Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #95) bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (bottled 2.26.13)
Style/ABV: Smoked Porter, 7.5%
Reported IBUs: ?
The only thing I like better than a late night Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™ is some nice copypasta. Tonight's beer is basically Pipeworks' Smoked Porter with the addition of some chipotle. Can you say yum? About Pipeworks:
"For those crazy enough to think our smoked porter needed something more, we give you Chipotle Smoked Porter. In addition to the already bold character from the smoked malts, we bring the heat with a healthy dose of chipotle peppers to take this rich porter to the next level. Recommended pairing with a giant hunk of smoked meat and a big ass bon fire on a cold night."
There was no gushing or carb issues here. This beer pours into a dark brown/soda-black body, and kicks up a pinky's worth of dark khaki/tan head. The head quickly fizzles out, and the beer has crackly, soda-like carbonation. In bright light, this beer is a swampy and murky brown color, with some tingly carbonation dotting the surface of the beer. I've had quite a few Stouts/Porters brewed with peppers, and this beer looks and pours like many of them.
For a beer brewed early this year, there's still a lot of smoke on the aroma. I'm getting chocolate, roast, coffee, and lots of beechwood-y smoked malts. There's a lot of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, molasses, chocolate, and vanilla on this beer's nose. What I would peg as an earthy coffee note is probably the chipotle, and the aroma definitely has a peppery vibe, but I don't know if I would place it in a blind tasting.
Chipotles are smokey and spicy, so the addition of chipotle to this beer only adds another layer of complexity. I feel like this is more smokey than the Smoked Porter, and there's a nice pinch of heat on the back that you can feel in the back of your throat. It's not End of Days good, but it's good. You get earthy smoke and beechwood smoke up front, and there's lots of coffee, earthy dirt, earthy peppers, and chocolate in the mix. The chipotle kicks in towards the back, and you get peppery spice and chipotle smoke on the finish. The lingering flavors on the palate are spicy pepper and some chocolate-syrup. Vanilla is in the mix too.
This is solid. Being the spicy food aficionado that I am, I would preference this over the Smoked Porter. Palate depth is good, and complexity is okay. This is medium to medium-full bodied. The mouthfeel is made lighter thanks to some carbonation and tingly pepper spice. This has good drinkability, assuming you aren't some smoked-malt hating hoser, and the 7.5% ABV goes mostly unnoticed. It's all about the beechwood smoked malts up front; the middle hits coffee, dirt, peppers, and chocolate; the back end is all chocolate and peppery spice. The finish here is spicy...and malty.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
In the same vein as the Smoked Porter, I'll toss this a Strong Above-Average. This beer drinks like a smokey chocolate Stout or Porter, so the addition of the chipotle pepper is very welcomed. I'd love to see Pipeworks brew this again, or any of their Stouts with the addition of chipotle. If you can snag a bottle of this...go for it. I'm about to pair this beer with a sandwich, but as the bottle suggests, you could certainly pair this beer with some BBQ or grilled/smoked meats. This would also go well with some chocolate cake, or chocolate dipped churros.
Random Thought: TGIFF.
Reported IBUs: ?
The only thing I like better than a late night Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™ is some nice copypasta. Tonight's beer is basically Pipeworks' Smoked Porter with the addition of some chipotle. Can you say yum? About Pipeworks:
Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.
The back of the bottle reads:
"For those crazy enough to think our smoked porter needed something more, we give you Chipotle Smoked Porter. In addition to the already bold character from the smoked malts, we bring the heat with a healthy dose of chipotle peppers to take this rich porter to the next level. Recommended pairing with a giant hunk of smoked meat and a big ass bon fire on a cold night."
There was no gushing or carb issues here. This beer pours into a dark brown/soda-black body, and kicks up a pinky's worth of dark khaki/tan head. The head quickly fizzles out, and the beer has crackly, soda-like carbonation. In bright light, this beer is a swampy and murky brown color, with some tingly carbonation dotting the surface of the beer. I've had quite a few Stouts/Porters brewed with peppers, and this beer looks and pours like many of them.
 |
| Pipeworks Chipotle Smoked Porter |
For a beer brewed early this year, there's still a lot of smoke on the aroma. I'm getting chocolate, roast, coffee, and lots of beechwood-y smoked malts. There's a lot of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, molasses, chocolate, and vanilla on this beer's nose. What I would peg as an earthy coffee note is probably the chipotle, and the aroma definitely has a peppery vibe, but I don't know if I would place it in a blind tasting.
Chipotles are smokey and spicy, so the addition of chipotle to this beer only adds another layer of complexity. I feel like this is more smokey than the Smoked Porter, and there's a nice pinch of heat on the back that you can feel in the back of your throat. It's not End of Days good, but it's good. You get earthy smoke and beechwood smoke up front, and there's lots of coffee, earthy dirt, earthy peppers, and chocolate in the mix. The chipotle kicks in towards the back, and you get peppery spice and chipotle smoke on the finish. The lingering flavors on the palate are spicy pepper and some chocolate-syrup. Vanilla is in the mix too.
This is solid. Being the spicy food aficionado that I am, I would preference this over the Smoked Porter. Palate depth is good, and complexity is okay. This is medium to medium-full bodied. The mouthfeel is made lighter thanks to some carbonation and tingly pepper spice. This has good drinkability, assuming you aren't some smoked-malt hating hoser, and the 7.5% ABV goes mostly unnoticed. It's all about the beechwood smoked malts up front; the middle hits coffee, dirt, peppers, and chocolate; the back end is all chocolate and peppery spice. The finish here is spicy...and malty.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
In the same vein as the Smoked Porter, I'll toss this a Strong Above-Average. This beer drinks like a smokey chocolate Stout or Porter, so the addition of the chipotle pepper is very welcomed. I'd love to see Pipeworks brew this again, or any of their Stouts with the addition of chipotle. If you can snag a bottle of this...go for it. I'm about to pair this beer with a sandwich, but as the bottle suggests, you could certainly pair this beer with some BBQ or grilled/smoked meats. This would also go well with some chocolate cake, or chocolate dipped churros.
Random Thought: TGIFF.
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