Five Point: Brewdog: Smoke and Mirrors (England: Smoked Porter: 7.8% ABV)
Visual: Black. Moderate coffee froth brown head.
Nose: Burnt coffee. Smoke. Brown bread.
Body: Bitter chocolate. Big smoke. Cured ham. Malt drinks. Smooth. Salt touch. Black cherry hint. Light chocolate liqueur.
Finish: Bitter coffee. Smoke. Toffee. Cured meat. Brown bread. Bitter. Light salt.
Conclusion: Aaaand, we have a big beer to round off the weekend, and trust me, this is big in all the ways that count. Big smoke, big bitter coffee and chocolate, big thick texture. Big, but actually not too insane abv at 7.8 % abv.
It is very classy, very smooth – the smoke is big, but rounded – an addition rather than an ash tray. It feels very mouth filling and very much well balanced – you feel like your mouth and been smeared with a sheen of coffee tasting oils.
It plays its elements very solidly in the middle of the smoked porter range, not unusual in what is delivered, but refined to within an inch of its life.
Smooth but not light, heavy flavor but not intrusive. This may not push boundaries, but it has learned from every lesson on how to do the job well. I wish I could say more about it, but I fear I would be repeating the standard porter spiel. Coffee heavy, smooth – it ties itself to the style impeccably.
A very nice beer and a great end to a great weekend.
Background: The end of Collabfest 2014! I can review other drinks now! Despite the staff reminding me , I forgot to get a photo of the board after they put this, final, beer up. Oops. This is smoked porter. Seems almost passé after all that came before. As always I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers.
