Epic Brewing - 825 State Stout Release #23

Epic always makes a good beer. The 825 Stout is no exception. My only complaint: the 825 Stout strikes me more as a black Porter and the Galloway Porter strikes me more as a brown Stout.

What is the difference between a Stout and a Porter? Not a whole lot really. Primarily it's marketing and shades of color and shades of roastiness.

If you blind taste test beers marketed as porters vs. those marketed as stouts, you'll be hard pressed to find a clear commercial distinction between the two.

My personal bias comes down to the level of roastiness. If more chocolate-coffee flavors come through -> porter. If more coffee-espresso flavors come through -> stout.

The 825 Stout always hits me as a chocolate-coffee beer. The Galloway Porter hits me as a coffee-espresso beer.

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.