Stone Smoked Porter (Chipotle Peppers)

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Rated Sept. 2012. It has been a long time since I had a Stone Smoked Porter (that wasn;t barrel aged) maybe 6 years. So this will be fun to revisit with these two different treatments. The 12oz bottle pours mahogany with deep ruby red edges and tan head of foam. The aroma offers up sort of dark roasted malts and a little bit of chili pepper meat followed by some sweet maltiness. The taste is more bold than the vanilla version. I get dark roasted to burnt malts with a modest level of chili pepper flavor and very light chili heat to midway. Into the finish the smooth modest smokiness joins in and takes this to the after taste. Somehow the chili pepper addition has amplified the roastiness in this brew or it was the vanilla in the other one that sort of covered it up. Cool stuff, this.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Stone limited summer edition purchased in Vermont. Pours a deep brown-copper colour with a creamy beige head, great retention and lots of lacing. Sweet malty aromas with some mild roasted one in the background and light spicy spices. Hints of dark fruits. The taste is where you feel the chipotle peppers with some mild spicy warm feeling in the finish. Not sweet for the rest, but just light roasted malts. Wish I would of tried this one fresher as it seems milder, but overall another great brew from Stone.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

12 oz bottle. Pours Pours brown with a medium rocky light tan head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet roasted chocolate malts, smoke and light peppers.

The flavor is sweet chocolate malts with a little smoke and a bit of heat from the peppers and some bitter char in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and a bit watery.

Overall, the flavors seem a bit subdued and washed out. It's decent, but I was expecting more. I do like this a bit better than the vanilla version.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

the aroma is great...smokey with a hint of spice, and all the porter roastiness still intact. the flavor, especially the finish was a little too strong for me - all smoke and pepper, no poter, but overall it was a unique brew worth trying. definitely mellower in the bottle (2012) but the aroma is not as awesome. still a 3.9-4 overall.