Swamp Dragon
Platform Beer Co.

 

 

10oz pour from a growler into a snifter. Pours an opaque black, with a 1 finger mocha head. Lots of smoke on the nose, with toasty grain and faintest hints of coffee and chocolate. The palate deviates little from the nose. For a beer that is reportedly made with "30%" of it's grain smoked, the campfire flavor is certainly prominent - almost reminiscent of a rauchbier, though there's enough porter body here that I understand why the brewery has classified it as an AP. Mouthfeel has a good amount of porter creaminess, but is a touch thin for my tastes. Overall, a solid beer, though not fantastic. That said, for a brewery that could easily fall back on their outstanding core beers (like Speed Merchant) with great success, I love that they keep pushing themselves to try new styles. Their tap list is ever-fresh, and ever-interesting, and this is a worthy foray into a challenging style.