St. Porkins Porter
Two Plumbers Brewery + Arcade

a very well made and very robust smoked porter, they must use a whole heap of smoked malt in this, its earthy, autumnal, and as roasty from the grain as it is smoke forward, really pretty compelling stuff, my first beer from these guys. its matte black on the pour with an inch of sturdy tan head, frothy and lacy, with a huge nose of extinguished campfire, leaves burning in a barrel in october, and bitter baking chocolate. the smoke is warming to me, no acrid or harsh at all for how intense it is, and with enough graininess to make it balanced, a wheaty sort of body, round and soft, nice with the smoke, and with roast and char and cocoa there too. also an appreciable bready yeast character thats mellow and unifying here, loosely english. its got nice length as well, a long flavor evolution and a lingering conclusion, more of a slow fade than any real finish. fuller in body and hearty in the belly, i like its smoothness. enormously flavorful porter, well built, and appealing to me both in overall quality and in smoke nuance, this is pretty distinctive. a really enjoyable brew that has me intrigued about two plumbers...