On O'Fallon Smoked Porter

And now for something completely different. Well, not COMPLETELY different, but O'Fallon Smoked Porter is quite different than the classic German rauchbiers I've reviewed so far. Put just about anything in American hands and it gets turned to the extreme (5/3 Burger, anyone?). Sometimes it ends in indigestion, and sometimes it ends in pure deliciousness. Luckily, in the hands of Brian Owens - Head Brewer - O'fallon Smoked Porter falls in the later category.

Smoked porter starts in the aroma with smoked meats, molasses, honey, and alcohol in that order. Quite nice. The smoke is evident, but not at all overpowering as it would be easy to do with such a beer. More BBQ than campfire.

Jet black with a brown head it starts thick but settles to a thin brown hat on top of a black tower of beer.

O'Fallon Smoked Porter

The taste is much like the aroma. The smoke is very unique. Very BBQ like. I never thought I would use catsup in a beer description (at least in a good way) but there it is, catsup! 

Of course there are the traditional porter flavors of roast malts and some molasses. Again not overpowering with the smoke but present with a thick, stick to your mouth feel on the palate. 

Overall this beer is liquid pork ribs in a bottle but somehow it works. Quite a nice, unique, creative beer. Very appropriate for a St. Louis based brewery.

On Goose Island Old Clybourn Porter (two ways)

On Black Friday I made a stop in at Goose Island's Clybourn Pub to buy their release of King Henry Barleywine. Unfortunately, they sold out in less than 2 hours and had to turn away over 70 people. But I was determined to get some beer so I took a seat at the bar. The opportunity that opened as a result was the chance to try the same beer not only on the typical keg draft system we are used to but also as a cask pour.

Cask ales saw a small surge in popularity a few years ago, but the cost of dedicating an entire tap (with incompatible equipment) to warm, flat beer made it somewhat of a fad and now few places other than a couple of hardcore British pubs offer cask beers. And it's a shame. A properly managed cask beer can be sublime. Heavy carbonation and near freezing temperatures can zap the more delicate malt and alcohol flavors and aromas from otherwise great beers. Being a British innovation it stands to reason that British style beers go great on cask systems, so I had a pull of Old Clybourn Ale from both keg and cask.

The differences in the two pours were apparent right off the bat. While both were a very nice, crystal clear, nearly black ruby color, The head on the cask pour (pictured on the right) was much more dense and formed some mild lacing down the glass, while the keg pour did not.

Both beers exhibited some roasted malt in the aroma but the cask version was a bit more forward in the nose. The taste was similar with roast malt up front with both. The keg version was a bit heavier on the chocolate and coffee tastes and was quite bitter from the roasted malts. The cask version was softer in the bitterness but showed some alcohol and a bit more dark chocolate flavors.

The big difference in the two beers was in the palate. The keg version had medium body and carbonation. Not nearly as smooth as the cask version, which was almost completely flat with just a light tickle of carbonation on the tongue. The cask version was also medium bodied.

Overall I enjoyed both beers tremendously, but the cask version wins this tasting set for both it's superior appearance and more complex flavor.

On Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald

It's cold... And cloudy... And rainy.  Not a torrent, just a drizzle.  Just enough to be annoying.  Sounds like porter weather.  The roasty malts and alcohol should keep me warm.  And since it's my day off, I can have one.  I am fortunate enough to have access to one of the best beer bars in the midwest and possibly all of America:  The Map Room in Chicago.  This bar prides itself on a large selection of specialty beers and a knowledgable staff.  

Looking at the menu board I find a lot of Belgians and imperial IPAs. A downside of the unique beer bar is it's sometimes hard to find something "normal" - the beer equivalent of comfort food.  Luckily they had a porter.  The porter on tap: Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald.  A beer as mysterious and unexpected as the sinking of the ship it's named after.  

The aroma starts with  chocolate covered caramels and a bit of coffee. 

The Beer is black with an off white head that quickly recedes to a thin layer atop a sea of black. Minimal lace but a large meniscus around the inside of the glass. 

Tastes of dark fruit and roasted malts dominate but with a grassy/piney hop note. Medium bodied with a slick texture that coats the mouth. Carbonation is average. 

In the end, the hop flavor is a little distracting and I’d like to see more roasty malts, but overall this is a good beer for a such a dreary afternoon. Not the best of the style, but I would definitely order again.