Black Gold
Black Gold Brewery

Tallboy from the brewery; no canning date. Served barely chilled. Like many of us on the eastern half of the continent, I have been existing in a haze of smoke for a few weeks now. Might as well make the best of it by reviewing this smoked porter, while the atmosphere still complements it.

Pours black as night, its surface erupting with more than two fingers of cocoa powder brown-coloured head. Excellent retention; it leaves behind multiple rings of glorious, delicate lace as it is reduced to a lumpy, bubbly, quarter-inch cap, a process which takes nearly ten minutes. The aroma includes a pleasant, meaty campfire-smoke note atop hints of cocoa, dried dark fruits, roasted malts and subtle ash.

A darn good strong porter - I'm getting dark chocolate, treacle and smoked malts, with hints of roasted grains and cocoa. The smoke really asserts itself on the back end, with coffee grounds, chocolate and roastiness lingering through the finish, then fading into a charry, acrid aftertaste. That last part sounds unappealing in writing, but I actually kind of like it, at least in the case of this smoked porter. Medium-full in body, with low carbonation that weakly nudges the palate, resulting in a smooth, somewhat flat mouthfeel. No sign of the 7%.

Final Grade: 3.86, a B+. Black Gold Brewery's Black Gold is confusingly named, but I was otherwise summarily impressed with this smoked porter. The smoke is potent without being overpowering, and the underlying porter is robust enough to stand up to it - I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but coming from a small, obscure brewery in SW Ontario? Just a wonderful surprise, as it's practically impossible to find good smoked beers around here. One of their best beers IMO: a little too niche to sell at the LCBO, but I'll scoop up more the next time I'm in the area.