann CaraMunich III, and Weyermann Carafa III.

The "Cara" in the Weyermann malts denote that the grain's sugars have been caramelized during roasting.  Carafa III is dehusked prior to roasting.   This means that the beer will have more chocolate and black coffee flavors than the roasty espresso flavors you would get with standard roasted barley.

The main flavor I detect is a smokey chocolate.  It is backed up with the floral hops and some light caramel, coffee, and nuttiness.

The Smoked Porter's color is dark brown/black.  It is almost completely opaque when held to a light.  The hops are light, earthy, and floral. They consist of Nugget, Mt. Hood (an American Hallertau descendant), Williamette.  The aromas consist of chocolate, flowers, and nuts  The alcohol is a pleasant 5.9% ABV.

Even my cat gave this beer her seal of approval.