Top Shelf Thursday, November 2013: Embrace the Darkness

Winter’s on its way.  It’s getting colder, the daylight is shriveling, forcing people to seek warmth & comfort.  I can’t think of any beers that embody those qualities more than the porter/stout family: dark, rich, sweet, roasty, warming.  The Snuggie of beers.  This month’s Top Shelf Thursday (subtitled “Embrace the Darkness”) focused on these dark comfort brews, highlighting variation while staying grounded by a common feel.

What’s the difference between porter & stout?  Good question, with a simple answer: not much.  These days, the talking points are that porters are sweeter & lighter-bodied, while stouts are dryer & more robust.  Or that porters rely on chocolate malt whereas stouts use roasted barley & black patent.  These distinctions appear to be relatively recent evolutions.  Historically, “stout” meant just that: bigger, heartier.  Stout was just a variation of porter, & was originally called “stout porter”, without clear formal differences.  Nowadays you’ve got close to a dozen variations of the two: brown porter, robust porter, imperial porter (?), even Baltic porter, which often uses lager yeast.  And don’t get me started on stouts: Irish dry stout, milk stout, foreign export stout, Russian imperial stout, American double stout, oatmeal, et al.  The family tree of the porter/stout clan branches off, veers back & seemingly gets tangled in its own limbs.  One thing’s clear, though: these beers are some of the most beloved out there.

Stouts & porters are a great vehicle for barrel-aging, so it’s no coincidence that barrel-aged beers were prevalent at this tasting.  From Foothills Brewing came our kick-off: People’s Barrel-Aged Porter, their English-style porter aged in wet Kentucky bourbon barrels.  At a “mere” 6% ABV, this porter faced a challenge standing up to the intense flavors of the barrels, but rose to the task with chocolate & caramel notes. 

Things got smoky with the next offering: The Big Smoke, a smoked porter from Danish-cum-Kiwi brewer 8 Wired.  Whereas smoked malt (in this case Bamberg rauchmalt) can sometimes be overwhelming, most agreed that here it was more subdued but still delivered that savory quality folks look for in a smoked brew. 

Victory threw folks a curveball with Red Thunder, their Baltic porter aged in red wine barrels from California vineyard Wente.  The Baltic porter was already anomalous in this line-up with its use of lager yeast instead of ale yeast, & the wine barrels gave it a darkly fruity, woody, & tannic twist.

Next, we dropped our first stout of the evening with Cryptical, an imperial from Starr Hill Brewing’s All Access series (its name a Grateful Dead reference).  The tasting’s most hop-forward beer, Cryptical packed some bite from dry-hopping with Apollo, Simcoe, & Centennial.

Two of the evening’s most eccentric brews followed.  Stone Brewing collaborated with Oregon’s 10 Barrel & DC brewpub Bluejacket to concoct Suede imperial porter.  A recipe including avocado honey, jasmine, & calendula flowers gave it a uniquely floral & sweet profile, wrapped up in a smooth porter jacket.  One of the original imperial stouts – Le Coq’s Imperial Double Extra Stout – disappeared for years until its resurrection by British brewer Harvey & Sons.  Many in attendance were surprised by its tart nose, followed by a body with strong notes of licorice, dark fruit, & tobacco, really throwing for a loop those who expected a more conventional stout flavor.

Evil Twin’s Soft DK had a background that raised some eyebrows: the brewer was inspired by the sweet smell he got while changing his newborn son’s diapers & set out to brew a stout evocative of that aroma.  Soft Dookie, as it was christened before its name change in the US market, gives off notes of vanilla that complement its light body.

We book-ended the night with barrel-aged offerings, wrapping up with a trio of big, dark beers from the wood.  Laughing Dog Brewing didn’t mess around, taking their 11% imperial stout, The Dogfather, & aging it in bourbon barrels for a rich, warming brew with oaky notes backing it up firmly.  DuClaw Brewing draws each bottle of Retribution from a single barrel after aging for six months, allowing for some variation bottle to bottle.  Retribution delivered strong smells & flavors of coconut & banana, marrying deliciously with the base stout’s coffee & dark chocolate character.  And at a formidable 12% ABV, Arcadia’s Shipwreck Porter crowned the night beautifully.  Not being satisfied with aging this imperial porter in ten-year-old bourbon barrels for a year, Arcadia goes so far as to put the beer-filled barrels in Michigan mines to maintain a consistent temperature.  How cool is that?

Things like big, indulgent beers remind us that there are some things about a long, dark winter to look forward to.  This was a fun tasting to organize & host, & hopefully all in attendance left a little more prepared to embrace the darkness.  And I’m sure everyone left feeling a little warmer, too.