Double Porter Smoked - Rock Art Brewery

Hibernator

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Rock Art Double Porter Smoked
22 oz brown bottle
Served in a hotel mini glass

I spotted this beer at the Vermont State Liquor Store down the street and thought I would give this local beer a try.

Pours a mahogany brown with some ruby highlights on the bottom the glass. The brown color borderlines black, but with a close inspection reveals a dark brown quality. A nice fluffy head forms on top too, leaving trails of sticky lacings.

Whiffs of roasted malt, fireside smoke and sweet dairy.

A dark roasted malt backbone with subtle hints of liquid smoke. A touch of dairy sugar sweetness and a solid hop snap finishes this beer out. The carbonation level is perfect and this is an enjoyable beer.

Nicely done Rock Art, a really good porter.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2011 00:59:18 | More by Hibernator

Kelp

New Hampshire

3/5  rDev -21.7%

05-15-2013 04:38:18 | More by Kelp

TATURBO

Illinois

4/5  rDev +4.4%

12-22-2012 03:57:33 | More by TATURBO

mkeene78

4/5  rDev +4.4%

11-24-2012 01:59:43 | More by mkeene78

IdrinkGas

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -21.7%

11-03-2012 05:07:55 | More by IdrinkGas

n2185

North Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -15.1%

10-29-2012 23:08:50 | More by n2185

MarkSmithVT

4/5  rDev +4.4%

10-28-2012 16:36:34 | More by MarkSmithVT

smakawhat

Maryland

3.15/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass. Bottle purchased at the brewery.

Out of the bottle the beer hits with a dull dark reddish mahogany brown. Head forms light tan but gets maybe three fingers tall and falls very quickly. Lots of snapping cola like carbonation and bubbles and barely leaves a collar. Collar doesn't stick around and you have a wet mess.

Nose is smokey, with a nice rauchbier like beechwood sense. There's a bit of band aid phenols here though. Some faint jerky and caramel hiding in the back, with a very very small sweetness.

Incredibly watery palate. Weak texture and feels practically from the water tap. Flavors mix nicely with what is hinted on the nose but there is zero depth. Finish has a bit of roast and char slightly, the smoke character comes throughout nicely. Sweetness mixes with a little bit of blackened dry malt too. There's good balance hiding in here, and the taste of band aids hinted at on the nose luckily doesn't come through at all.

Overall if I were to rate this on smoke beer style, then I would say it's a real dumbed down palate feel which takes a lot away from enjoying it. If I were to rate this as a baltic porter I would give it even worse, there's nothing "to style" about this beer in that sense at all. Still it's a watery mess with not much to offer. Give this beer some depth and thickness and it would be worth drinking.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2012 23:38:45 | More by smakawhat

trxxpaxxs

New York

3.25/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Pours a deep translucent red/brown. There is about one full finger of khaki colored head that fades incredibly quickly. There is almost no foam left on the glass, and no lacing as it drinks.

S: The nose is huge smoke, ham, caramel, and malt. It reminds me of bacon with fake smoke added in. It's not exactly the most pleasant.

T: The taste is sweet to start, but it get hugely bacon-y, and there is tons of that "fake smoke" flavor. It's really a shame. I love bacon, and I love smoke, but this beer just tastes completely artificial.

M: Medium bodied beer. Sweet to smokey to sweet. Nothing coating.

O: This beer is a real let down. I wanted this to be soooo good... but it just isn't. I'll pass on this beer from here out.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 00:10:03 | More by trxxpaxxs

PretzelsNBeer

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -15.1%

08-11-2012 01:01:42 | More by PretzelsNBeer

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

3.05/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Light brown; translucent. A small layer of cream coloured head formed and reduced to a few scattered bubbles. Doesn't have the look of a porter at all. Very light.

S - Smoke completely dominates with some very light caramel and toffee notes in the background. No typical porter characteristics are present in the nose either.

T - Massive smoke flavour up front with a slight toffee/caramel flavour present in the background along with a touch of chocolate.

M - Light to medium body. Light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2012 13:36:48 | More by TheSevenDuffs

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.48/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Light fizzy head fades almost instantly lighter colored slight hazy auburn blond color. Looks more like brown ale than porter!?

Nose smoked alright, campfire, smoked cheese, light toasty reddish brown malts, light caramel and molasses, little syrupy.

Taste little sweet and syrupy, molasses but watered down, light caramel and some reddish toasty malts. Creamy smoke, light campfire and smoked cheese. Light earthy bitterness with a hint acrid. Finish is still semi sweet quite bitter earthy spicy hops and smoke. Little astringent and icky long lingering some smoke. Some warming booze with a little tingle.

Mouth is med bodied sticky syrupy but still thin feeling, lighter carb

Overall overpowering and meh. Too much going on, way too much smoke, astringent bitterness, little acrid, etc. It's many little things they got wrong too, like no head, way too light colored, thin feeling and thin on malt taste despite the 8% that comes through as 10%, long bitter acrid finish that is hard to finish 1/3 of the bomber let alone the entire thing (glad I shared it). This is a rare complete miss for Rock Art IMO.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 14:09:32 | More by jlindros

apintofknowledge

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +17.5%

06-17-2012 03:49:09 | More by apintofknowledge

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

From the 22 ounce bottle. Sampled on June 7, 2012. It pours a rather murky but deep amber tone. I expected it to darker considering it is labeled "Double Porter." But since it is a Baltic Porter it may be about right. On the nose are malts and a light, distant smoky note. The body falls more on the medium side and maybe a little lighter than that. The yeast interacts well with the other ingredients to bring out a smokier taste than the one I get on the nose. 8% ABV well integrated. I love smoked beers but this one was more subdued.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2012 00:53:48 | More by puboflyons

prisdefer

New York

4.75/5  rDev +24%

05-17-2012 21:51:09 | More by prisdefer

Bockerdoppel91

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +11%

05-16-2012 22:51:21 | More by Bockerdoppel91

angelogarcia3

New York

4.5/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bought this bottle of beer from a Vermont Mobil Gas Station. Rock Art Brewery's Double Porter Smoked pours very dark brown with a light tan head. Your first sniff of this beer and you know this beer is smoked. Other aromas include a slight sweetness and more smokiness. This thick beer is very smooth and has a great smoked flavor with hints of sweetness and roasted malts that would go very well with barbequed ribs or steaks.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2012 03:27:58 | More by angelogarcia3

ngingras

Vermont

4/5  rDev +4.4%

03-02-2012 22:07:05 | More by ngingras

BrewinHeadBanger

New York

5/5  rDev +30.5%

11-27-2011 23:12:45 | More by BrewinHeadBanger

nmann08

Maryland

5/5  rDev +30.5%

11-18-2011 18:37:44 | More by nmann08

9InchNails

New Jersey

4.22/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Light creamy brown head. I was expecting a very dark beer, it turns out, it's a crimson color -- like a raspberry red. A decent amount of bubbles can be seen. Nice looking beer.

Big time smokiness and some bitter coffee. That's about it but it's a nice smoky aroma.

This is all about the smokiness and chocolate! Wow! Tasty! Some roasted coffee is evident. Slightly bitter at the end. Booze flavor is pretty much subdued, although it's a relatively high abv. with a 8%.

Medium body, carbonation is light to medium, it leaves the mouth feeling very dry, yet the mouth is still moist.

I can't complain about Rock Art since just about every beer I tried by them has been good to excellent -- this is no exception. Although, this is a borderline sipper, it is so tasty you want to gulp it. But I would recommend sipping it; I figured that out about halfway through, as the 8% is sneaking up on me. I am not a big fan of smoky beers but this is great! If you see this, pick it up, immediately!

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2011 19:26:48 | More by 9InchNails

Gambrinus1184

Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22-ounce bomber into a Saranac pint glass.

A: Deep, ruddy brown under a two-finger thick head of creamy, tan foam. Carbonation could be seen in the reddish-brown tinge and lacing was decent.

S: Roasted, smoky malts, earthy, herbal hops and a smoked meat and tobacco aroma.

T: Roasted caramel and black malts load up the flavor first, turning fruity and bitter with a nutty snap before mellowing out with an earthy, smoked peat taste. Herbal hops settle in to dry out the palate and a smoked meat and alcohol bitterness flushes out the aftertaste.

M: Full-bodied, a bit creamy and savory smoked flavors make it a fine evening sipper around the fire.

O: A very nice porter, albeit a bit lighter looking than I had anticipated. The 8% ABV is noticed in the finish a bit, but the fine, smoky malt complexity smooths things over pretty nicely. I'd like to pair it up with a smoked meat and cheese charcuterie some time to see where it stands with smoked foods.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2011 22:33:42 | More by Gambrinus1184

mikereaser

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Rock Art Double Smoked Porter

A - Pours a dark brown with a half inch off white foam that slowly fades leaving no lacing.

S - aroma is sweet roasted malts and some smoke.

T - roasted malts, the smoke takes the lead with some lemon and brown sugar. Not really my favorite style or flavor. The smoke is just a bit too overpowering for my taste.

M - smooth & creamy, with light to medium carbonation. It has a dry finish.

D - for the style, its not bad but i've had more enjoyable examples. Its ok but I wouldn't be able to have more than one.

3.5/3.5/3.5/3.5/3.53.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2011 03:38:45 | More by mikereaser

jbertsch

Massachusetts

4.65/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22 oz. bottle poured into a tulip

Black in color. 1-2 finger head is equally frothy and sudsy.

I smell roasted grain, burning cedar, and nice overall earthy notes. A little mocha and charcoal as well. The more it warms, more and more smokiness comes out.

The taste is immediately big on roasted grain. Woodsy. Charred just slightly. There are notes of dark chocolate and coffee bean but not as much as I thought there would be.

Mouthfeel is creamy and carbonated just right.

I can't taste the 8% ABV at all - great drinkability.

I highly enjoyed this!

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2011 13:12:42 | More by jbertsch

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pitch coal coloring is topped off by a generous 2 finger + beach sand colored head that is steady on the hold. Along the glass edges we see a feverish carbonation of micro bubbles working their way upwards and beading while building upon the head further. The lacing is good, meaty and thick with a strong helping of foam deposits on the glass walls.

S: Roasty fresh coffee offering with a hint of charcoal biscuit. A light touch of smoldering wood ash and smoke of medium strength rounds things out.

T: Burnt wood and smoked barley grains with a roasted bitterness of dry coffee beans. Campfire minearlity, charcoal with a lingering smoky peat finish. Fresh chocolate adds a bit of sweetness to the mix lingering humbly beneath the moderates smoky and roasted flavor.

M: Mouthful was viscose, full bodied with a oily texture and feel. Roasty upon warming with a dark earthy burnt bitterness coming about on the swallow. Strong carbonation sensation especially on the tip and edges of the tongue.

D: Solid drinkability, considering style and abv%. Roasty, bitter with a lingering burnt bitterness and an overall good appeal. A bomber is good here.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2011 00:43:29 | More by beerthulhu