06th Anniversary Porter
Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, United States 🇺🇸
Porter - Smoked Special Out of Production|
Score
7.45
|
|
An ode to density, viscoSity, and the unbearable opaqueness of being...
Considering that we were barreling down on a beeline path in what might have seemed to be a ruinous (get it?) direction with previous Anniversaries' IPA offerings to the hop god–hops are not a real religion, but perhaps they should be? Already a large and ravenous throng is ready and willing to offer their palates up on the sacrificial alter unto the not-yet deity–it might seem that we are grabbing the bottom of the steering wheel thrusting our full body weight and then some downwards to increase the force to the brakes while downshifting and spinning the wheel in an attempt at a vulpine Starsky & Hutch-esque move (how's that for a dated-not-pertaining-to-anything '70s reference there, Huggy Bear?) to reverse direction in a din of screeching tires and acrid rubber smoke (along with the obligatory camera shot of the lone-rolling hubcap) thus treating our brewery as if it were some sort of asphalt-faring drogher, to which I say a hearty "Nay!" to all that lurpy (which isn't even a real word, but it sounds cool and seems to somehow be apropos in this context) puerile nonsense for this is not what it seems by any stretch of the imagination as it is instead simply a very sharp turn within the context of that which is the Stone Anniversary Ale allowing us each to glow in our own individually pulchritudinous way as we pay homage with this sui generis "goosed up a notch or three" version of our much loved and equally misunderstood Stone Smoked Porter, which we think is truly the bee's knees in brewer's trousers.
Capice? Good. And don't worry about them succubuses (succubusi?)...our gargoyle is watching.
Considering that we were barreling down on a beeline path in what might have seemed to be a ruinous (get it?) direction with previous Anniversaries' IPA offerings to the hop god–hops are not a real religion, but perhaps they should be? Already a large and ravenous throng is ready and willing to offer their palates up on the sacrificial alter unto the not-yet deity–it might seem that we are grabbing the bottom of the steering wheel thrusting our full body weight and then some downwards to increase the force to the brakes while downshifting and spinning the wheel in an attempt at a vulpine Starsky & Hutch-esque move (how's that for a dated-not-pertaining-to-anything '70s reference there, Huggy Bear?) to reverse direction in a din of screeching tires and acrid rubber smoke (along with the obligatory camera shot of the lone-rolling hubcap) thus treating our brewery as if it were some sort of asphalt-faring drogher, to which I say a hearty "Nay!" to all that lurpy (which isn't even a real word, but it sounds cool and seems to somehow be apropos in this context) puerile nonsense for this is not what it seems by any stretch of the imagination as it is instead simply a very sharp turn within the context of that which is the Stone Anniversary Ale allowing us each to glow in our own individually pulchritudinous way as we pay homage with this sui generis "goosed up a notch or three" version of our much loved and equally misunderstood Stone Smoked Porter, which we think is truly the bee's knees in brewer's trousers.
Capice? Good. And don't worry about them succubuses (succubusi?)...our gargoyle is watching.
Sign up to add a tick or review
7.3/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Draught @ BrewDog Brighton, 52-54 Grand Parade, Brighton, East Sussex, England BN2 9QA. [ As Stone 20th Anniversary Encore Series: 6th Anniversary Porter ].Clear dark red brown colour with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, light beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, sweet malt, dark malt, chocolate. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration, chocolate, dark malt, sweet malt. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20160802] 8-3-7-3-15
Tried
on 02 Feb 2018
at 07:28
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
On tap @ Stone Berlin. Caramel, malt. roast. Very dry, moderate bitter, round, malty. Bitter dry and roasty, chocolate, coffee, deep with a nice bitterness in the end.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Jan 2018
at 23:07
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 9
On tap at Stone Berlin. A very dark brown beer with a small beige head. Aroma of dark caramelish malt, nuts, citrus hops, liqourice. Taste of strong riped dark fruits, caramel, nuts, dry chocolate, nice.
Tried
from Draft
on 26 Jan 2018
at 18:00
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle, 650 ml, courtesy of Max. Shared with him and JFK10000. Dark brown, medium beige head. Pine, hops, chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, strong dry bitter finish. Medium bodied.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Jan 2018
at 20:28
8.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
2002 original bomber shared on 7/29/17.
Still shows carbonation and even a thin, dark brown head (low retention at this point, of course). Dark ebony body of high clarity, leaving the sediment behind.
Inevitable oxidation, of course, but still a clear, clean, enjoyable smoke presence with coffee-like roast and still a healthy caramel malt backing. As it warms and breathes, the oxidation never dominates but yet allows more vanilla, almost peat-like smoke and gentle roast to really shine. No alcohol or flaw.
Soft, well-attenuated, but not terribly thinned-out body, still drinks just fine. Carbonation is of course low, but not loose or watery. Smoke is dynamite and has bits of peat-like medicinals. Caramel and vanilla add just a pinch of sweetness, even now, and the oxidation doesn't ruin the beer or dominate. Still has a fresh "house" character of mineral and fruit and the roasted acidity has helped preserve this. Obviously a bit of nostalgia creeping in to my rating here, I won't deny. And while it's obviously far past its prime, I really don't think I'm exaggerating when I say this beer was still drinkable and enjoyable. Obviously you have to extrapolate a little past the oxidation, but there's zero doubt in my mind that this was one of the best beers ever brewed for its time. Ah, the good days of Stone....
Still shows carbonation and even a thin, dark brown head (low retention at this point, of course). Dark ebony body of high clarity, leaving the sediment behind.
Inevitable oxidation, of course, but still a clear, clean, enjoyable smoke presence with coffee-like roast and still a healthy caramel malt backing. As it warms and breathes, the oxidation never dominates but yet allows more vanilla, almost peat-like smoke and gentle roast to really shine. No alcohol or flaw.
Soft, well-attenuated, but not terribly thinned-out body, still drinks just fine. Carbonation is of course low, but not loose or watery. Smoke is dynamite and has bits of peat-like medicinals. Caramel and vanilla add just a pinch of sweetness, even now, and the oxidation doesn't ruin the beer or dominate. Still has a fresh "house" character of mineral and fruit and the roasted acidity has helped preserve this. Obviously a bit of nostalgia creeping in to my rating here, I won't deny. And while it's obviously far past its prime, I really don't think I'm exaggerating when I say this beer was still drinkable and enjoyable. Obviously you have to extrapolate a little past the oxidation, but there's zero doubt in my mind that this was one of the best beers ever brewed for its time. Ah, the good days of Stone....
Tried
on 14 Nov 2017
at 16:40
6.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Refrigerated brown bomber, bottled April 6, 2016 poured into a snifter. Black with medium beige head. Aroma is herbal hops & Chocolate, medium body, medium carbonation, and some small-bubble lacing. Taste is chocolate, herbal hops, and pine hops.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Oct 2017
at 19:45
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
In der Nase ungewöhnlich fruchtig für ein Porter. Im Trunk setzt sich das fort, erst Zitrus, dann bitter, leicht alkoholisch, dann drück das Röstmalz durch und die dunklen Kaffeenoten kommen durch. Schön komplexe Klaviatur, langer Abgang. Tolles Porter, sehr gut trinkbar für seine gelagerten 8 Prozent.
Tried
on 09 Sep 2017
at 12:33
7/10
Dark blk bod med foam tan head. Roast, choc, ashy arma. Roast, ash, choc flav. Med bod mod carb. 7/5/7/4/15 3.8
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Sep 2017
at 22:06
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
(Bottle, 0.65 l - bottled on 04/03/16, from Systembolaget, 20170818) The beer poured clear and very dark brown. Its head was medium sized and lightly brown. Aroma had burnt malts, creaminess, dark chocolate and mildly coffee. Palate was full bodied and soft with medium carbonation. Flavours were burnt malts, dark chocolate, grass, cocoa and bitterness. Aftertaste was burnt and bitter. A nice soft porter with long lasting taste.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Aug 2017
at 13:22
7.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Közepes, nagyon tartós, bézs hab, vöröses árnyalatú fekete szín. Enyhe füstös, kávés, vaníliás illat. Kávés, aszalt gyümölcsös, hordós-csersavas ízvilág, vaníliás, füstös aromákkal, hosszú, kesernyés lecsengéssel. Melegedéssel csokis, alkoholos zamatok tűnnek elő. Közepesen testes, közepesen szénsavas, erősen keserű. Kicsit sok a keserű, de nagyon finom, ízgazdag sör.
Tried
on 17 Aug 2017
at 09:55