Chipotle Porter
Sweetwater Tavern

Pours a dark color with a slight tan head and lacing
Aroma has smoked malt and chipotle chilies hints
The taste follows the nose with smoked malt and chipotle chilies flavors
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A good Chipotle chilies Porter

 

This place has been brewing craft beer before craft beer was cool. They have a guy named Joe, I don't know his last name, I don't care, and Joe brews the beer. Like other places they have their standard beers, an ale and a light beer. And they're pretty good, but then they rotate between a couple dozen other brews, and sometimes they experiment and throw something new in there.

I used to get the dark beer from them. I still consider these people the kings of the dark beer. They make an awesome IPQ, the Rode Hard IPA, but a lot of people make good IPAs. These people make great dark beer better than anyone, and that's where I started. I'd go and get some dark beer and enjoy the taste, just loooove the taste of that.

But then my neighbor turned me on to a local craft brewery place which makes some awesome beers including an awesome japaleno IPA, but they didn't do dark beers well so for a long time I hadn't been drinking dark beers. Then Sweetwater had their annual Oktoberfest party where they have a band, a monkey, one of those bounce houses for kids, a clown, german food, and beer. The Oktoberfest beer is so good, and I started off with that. It was a hot day, and I'm usually not steered toward dark beer on a hot day, but I wanted something different. Chipotle Porter was it.

This brings me back to the days when I used to love drinking porter. Even on a hot day, it didn't bury me. Unfortunately they ran out of it, but it just reminded me of how good dark beers are. It pours out dark and thick not quite like maple syrup but close. It has a minor head, but the taste, oh Jerry, the taste. I'm loving it. I went in and got a growler to take home. Next weekend I'll tear into that badboy.

 

I love a spicy beer and Sweetwater's Chipotle Porter is absolutely phenomenal! Great chocolaty taste with a nice hot finish that leaves your throat burning for more.

Mediocre porter with a nice clean chipotle kick.

 

Poured into a pilsner glass. Dark brown (essentially the color of dried chipotles) with a nice little white head. Good amount of lacing.

T - Dark malt hits first then the taste of the chipotle. I think it's too apparent... I'm not a fan of chipotle in my beer apparently. There is a nice hint of chocolate in their though to sweeten things up a very tiny bit. Peppery taste with that southwest kick. Taste lingers on the back of the tongue.

M - Medium carbonation and actually pretty smooth.

I have a hard time drinking this. It's just not blended all that well. I feel like you could get the same taste by blending chocolate and dried chipotle peppers in a blender and drinking the juice. Interesting beer, but I won't have again.

Inky dark brown with ruby highlights and a frothy light brown head that sinks quickly, but leaves nice spotted lacing around the glass.

Aroma is low, consisting of standard issue roasted malt.

Flavor is initially roasty malt, followed by hints of roasted marshmallow, cocoa and caramel, just a bit of smoke which I assume come from the chipotle. There's a hint of spice in the finish, and it rests firmly in the back of the throat, thereby providing a lasting spicy tingle that lingers long. Chipotle is not overpowering in the flavor or the tingle, just enough to add an interesting accent to the beer and not let you forget that it's there.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin and watery, but drinkability is good. Very enjoyable porter with an added bonus that's kept in control so as to keep this beer from becoming a silly novelty.

Tasted from a growler on 04/06/07 from the Sterling, VA location.

Black with ruby and mahogany hues to the light, a nice light brown head, and pretty active carbonation/head. Roasted malt dominates at first with a touch of coffee. Nice with a touch of peppers on the nose. Roasted malt, coffee, and light pepper flavors. Nicely balanced with a decent roasty pepper character on the finish. Medium-light bodied and a bit airy due to carbonation wilth a nice dry roasty, espresso, and light pepper finish. Easy drinking.

Not bad but not quite as peppery as I remember from a previous Sweetwater-Merrifield version.

Per chalkboard at brewbub: 5.5% ABV.

($8 / growler)

On draft at the Sweetwater Merrifield in the summer of 2006.

A - black as pitch in the middle, but slight amber/caramel colored hues at the edges. Small puddle of bubbles, off-white in color, form the head on this beer, but does not last long and leaves little lacing.

S - standard roasted malt aromas. Toasted bread, coffee grounds, burnt grains. Hints of earthy hops and fresh flowers.

T - initial flavors are that of a standard, well-crafted American porter. Lots of deep roasted grain flavors such as black coffee, dark chocolate, toasted bread with honey on top. Menu states that the beer is made with smoked malt, and you can definitely detect hints of smoke. Balanced out by a nice hop earthiness and drying bitterness. Then comes the heat. There is little or no chile flavor in this beer (except what may be mixed in with the smokiness), but there is a significant heat presence that you feel in the aftertaste. Warming, but not in an alcoholic way. Deep burning in the back of your throat down near the Adam's apple signifiies the presence of the chipotles in this brew.

M - medium bodied, carbonation is average to a little low. Fairly dry finish.

D - I did not love the heat element to this beer, I think they could have dialed it back a bit and it would have made the beer more drinkable. The porter base of this brew is very well done and balanced, but the chipotles are almost too hot in the finish.