Stone Smoked Porter (CA)

The brewer claims this to be only subtly smoky, and most reviews I've seen agree that the smoke is only secondary. Some consider this a defect, but I'm not sure if I'd want more smoke. Maybe it isn't my thing.

It pours nearly black with only a small head. The body is medium with a fairly assertive small-bubble carbonation. I'd rate this on the dry side for a porter, and the typical chocolate and coffee roasted flavors are supplemented by burnt charcoal briquettes. The bottle claims that there are deep layers of "licorice, dark fruit and perhaps even caramel," but to me, there's just enough smoke to cover up these flavors.

I don't want to sound harsh: this is a good beer, and a good value at $3.99 a bomber. But I don't like this as much as most others do, and it's a bit of a disappointment to me coming from Stone.