Sue
Yazoo Brewing Company

SueSue
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From:
Yazoo Brewing Company
 
Tennessee, United States
Style:
Smoked Porter
Ranked #7
ABV:
9%
Score:
92
Ranked #5,382
Avg:
4.12 | pDev: 10.19%
Reviews:
267
Ratings:
901
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 19, 2023
Added:
Jul 29, 2009
Wants:
  216
Gots:
  206
The south is famous for smoking everything. Why not beer? Sue is a big, rich, smoky malt bomb of a beer, with mellow smokiness coming from barley malts smoked with cherry wood, and assertive bitterness from Galena and Perle hops to cleanse the finish.

Original tap version was 7.5% ABV, bottled version is up to 9%.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by lpotter:
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Rated by lpotter from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2.9%

Aug 23, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.83 by McSeal from Connecticut

Nov 19, 2023
 
Rated: 4.14 by robotic_being from Illinois

Nov 12, 2023
Photo of BloodSoakedAleMug
Reviewed by BloodSoakedAleMug from New York

4.61/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Look: Pours a blackish, motor oil shade of brown with a decent, frothy, one finger head of beige foam. Laces the glass moderately well and has little head retention.

Aroma: Really lovely nose to this. Sweet caramel dipped red apples amongst cigar shop / walk in humidor like notes of tobacco. A touch of raisins and tamarind.

Taste: Semi-sweet milk chocolate off the bat with very delicate notes of tamarind and savory, rich, smoky peat. Very mild aftertaste of Columbian coffee and hints of treacle / turkish delight. Moderately bitter.

Feel: Mouthfeel is silky smooth and velvety. Low carbonation and full bodied for the style (still not to the degree of an imperial stout).

Overall: Top tier smoked porter.
May 29, 2023
 
Rated: 4.04 by red_5_sooner from Oklahoma

May 10, 2023
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Reviewed by JayQue from Virginia

3.74/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Not memorable as a smoked beer, the smoking is pretty mild. A fairly good strong Porter though!!! As an added bonus, I get to add to my beer bottle cap map with a Tennessee beer. It is getting harder and harder to get a cap from every state as almost everything is in a 16 oz can these days!!!! Poured from a 12 oz bottle, this beer is a dense black color. A moderate pour gets you nothing in the way of head or lacing, but a strong pour produces a dark medium sized head frothy head with average retention and one or two bands of lacing. As I said, the smoke was there but minimal. This is primarily a strong Porter with chocolate and coffee notes and surprisingly strong bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is rich, initially a little harsh once the hops kick in, and then more smooth. There is some alcohol presence but not enough to be a negative factor. If you are looking for smoked beer, Schlenkerla products and Alaskan Smoked Porter are still the top choices. Still, a fairly good Porter.
Nov 05, 2022
 
Rated: 4.75 by Nhb55840

Aug 06, 2022
 
Rated: 3.13 by bendukes86 from South Carolina

Jul 24, 2022
 
Rated: 4.33 by bschmidt_37 from Illinois

Dec 09, 2021
Photo of Chocolatefreak
Reviewed by Chocolatefreak from Tennessee

4.08/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
An imperial porter that combines a heavy dose of cherry wood smoke, 90% dark chocolate & hopped bitterness. Overall, the smooth & medium to full bodied texture combined with the sweet, smoky bitterness flavor with 9% ABV makes this a very good smoked imperial porter.
Aug 28, 2021
Photo of hman43
Reviewed by hman43 from North Carolina

4.06/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Look: It pours very dark brown with a light brown head. Head retention is good.

Smell: There is some moderate smoke in the aroma with a low level of chocolate. There are hints of dark fruits in the background.

Taste: The smoke is strong in the flavor with some chocolate. There are some bacon like flavors with a hint of burnt in the background. The dark fruits are very low with some low roast.

Feel: It has a medium body with a bitter smoky aftertaste.

Overall, the smooth is the star of the show with the other elements in support.
Apr 24, 2021
 
Rated: 4.53 by Argail from Louisiana

Apr 14, 2021
 
Rated: 4.16 by animal69 from Louisiana

Feb 13, 2021
 
Rated: 3.75 by Dbot from Delaware

Dec 18, 2020
 
Rated: 4.26 by Curt3 from Ohio

Sep 30, 2020
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Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana

4.32/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz bottled 07/10/20 ( about a month old) poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 9% ABV 93 IBU per label. The beer pours dense black with mocha brown head. The head recedes slowly to a quarter inch cap and leaves behind a partial lacing. The aroma is smokey up front with dark chocolate and coffee notes coming in behind. The taste is savory & smokey with notes of ham, coffee, very dark chocolate and tobacco before an earthy and fully bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, very good smoked beer. Less satisfying as an imperial or smoked porter as the smoke is first, without being totally dominant. I would purchase regularly if this were available locally.
Sep 04, 2020
 
Rated: 4.01 by entenduintransit from Tennessee

Aug 01, 2020
Photo of hoptheology
Reviewed by hoptheology from California

4.11/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 oz bottle, no legible date, into Carpe Brew Em snifter.

Pours an inky black with some crispy brown edges and a tall khaki-beige head of 2 fingers. Very creamy, and leaves lots of lace on the glass. The beer is just a sight to behold.

Aroma brings wonderful rauch-like smoke notes with subtler hints of dark chocolate and sticky sweet figs.

Flavor is roasty, full, and heavy. Brings notes of roasted malt, smoke, salt, dark chocolate, cashew, and fig. Has a subtle herbal hop presence that balances things out nicely and builds on the palate. (Word of caution : if you do not like smoked beers, do not buy this one)

Feel is full and roasty, the heavy spiky carbonation makes it feel more like a medium bodied beer though. Has a lot of drying roastiness on the back end with lots of hop resin as well. Moderate heat, moderately warming.

Overall, this drinks like a world champion of 2010-2014 era beers where craft beer was just beginning to take hold in mass markets. Think Founders Breakfast Stout or Anchor Porter. Nowadays we've been so blessed with great beer that this is easily eclipsed by a lot of other great beers from other breweries - but make no mistake this still stands as a mile marker porter. Respectable. (Respect yo' elders!) Would definitely have again, this was enjoyable.

Price paid : $2.99 / bottle
Would buy again : yes
May 23, 2020
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.57/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit-Dit

We interrupt this brewery horizontal, already in progress, to bring you this recent find in the Bottle Backlog at Chez Woody! We would not be interrupting this all-important programming were it not for the match-up in styles. We appreciate the kind generosity of our local, in-person benefactor, @tone77 for providing us with this beer. Please stay tuned for all details, brought to you live & in real-time!

From the Bottle (!): "An Imperial Smoked Porter"; "The south is famous for smoking almost everything. Why not a beer? Yahoo Sue is a big, rich, smoky malt bomb of a beer, with mellow smokiness coming from barley malts smoked with cherry wood, and assertive bitterness from Galena and Perle hops to cleanse the finish."; "93 IBUs"; "Silver Medal, 2010 GABF - Smoked Beer"; "'Epic' - Beer Advocate Magazine".

I was so excited to be drinking this! My fave styles of beer are 1) hoppy AIPA; 2) ADIPA; 3) Czech Pils; 4) GER Pils & 5) Smoked Beers. I only learned of the last in the late-'90s, but once I realized that such a thing existed, I was off & (often) running!

I Pop!ped the cap & started a slow, gentle C-Line pour into the awaiting glass. I watched in rapt fascination as it foamed up to form two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-brown head with excellent retention, taking forever to fall away. Color was Very Dark Brown to Black/Opaque (SRM = > 34, < 44) with cola highlights at the edges. Nose held a mild smokiness, but it was not as pungent as with the previous Thirsty Dog's Rail Dog. Fair dinkum, as the proof of this pudding will be in the tasting. Mouthfeel was medium, which would be okay for a "Smoked Beer", but this is an "American Imperial Porter".

Now, I was on the horns of a dilemma - Change Request or no? I'm going to submit one since it won a medal in the "Smoked Beer" category, so the brewery clearly thinks of it as such.

Once I had some on my mouth, I swirled it around on & with my tongue to allow it to warm. This one was subtle, slowly blossoming open like a flower! I understood why the GABF judges would have liked this - instead of being a roaring, in-your-face Smoke bomb, like the previous beer, this one had the low & slow kind of flavor that Southern BBQ is known for.

One of the best meals I had in my road trip of 2008 was at the now-closed ( 8=( ) Uncle Billy's Brew & Que in Austin, TX. From my review: "Food: I went with the BBQ Tray, choosing smoked ½ chicken, glazed carrots, and green beans. The meat was so tender as to be falling off of the bone and so smoky as to make me weep. The combos were endless, but this was a good fit."

This beer began to remind me of that meal & I was ready to begin weeping anew, both for their closing & for how good this beer tasted. Mmm. Its subtle smokiness was creeping northward with each sip, filling my mouth & sinuses with its flavor.

This was becoming VERY akin to the more smoky of the three Aecht Schlenkerla rauchbiers! Such is why "Smoke Beers" are a polarizing style - they run the gamut from lightly-smoky to forest fire-smoky & it is definitely NOT for everyone as evidenced by only a select few attending my Smoke 'em If You Got 'em soirees.

Finish was dry with a lingering smokiness that gave me pause. I am going to have to take a break & eat something neutral before my next review. No problem! It was a great way to start my day. YMMV.

We now rejoin the originally scheduled brewery horizontal, already in progress.
Apr 25, 2020
 
Rated: 3.35 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Mar 31, 2020
Sue from Yazoo Brewing Company
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 901 ratings