Smoked Porter
Runaway Brewery

Bottled and possibly bottle conditioned
Pours a jet black body with big thick tan head
Aroma is treacle and fine cigar
That combination in flavour creates some fig also
Good solid body

 

What a fine-looking brew. Olive black, with a tall, tight crop of camel foam. Smells, oddly, more like a black IPA than what I'd expect from a smoked porter; crisp noble-esque hops, lots of licorice, rich (but not overpowering) cigar smoke. Slightly fruity as well, with a distinct blackcurrant aroma. Really nice. Tastes as it smells, though the fruitiness comes more to the fore, with the smoke – sort of a sweet, applewood smoke – mingling in smoothly. It's got a big whack of licorice as well, and overall comes across as rich yet balanced, and quite dry. As a porter I think it is a little too heavy-handed with the hop bitterness, but that's just a lame stylistic issue, not something that makes it anything less than totally delicious. Possible food pairings: pork belly, meaty breakfast, boar, corn soup, Cantonese.