Shiso Smokey
Dok Brewing Company in Gent, East Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪
Porter - Smoked Regular|
Score
7.01
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Smoked Shiso Porter - Met het frissere weer werd het terug eens tijd om een nieuwe porter te brouwen. Een smoked brown porter van 5.6% met twee verschillende gerookte Shiso infusies. Eenmaal in de whirlpool en eenmaal tijdens de lagering. Herfst in glas. Een knuffel vol chocolade en hazelnoten van een bier!
Smoked Shiso Porter - With the cooler weather, it was time to brew a new porter. A 5.6% smoked brown porter with two different smoked shiso infusions. Once in the whirlpool and once during lagering. Autumn in a glass. A beer like a blanket of chocolate and hazelnuts!
Smoked Shiso Porter - With the cooler weather, it was time to brew a new porter. A 5.6% smoked brown porter with two different smoked shiso infusions. Once in the whirlpool and once during lagering. Autumn in a glass. A beer like a blanket of chocolate and hazelnuts!
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7/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
330ml can.
Tried
from Can
from Etre Gourmet (webshop)
on 21 Feb 2026
at 17:34
7/10
Decent. Not a huge fan of the Shiso but it is a good adjunct for this porter.
Tried
from Can
on 13 Feb 2026
at 06:47
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Brown porter by Dok, but Dok would not be Dok without the application of something special - and I do not mean the rye malts (however 'untraditional' in porter) in this case, but the infusion with shiso, not just shiso (the Japanese basil-like herb), but smoked shiso, mind you. Medium thick, bit irregular, pale greyish beige, intricately membrane-lacing, slowly breaking head on an initially clear, very dark caramel brown robe, near black, but with burgundy glow, turning misty with sediment. Unusual aroma: somehow 'familiar' for a porter, but still dominated by this smoked shiso thing, which is hard to describe other than smoked tea-like - a little bit like lapsang souchong, but more herbal and more delicate; other impressions involve coffee grounds, roasted hazelnuts, dry caramel, freeze-dried chervil (probably just the shiso), unsmoked 'Schipperstabak', salmiak, fish sauce, fried shiitakes, hints of black radish peel, charcoal, dried blueberries, dried capers. Cleanish onset, some 'dried' fruitiness (dried blueberries again, perhaps dried fig) but in a non-sweet and non-estery way, softish carb, smooth oily mouthfeel. Something iron-like accompanies a slick dry-caramelly and thinly black-chocolatey maltiness, both without any sweetness worth mentioning, becoming increasingly 'toasted' until a cold black coffee bitterness fills the back of the mouth. The smoked shiso effect eventually turns out to be less prominent retronasally than orthonasally, though this smoked tea aspect obviously lurks in the finish, along with leafy hop bitterness and roasted malt bitterness; black-peppery, leathery and vaguely salmiak-like effects join in. The shiso adds a herbaceousness reminiscent of Japanese tea - but by being smoked, lost its ethereal aromatic properties (hovering somewhere in between mint, giant hyssop and basil), which can be considered a pity, because it is one of those mint-related plants with its own distinct aroma; the smoked thing does keep you on your guard, though, so this is, all things considered, a very entertaining 'autumn beer' (consumed in the midst of winter). One must admire Dok for remaining so incessibly creative and innovative, and I am not just saying that because I live in Ghent...
Tried
on 17 Jan 2026
at 00:21
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7.5
Texture 6
Overall 8
Can from Dok.
A: hazy black, stable, foamy, tan head.
A: mushroom, walnut, tree leaves, damp forest floor, coffee pad.
T: sweetish fondant, bitter coffee, umami mushroom, nuts.
F: earthy hops, cold coffee, herbs.
P: medium body, slick texture, average carbonation.
More herbal than smoked but very elegant nonetheless.
A: hazy black, stable, foamy, tan head.
A: mushroom, walnut, tree leaves, damp forest floor, coffee pad.
T: sweetish fondant, bitter coffee, umami mushroom, nuts.
F: earthy hops, cold coffee, herbs.
P: medium body, slick texture, average carbonation.
More herbal than smoked but very elegant nonetheless.
Tried
on 31 Dec 2025
at 15:01