Germany have been brewing smoked beers, called "rauchbiers" for centuries. This style was basically unknown until Alaskan Brewing Company in Juneau, Alaska came out with their now-famous Smoked Porter in 1988. Combining the smoking process of Rauchbier with the syrupy goodness of a Porter, soon other domestic microbreweries followed suit with their own smoked beers.
It is made with Alaskan glacial water, 5 kinds of malt, 2 kinds of hops, and yeast, and smoked with alder wood. It may be aged for several years.
Lowdown
Style: American Porter
Price paid: $7+CRV for a 22oz bottle
ABV: 6.5%
Bottled: 2008
BA URL: Beer Advocate page
Appearance: It's a dark brown color with a bit of tan-colored head.
Smell: As can be expected, it smells kind of smoky. In fact, not much else gets through ITS SMOKY POWER!!!
Taste: Pretty smoky, but still retaining a lot of the coffee-like porter taste. Less smoky than say, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Maerzen, which I would definitely consider the classic of the smoked beers.
Mouthfeel: Not too much carbonation, more of that porter-ey soft fluffy feeling, like
Drinkability: Surprisingly high for a smoked beer. Sometimes they're too overpowering to drink in high quantities but this is really no more difficult to drink than your average porter, except the smokiness presents itself not from any roasted coffee flavors but rather a barbeque-like savory goodness.
Bappr Index: 7/10
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