Alley Kat Smoked Porter
Pours nearly black with ruby highlights. It has a creamy tan head, that fades into a thin covering. The smell is smoky, but not overpoweringly so. It has some hints of a sweetness in there. Almost chocolatey. The smoke smell seems to hide too much of the other aromas in my opinion. This being the second bottle I've had of this beer, I knew what to expect, but it didn't change much. The first swallow is too much smoke. It's like the beer is forcing you to get used to it. Once that first swallow is out of the way, more flavours start to filter through. The front is a roasted malt flavour, not quite sweet, but not really bitter. The finish is smoke over top of a dry bitterness. The smoke flavour is very much wood based. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, and carbonation is light. Fairly uninteresting in this category. Drinkability is not bad, but not stand out. This beer certainly has potential, but the only really interesting part is the smoke. Put more flavour and body into it first, then go for the smoke, and Alley Kat could have a winner.