Coastal Collaboration Volume I
Pelican Brewing Company

Poured from a 500ml undated bottle into a tulip glass.

Look- Jet black, opaque, plentiful small visible particulate at margins, medium brown frothy head, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Intense alder smoke, slight chocolate, between weak and medium strength of scent.

Taste- Smokey, chocolate, coffee, between medium and high strength of flavor.

Feel- Between medium and full body, average carbonation, moderately bitter, mildly sweet, mildly mouth warming, moderately mouth coating, moderately creamy.

Overall- Jet black and opaque with plentiful small particulate visible at the margins. The appearance was rounded out with above average head retention and lacing. The bouquet was between weak and medium strength, but dominated by alder smoke. I had to really work to get a slight note of chocolate through the alder. The flavor was much more balanced with the alder smoke still being the featured component, but some nice notes of chocolate and coffee shined through for some added balance. The body was between medium and full with average carbonation. This beer had some sweetness mixed with bitterness and moderate creaminess and mouth coating properties. Overall this was an interesting beer that provided a smoky, but memorable drinking experience.

 

Look: Jet black in color with a lush-looking brown head that builds up and settles to a lid, leaving great lacing behind
Aroma: Wood smoke, smoked barley malt, barbeque, brown bread, light nutty notes, wafts of chocolate, and earthy notes
Taste: Starts off with warm brown bread, dark chocolate, and earthiness that linger for a second before being joined by waves of smoky goodness. Barbeque and smoked barley go back and forth atop the bready malt notes and closes with just a kiss of smoke
Mouthfeel: Full, pretty smooth throughout, medium-high carbonation, and a decently smooth finish but with a slightly robust note at the end
Overall: This is good stuff. I love a good smoked beer, whatever the style, and given that two breweries I enjoy, respect, and purchase collaborated on this only put the cherry on top of my desire to try it. It’s a really nice smoked stout with plenty of stout characteristics present and to me, the smoke felt like it dominated on the nose but was much less potent in the flavor, which I felt lent to an overall deeper and better beer rather than being a smoke-bomb

500 ml bottle from the Pacific City location

Pours jet black, thick khaki colored head. Good head retention and lacing. Smokey aroma on top of roasted malts., some dark cocoa. Smoke is dominate but not overpowering. Taste is similar, fairly dry. Fuller bodied, smooth feel.

a super robust smoked porter here, done with fort george, thought i missed this one, so was stoked to find it on tap this week! shiny near black, more viscous than expected at this modest abv, and with just a short lived head, a lot of beer in this pint glass, thats for sure. the aroma is freshly extinguished campfire, still smoking and smoldering, some burnt aspects, bitter there, and some seriously intense smoked malt, you really have to like that element to get into this one. its also somehow woody, chocolate forward, and a little decadent to me, malty sweet in addition to all the darkness, but not super complex either. the flavor is totally driven by the smoke, intense and without the german malts and lager yeasts this level of smoke is most commonly associated with, it seems on the edge of unbalanced and overdone, but i love smoked beer and appreciate the boldness. the roast on the barley is also very dark, so there is a little double jeopardy going on there, but there is some middle malt sweetness which carries through the finish, i get subtle hints of licorice, pipe tobacco, and toast in here too. massively full body, this was filling and a definite sipper rather than a gulper, but the quality is there and if you are a fan of the style, this should really hit for you! wintery and bigger than it sounds on paper. a strong effort, but certainly not for everyone...

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown with little light transmission in the glass and a half finger khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted and biscuit malt, bakers chocolate, light coffee and wood smoke. Flavor is dark toasted malt, bitter chocolate, drip coffee, wood smoke and some woody astringency into the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A solid smoked malt stout that leans more to wood smoke than meat house umami smoke. The base stout is rather dry, like a foreign export stout, but with some good bakers chocolate and mild coffee notes. There is some woody astringency near the finish that lingers, somewhat tempering the otherwise pleasant chocolate notes. Smoke is moderate, but a clear character throughout. Interesting collaboration and not a typical profile for a smoked stout.