Double Porter-Smoked

Rock Art Brewery
Morrisville, VT

Available: VT, MA, PA

Rock Art Brewery’s graphics incorporate Kokopelli, the ancient flute-playing figure portrayed in petroglyphs across the country.

Alcohol (vol): 8.0
Alcohol (wt): 6.37
Color: brown
Bitterness: 60
Original gravity: 1072

Turbid brown color. A long-lasting tan head leaves luscious lace behind. Like the “extreme” avant-garde label, the mocha-accented malty aroma makes big promises, but alas the brew fails to deliver. Hop bitterness is aggressive, overpowering the malt. In turn, the deep earthy flavors prevent the hops from delivering their lovely floral tones. Although the label says smoked, I was unable to identify one of my personal favorite flavors. We tried it with seared ahi tuna, fried rice, creamed spinach, raw milk cheese and nuts and found the bitterness overpowering for each of them.
- Charles Finkel

Read the label carefully, double porter first, smoked second. A porter from the outset, it pours quite dark with reddish highlights. The nose begins with roasted coffee beans, their acrid character amplified by the apparent alcohol (remember, it’s a double). Molasses sweetness and gentle smoke lurk beneath, the smoke becoming stronger on the tongue and lingering through an effectively bitter finish. The smoke doesn’t taste as integrated (in late February) as it may with time.
- Stan Hieronymus

Charles Finkel
Founder of Merchant du Vin and the Pike Brewing Co., Charles Finkel is a pioneer in the marketing of craft beers in America.

Stan Hieronymus
Editor at Realbeer.com, a professional journalist for 40 years and amateur brewer for 15, Hieronymus is the author of four beer books, including Brew Like a Monk.

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