Hogshead Reserve Maple Bacon Milk Porter
Shades Brewing

the 2020 release in this specialty series of beers from these guys, whiskey barrel aged strong milk porter with maple and bacon, a pretty unique beer for a can, and a really weird one to drink. not sure if its actually brewed with meat or not, but it certainly has a smoke character to it, although its not as greasy feeling as i would suspect if actual bacon was present, but i dont know for sure. the maple is the strongest of the elements, and really makes me think they didnt need the milk sugar, this runs sweet from first sniff to last sip, and i am glad to be sharing the can immediately. i love maple, and its pretty natural in this, but its too much for volume drinking to be sure. i get some deep coffee roast from the dark barley in here which adds some needed beery elements and makes it a little more balanced. an almost english yeast thing too, but a touch of astringency with it makes this feel a little thin for what it is. the oak is mild but the whiskey is there, a bit boozy then, but well within reason for the style. some lightly acrid smoke to this, some dry cocoa powder, and lots of breakfasty maple. i like it but i dont love it, and it certainly doesnt seem to be what shades does best, but i appreciate the uniqueness of it even if other maple bacon beers exist. we had fun sharing this one, always nice to work something weird into a session. could be better in several respects, but i like the effort.