Midnight Madness Smoked Porter - Rock Art Brewery

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Starts with a large fizzy head that dies to nothing within a half minute. Absolutely no lace. The color is ruby brown where a minimum of light shines through.

The smell is chocolatey with a touch of charcoal.

There's a good dollop of peppery hop bitterness in the swallow that I wasn't expecting. The beer is quite dry, nearly astringent. The body is thin but the carbonation is light but spritzy. The smoke is present but very subtle.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2012 02:09:15 | More by smcolw

tnbeatty

Vermont

3.25/5  rDev -5%

05-15-2013 13:36:46 | More by tnbeatty

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

2.58/5  rDev -24.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Pours a solid dark brown with faint ruby highlights at the edges and a decent white head that quickly dissipates to a cap on top. Smells of smoked ham and bacon mostly, with hints of chocolate at the edges. I honestly have trouble fining much else underneath the smokiness of the aroma here. The flavor is a little better, but not much. Smoked ham with hints of charcoal and ash as well as some chocolate and earthy hops. The smoke flavor here is sharp and acrid and overpowers everything else in this brew. Medium body with a light level of carbonation and a bitter smokey mouthfeel. I'm not a big fan of this one in fact I will avoid this if at all possible.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 01:55:43 | More by johnnnniee

Ivanhoes_Backpack

New Brunswick (Canada)

2.75/5  rDev -19.6%

04-30-2013 20:29:43 | More by Ivanhoes_Backpack

brheuer

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +17%

03-24-2013 21:21:18 | More by brheuer

chippo33

Vermont

2.5/5  rDev -26.9%

03-13-2013 22:51:02 | More by chippo33

nakedninjaturtle

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -5%

03-09-2013 04:09:55 | More by nakedninjaturtle

Mack

Quebec (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +9.6%

03-07-2013 00:05:01 | More by Mack

NiceTaps

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

12oz. bottle into a pint glass.

A- Pours a dark ruby red color with a touch of brown hue resulting in a thin mocha color head. Active carbonation, not a spot of lacing.

S- Smoke and minerals, ash. Not 'natural' enough.

T- Dark malts, chocolate make up the body of flavor here, then smoked grain finishing taste.

M- Light and mild. The smoke finishes a bit too metallic.

O- Once past the nose, the results are drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2013 20:44:31 | More by NiceTaps

cattersley

Ontario (Canada)

2.15/5  rDev -37.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Wow, this is disappointing I will say! This tastes like stinky dog mixed with bad ham... Only beer I have not liked from there, and rarely beer in general. I would not buy this again, and I can't say that about a lot of beers that I have sampled in my life...

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 20:41:10 | More by cattersley

kangarooAdam59

Pennsylvania

2.96/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Into a nonic:

A: deep dark brown colored body and has a nice two finger speckled off white half inch head. Foamy speckled lacing graces the sides of the glass.

S: smoky chocolate up front coming through in an ashy/coffee sort of way, reminds me like I'm smelling the charcoal from a grill.

T: smoky and full of coffee bitterness, slightly woody and ashy again. That "meatiness" from rauchbiers comes out in the taste.

M: medium and crisp with a dark bitter aftertaste and finish. There is nothing harsh on the tongue. This is pretty sessionable.

O: woo-eeh, this is a hard one to put down the throat. I'll be able to finish the rest of this, but most likely won't come back to it.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 17:13:41 | More by kangarooAdam59

gwiedman1

New York

4.75/5  rDev +38.9%

01-20-2013 21:44:36 | More by gwiedman1

stereosforgeeks

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

12-17-2012 17:53:06 | More by stereosforgeeks

Woodysbeard

Pennsylvania

2/5  rDev -41.5%

12-08-2012 22:38:18 | More by Woodysbeard

michelob654

3.75/5  rDev +9.6%

11-25-2012 02:30:55 | More by michelob654

mkeene78

3.75/5  rDev +9.6%

11-24-2012 02:00:32 | More by mkeene78

alexgash

Connecticut

2.83/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

12 oz. bottle.

Dark garnet to maple syrup amber body. Small, bubbly, sandy-beige head. Not much lacing. Plenty of smoke on the nose. Campfiery, with some meatiness. Light roasted malt notes underneath, along with a little peat and chocolate. So far so smoky good.

Wet cardboard quickly gives way to cindery, ashy, smokiness. Slight meatiness as well. Very light roasted malt underneath. Not much "porter" here. The smokiness is nice and stays throughout, but there is not much else. Some coffee-ish bitterness in the finish. Faint notes of chocolate. Body is also thin, much too thin for the style. Maybe a bit too carbonated too. Disappointing, but finishable.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2012 22:19:46 | More by alexgash

ryan1788a5

Massachusetts

3.33/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass.

A: Pours a deep ruby color. The rocky, sand-colored head stands at a massive four fingers before it audibly sputters into a thin cap. No lacing left behind at all.

S: Fruity with scents of plum, cherry, and grape skin. Hints of cola, coffee beans, and powdery chocolate. Some charcoal and a thin blanket of acrid smoke cover all of this.

T: Cola, a faint woodiness, and plum and cherry tastes open. Roasted coffee and a whisper of cocoa. Smoke asserts itself toward the back end and starts to get acrid with a touch of that rubbery taste that smoked beers sometimes exhibit. Finishes with bakers chocolate, hints of wood, and acrid smoke.

M: Medium bodied. Slightly creamy, but perhaps a bit thin and watery. Ample carbonation.

O: The smoke starts to stray a little; there's just not quite enough body behind this beer to tame it. Needs some work.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 01:36:17 | More by ryan1788a5

MarkSmithVT

3.25/5  rDev -5%

10-28-2012 16:37:11 | More by MarkSmithVT

kJohn

Vermont

2.25/5  rDev -34.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

I tried a Growler from a local beverage mart... I love the Double Smoked Porter (part of their Xtreme offerings), so I thought the Midnight Madness smoked porter would follow along. I will say that I am disappointed. While the nose was there, nice smoky note, what followed was, er, weak, at best. The dark color belied the thin, spare mouth feel. This porter seems more like a porter mixed with a pale ale, rather than a stout mixed with a bitter, like a true Porter should be.
I have had most of the Rock Art offerings, and this is atypical of their other brews, which are really good.

Serving type: growler

10-22-2012 23:57:26 | More by kJohn

djrn2

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -5%

10-18-2012 21:47:01 | More by djrn2

luvbier

Vermont

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

10-13-2012 00:29:50 | More by luvbier

SpeedwayJim

New York

2.9/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Thanks to Adam for this one. 12oz bottle poured into a Sam Adams sensory glass.

Pours a .5 finger coarse, light brown head with no retention. Beer is a clear, dark brown amber. No lace. Below average.

Nose is smoke, roasted malt, liquorice, and logan. Some dried date too. Moderately aromatic. Average.

Opens sweet and roasty. Some notes of liquorice, smoked malt, peat, dried date sweetness, and stale coffee beans. Finishes smoke and roast. A bit of ash in the aftertaste. Decent.

Light bodied with ample carbonation. Prickly in the mouth and abrasive going down. Messy finish with a slightly lingering aftertaste. I could use a little less bubbles.

Some odd flavors swirling around in this one. Its not bad but not one I'd revisit again.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 23:41:40 | More by SpeedwayJim

smakawhat

Maryland

3.48/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured on tap at Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville into a taster shaker pint glass. Listed as a smoke beer.

A real nice mix of red and toffee brown colors on the body. Faint white collar presented not much else. Really like this body color.

Nose has a real nice beechwood like rauchbier smoke. BBQ and charcoal but also some faint band aid like phenols.

Taste is very light on the palate, with light toast and faint char. There's a strange mild burn to this on the aftertaste. Light and airy malts but doesn't come out on the swallow. Another very wet and watery body.

Even as a porter this really doesn't cut it, seems pretty weak. But it looks and smells great.

Serving type: on-tap

08-25-2012 01:44:59 | More by smakawhat

bostonryan

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -12.3%

08-24-2012 18:08:44 | More by bostonryan