This stuff is dark. It smells like smoke and it’s really dark. That was my first impression right as I poured it out. And as it poured, a tall foamed George Hamilton head rose above the glass rim. The beer itself scored a 7 out of 7 smokestacks in darkness points. My phone’s light doesn’t get through any of this as I try to inspect this with the highest tech instrumentation that I have at my disposal. The taste of this one is complex and robust, with a powerful punch of a bunch of different flavors. Smoke is on the top and leans towards the charcoal side of smoke flavor instead of campfire flavor (or peat). Roasted but not (too) burnt. I can’t find any sausage flavor, which is fine, sometimes sausage flavor crops up when the charcoal grill flavor is thrown in there. This is a top notch beer. If I owned a bar I would sell it in a snifter for $6 even with the mere 6.2% alcohol content. Good thing I have a 22oz bottle to nurse tonight. I guess i gotta wrap this up… Overall happiness 5 out of 7.
| Brewer | 8 Wired Brewing |
| Beer Name | The Big Smoke (Smoked Porter) |
| Brewer’s Description | 250 years ago virtually all beers were smoked (Google it!), but today most smoke has lifted. Kept alive in Bamberg, Germany, beechwood smoked ‘rauchmalz’ was used in our best porter recipe to create the beautifully rich, dark, and roasted chocolate flavors without becoming overpowering. Cheers! |
| Food Pairings | Meats, cheese, nuts. |
| Brewer Location | Marlborough, New Zealand |
| Alcohol content by volume | 6.2% |
| IBU (International Bitterness Units) | 45 |
| Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark) | 7 |
| Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns) | 5 |
| Sausage detection? Y or N | N |
| Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks | 5 |
| Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high) | 5 |
Hey, you only have to be 18 to look at a New Zealand brewery website, don’t tell the kids:
SmokeBeerMinistry 