Brewers have always known the promise in barrel aging, and I’ll admit that I was not an early adopter primarily because of how haphazardly the process is deployed by so many. Some have long since perfected the process, nonetheless when I see that practically cliched phrase stamped on a bottle nowadays, I proceed with caution. In the case of Ass Kisser Barrel Aged Smoked Porter, all is well in the world. Having tried Ass Kisser’s Porter Pounder and Stubborn Jack smokebeers before, and having given them both poor scores, I was thrilled to taste this robust beer, and then all too quickly drink the rest of this 750mL bottle. This beer is sour on the nose, like a bourbon barrel. Deep down in there is some smoke but the mildly tart barrel notes are upfront and taste great. There may even be a bit of chocolaty sweetness to it. I wonder if this is their regular Stubborn Jack recipe but barrel aged, I don’t think so, and I would ask but this place seems to have shuttered operations 2 years ago. That’s too bad because they really hit the nail on the head with this beer. I will say that this beer could be improved upon with an added beefy, smokier bite to it, which I suspect might be attained if they adjusted their “smokey blend” ratios a bit. “A bounty of rich flavors” finishes off the quote from the bottle and is right on point. Furthermore, there weren’t any floaties nor silt and yeasty submarines floating around in this beer which is always a plus. Well done Ass Kisser. Get the band back together and double down on this beer.

Feel free to figure out what’s going on with these Ass Kissers, because it looks like they shut down… maybe they’re on the dark web:

http://www.brewerydb.com/brewery/pqSkmD