Stone Smoked Porter(s)

Very early on, in the days when I was just starting to discover craft beer, I use to tend to drift towards brown ales. As my palette sort of developed, I discovered porters. Everything wonderful about a brown ale, cranked up a few notches. Early on it was Anchor Porter that was always in my fridge. Still a beer that holds fond memories for me to this day. In those days, craft beer wasn’t as readily available like it is getting to me now, and I was always on the lookout for new and exciting beers. One afternoon, while on a date with the woman that would become my wife some years later, at the now defunked “Rockfish” restaurant by the Chandler Mall, I took noticed of a beer on their tap list “Stone Smoked Porter”. At the time, the only thing I knew about Stone was they had awesome labels on their bottles. Since I loved (still do) porters, I decided to order one, as did my future wife. From the first sniff, and sip that soon followed, this beer shot to the top of my all time favorites list, will it still holds a rather comfortable place among some amazing and gigantic beers.

My KBS!!

This beer is just a classically good beer. You don’t hear a lot of people getting excited about it like they would a Dark Lord, or KBS, Kate the Great or something, but you never hear anyone say they don’t like it. This is an easy drinking, smooth beer that will give you hints of chocolate, and some coffee, with a nice, level smoky finish. It’s a solid, drinkable, enjoyable beer that you must try if you haven’t.

Now, the only thing that gets me more excited than a smoked porter, is a vanilla porter. Now, a smoked vanilla porter, well, that would just be heaven in a glass wouldn’t it! Yes it would, and now you can try it, thanks to Stone. They have taken their second oldest beer they’ve been brewing (since 1996) and breathed a breath of; I won’t say new life, but “different” life? If that makes sense. For a limited time only, Stone is releasing their Smoked Porter in a Vanilla version, and Chipotle pepper version.

While on a recent trip to San Diego, I was lucky enough to find a few bottles of each of them. Let me tell you about them…..

I’ll start with the Chipotle pepper version, since I enjoyed this one the least, which, however, is in no way insinuating that I didn’t enjoy this beer at all, quite the opposite in fact. At first sniff, you may not notice the peppers, it’s not obvious. There is more of a grassy, garden freshness to the aroma. Also malty, and smoky. This smells like a nice beer to drink on a chilly evening. The taste is almost classic porter at first. Smoky, chocolaty and malty, with a slight hint of peppers. I was almost disappointed, until I swallowed the mouthful, and waited. My mouth started to feel like I just eat a slightly spicy salsa. The peppers heat, while quite mild, doesn’t really make itself known till the finish, which is quite nice! Very enjoyable!

Now, I said before, Vanilla porters get me a little excited, so I was VERY excited to try this one! I was not disappointed at all! If you like vanilla, you will like this beer. It is on the verge of having almost too much vanilla; I’ve read some complain about it. For me however, I loved it, there was a lot of vanilla, the most I have ever tasted in a beer in fact. It’s a smooth, smoky, chocolaty vanilla flavor, throughout the whole glass! I enjoyed every sip of this beer, and still have one more bottle in the fridge, not sure when I’ll open it, but it’s going to be soon, not sure how long I can let it sit!



So, if you get a chance, and you like peppers, or vanilla, and beer, look for these beers. If you find them, buy them, and enjoy them. I owe a lot of my love and interest in craft beer to that Stone Smoked Porter I had, all those years ago, and I am glad to see a new interest and excitement around this beer, some 15+ years after it was first released.

A very impressive trio

Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar.

Below is some info on both beers, taken from Stone Brewing's Blog site.

Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers.

Stats: 5.9% abv, 53 IBUs

Availability: Limited 12oz bottles. One-time release, beginning June 18th
Distribution: AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, MA, NC, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, VA, VT, WA
Malt bill: Pale Malt, Crystal 75, Chocolate Malt, Peat-Smoked Malt
Hops bill: Columbus & Mt. Hood

Suggested Pairings...

Appetizers: Stuffed mushrooms, bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers, quesadillas

Entrées: Manhattan clam chowder, French onion soup, baby back ribs, blackened fish, mole negro
Cheeses: Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged Cheddar, Ossau-Iraty, Mahón
Desserts: Tiramisu, apple pie, coffee cake, flourless chocolate cake, cinnamon rolls
Cigars: Ashton Classic, Montecristo, CAO Brazilia


Stone Smoked Porter w/ Vanilla Beans

Stats: 5.9% abv, 53 IBUs

Availability: Limited 12oz bottles. One-time release, beginning June 18th
Distribution: AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, MA, NC, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, VA, VT, WA
Malt bill: Pale Malt, Crystal 75, Chocolate Malt, Peat-Smoked Malt
Hops bill: Columbus & Mt. Hood

Suggested Pairings...

Appetizers: Coconut shrimp, candied nuts

Entrées: Butternut squash soup, New England clam chowder, pumpkin ravioli, seared scallops
Cheeses: Aged Gouda, Mimolette, Beehive Cheese Co.‘s “Barely Buzzed”
Desserts: Maple-glazed donuts, chocolate chip cookies, cream puffs
Cigars: Paradigm 262, Gurkha Evil, Alonso Menendez. Almost any cigar with a Brazilian wrapper will impart nice chocolate notes perfect for this beer