Episode Notes

Episode 71: Geartooth Aleworks’ Burned and Blackened Smoked Porter

It’s the Two Minute Beer Review!

I’m Andrew Burkum and it’s that time again where we take on that massive craft brew aisle to find the hidden treasures waiting for us there.

This week we’re taking a look at Burned and Blackened Smoked Porter by Geartooth Alewerks in San Jose, CA. Is this one on fire or will it crash and burn? Let’s find out!

Burned and Blackened is a dark brown to deep red in my glass. Pretty. It smells of smoke and molasses but not a whole bunch else. It’s a little malty, after sniffing for long enough to get through that powerful smoke. But it’s not a lasting impression of wood smoke, here, like a fire that’s just died out. It’s a smoke that’s had a chance to settle into the pores of the beer, like the char on a good whiskey barrel.

But what about the taste? I get all that nice smoke right in the back of my palate. There’s coffee bitterness here, and a whole lot of it –which is what keeps that smokey sensation from being overwhelming in the flavor. Right up the center of my tongue there’s a very nice dark chocolate flavor, which kind of makes up the blackened part of the burned and blackened name. There’s nothing sweet here to break up the powerful taste sensations of smoke and bitterness, and I think that’s a perfect way for this beer to be built.

This is an interesting and very good porter. The bitterness comes primarily from coffee flavors, but hops are not altogether absent and the bitter sensation hangs out for a very long time after the swallow. It’s not a beer perhaps to drink in very high quantities but it absolutely delivers a desirable full flavored experience. It also has a great consistency—porters can often be too thick or too thin, but this one hits a very sweet spot. Burned and Blackened is a 7% alcohol by volume beer and is a Two Minute Beer Review recommendation!

That’s all for this week, but I hope you’ll join me next week as we take a look at Seasonal Tree Beer IPA by Drake’s Brewing Co. Will this one have us singing a rousing chorus of O Tannenbaum? We’ll find out next week.

Look for links to this week’s beer and brewery in the show notes, and don’t forget to let us know what you’re drinking and what you’re thinking about the show. You can find us on Facebook or tweet us @2minutebeer, using the number two.

The Two Minute Beer Review is a part of the Phoenix Podcast Network and is brought to you by Zane-It, where you can find all the best costumes and makeup, Central Valley Youth Legal Services and Superfan Sandra Hay. If you’d like to support the show you can leave us a tip or sign up for a small monthly donation by clicking the link in the show notes or by supporting the Phoenix Creative Collective on Patreon. Our music is by Rialthos. You can find more at Rialthos.bandcamp.com.

That’s all for now but we’ll see you next week as we continue on our quest to taste all the beer!

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