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...