Smoked Porter - Brandy Barrel-Aged
Stone Brewing

 

Served on tap at Newport Beach Brew Co in a snifter.
Oh this color is a deep deep ruby purple/black with a nice stiff head of dense cream white goodness sitting on top. Hard not to take a sip before admiring the beautiful color.
Light smokey aroma is hiding behind the chocolate and grahm cracker/nutty hint, with a touch of dried fruit and oaky vanilla.
The brandy strides in with chocolate and the smell smoldering oak followed by a sweet sherry/wine flavor. Toasted grains sneak in at the back end of the taste to round out some sourness in the fruity body.
The mouthfeel is a bit startling at first because you don't know what to expect, but it settles down as the palette adjusts and the glass rises closer to room temp. This makes it very wonderful to have another.
The alcohol is just under 6% so it makes it a nice sipper for after dinner with a scope of vanilla ice cream.

This was an unusual find as a guest tap at Newport Beach Brewing Company. I know that over recent years they have been buddying up with the Stone guys for tasting nights, so I assume that this keg floated its way up to Orange County on one of those recent trips. With so few reviews, I can only assume that this was limited to just a handful of kegs and most reviews are several months old. Unfortunately, the bartender on duty didn't have any info about it.

A- During mid-day on the patio, I held the glass up and eclipsed the sun.
S- Roasted malt with a hint of fruit.
T- Amazing! The brandy and smoke balanced each other out to perfection.
M- It is a mouthful. Body wise, this could have stood up to the imperial stout that NBBC regularly pours.
D- This is one that I could have sat down to three pints of, unlike most bourbon barrel aged beers. Unfortunately, because we were on the run that day, I only had the one pint.

Much thanks to egajdzis for sharing this 1L growler...
Appears a dark brown, nearning black with a fluffy, light tan head that slowly fades into a marshmellow cap that leaves spotty lacing around the glass.
Smell is of vanilla, oak, roasty nuts, brown sugary, cocoa, and light traces of brandy.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas, with light brandy, and sugary, vanilla cream.
Mouthfeel is dry, medium-full bodied, oak in the finish, creamy, sugary, and easy drinking.

Appearance - Poured a dark brown almost black, thick tan head

Smell - Smells of Brandy, chocolate, vanilla

Taste - Chocolate at first, brandy is very apparent, vanilla, some smokiness, mild hops

Mouthfeel - smooth, low carbonation

Drinkability - I could drink this all night, refreshing, overall an excellent porter. I prefer the vanilla bean version but this is a close second.

Appearance - Dark brown almost black in color with a creamy tan colored head.

Smell - Smokey chocolate and brandy flavors. Also hints of oak in there.

Taste - First thing you taste is the brandy. It almost tastes like you are drinking a port wine mixed with beer. There are hints of smoke flavors throughout but they are subdued by the brandy and oak flavors. The finish is has a good amount of brandy bite to it.

Mouthfeel - Compared to the normal smoked porter this one has some bite. I would almost say it has a acidic feel to it.

Drinkability - The brandy was a little to overpowering for me. It made it hard to get to the other flavors that were in the beer. I would drink it again but not more than one glass in a sitting.

Had on tap at Stone Winter Storm Dec. 24

A: Deep, rich chocolate black with garnett highlights. Head is full and creamy, perfectly roasted marshmallow color head.

S: Light campfire smoke, milk chocolate, s'mores, oak and red fruit.

T: Begins rich and chocolaty. Moves toward sultry vanilla and pronounced brandy. The brandy isn't overwhelming but does dominate most of the smoke flavor....perhaps it was the aging that did it. The brandy in turn adds an interesting port with red fruit twist, much like a cream sherry. Oak shines thru in the finish, almost pungent and borderline sour but works fascinatingly well with the other flavors. A long lingering lactose like sweetness finishes this out with subtle charred grains and reminiscent lingering smoke.

M: Medium body with a nice mouthfeel. Bit too much fluffy at first but calms down after a while.

D: This was the best beer I tried during my stint at Winter Storm. Wish I had more information on this beer. Whats the alcohol content, how long was it aged in the barrels, etc? I should have asked these questions while I was there. Simply tremendous. I side by sided this with the original and it was no contest. Start the brandy barrel-aged revolution now!