Smoke Jumper Smoked Imperial Porter - Left Hand Brewing Company

memory

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I've only had a Rauchbier from Rock Bottom in King of Prussia,Pa.
before this which I really liked.
This beer was had at the Flying Pig in Malvern on tap.
Poured dark avg head with that smoky nose.
Tasted like a liquid Slim Jim at first. Rounded out to a real smooth smokey exlixer that ain't no session brew.
Very tasty but I'd have to limit myself to 2 of these.
Just too big a brew, unless maybe a Smorgasborg was present!

Serving type: on-tap

12-31-2006 05:59:47 | More by memory

rajendra82

Georgia

4.58/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I have liked almost every smoked beer I have ever sampled, and I had always wondered why more brewers didn’t give the smoked treatment to their one off releases. Almost reading my mind, the newly released corked and caged bomber of Left Hand Smoke Jumper Smoked Imperial Porter appeared on the store shelves of Bullocks in Marietta, Georgia. I uncorked it without bothering to refrigerate it first, and the loud thud and the free forming head inside the bomber made me realize that had it been a few degrees warmer, and I would have had a geyser on my hand. The beer looked opaque black with dark brown highlights when held up against strong light. The large khaki head was impressive when taking into account the double digit ABV. Inhaling the headspace over the beer revealed that the “standard” Imperial Porter aromas of coffee, chocolate, and roasted grains had been overlaid (or almost overrun) with the wonderful aroma of wood smoke. The taste exhibited an assertive smoke treatment, which went well with the other bold flavors of chocolate, toffee, vanilla, and bitter hops. More a stout than a Porter if you ask me, as there was little to no sourness, and the taste was more bitter than sweet, but take this as an observation and not a complaint. Body was quite chewy, and the alcohol was warming in the belly (as if there was a real fire in here to go along with all the smoke). Note to self, pick up more to cellar.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2006 04:09:47 | More by rajendra82

benito

Oregon

3.43/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

The latest in Left Hand's Big Mo series is more ambitious than the DIPA and tripel they put out earlier this year, and shooting higher and more daringly has paid off for them...mostly.

A: Huge, tan head over a deep mahogany brew.

S: A strong woody smokiness washes everything else out making it clear that the emphasis in this brew is on the 'smoked' part of 'smoked porter.' This beer nicely mixes typical Canadian bacon smokiness with beech and a light sweetness.

T: Very aggressive in its smokiness, but it is ultimately well balanced by a true-to-form robust porter finish. Good notes of coffee, tar, and chocolate.

M and D: This is a heavy beer and the strong flavors work well against the big malt backdrop, but it definitely makes it less easy to drink.

Overall, this reminded me a lot of a 'past-its-prime' bottle of Alaskan Smoked Porter. It's a solid beer, worth checking out (if you are willing to spend eleven bucks), and easily the best beer in the Big Mo series.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2006 19:37:42 | More by benito

blitz134

Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked this up at Green's in Atlanta today. I have so far been decently impressed by Left Hand's Big Mo series, nothing super 'wow' yet, but all pretty good. Bottle says 10.5% ABV, not the 9.2% this is in the database as.

Pours with a black body, barely translucent. Light shows through with a dark brown body. Tan head that formed pretty quickly on the pour nearly four fingers tall reduced really slowly. Really slowly. Pretty incredible head for a high octane brew. Not too much lace formation as it goes down though.

The aroma almost pushes this beer into the rauchbier category. Its smoke potency is on the order of Aecht Schlenkerla's beers. Smells similar to the smoked turkey we had for Thanksgiving, hickory and oak wood smoke. Has a little acidic, sweetness as well. But its mostly smoke.

I might as well be chewing on a log from the campfire. Smoke again dominates, similar to the smell. This all mixes with a dark toffee and even some heavily roasted coffee beans that begin to push the borderline of being called charred. Flavor finishes with more dark chocolate as the smoke subsides. Absolutely NO signs of alcohol in here.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, a little too much carbonation if I have to be picky. I'd like a bit more creaminess, but its close. Flavor lingers for quite a while on the palatte and finishes quite dry.

Drinkability is good. This sits heavy on the stomach, limiting its sessionability (although if it really is 10.5% I probably won't care about too much by the end of the bottle). The alcohol is absolutely hidden though. This is by far the most smoky American beer I've had yet. Don't try if you're turned off by real smoked beers...but its a must have if you like the style, although some might consider it over the top. Stone's smoked porter has nothing on this flavorwise.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2006 01:22:13 | More by blitz134

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The beer poured into the glass translucent black with a ruby highlight and a deep brownish head which rose tall and fell slowly to lace the glass.

The aroma was smoky and strong with a meaty smoke sausage character coupled with roast and a chocolate. As the head fell the dominate aroma remained strong smoke with some light esters.

The flavor was nicely chocolate, in fact, excellent with chocolate. The smoke and chocolate flavors accentuated one another with a light bit of coffee thrown in for good measure. The flavor was meaty and contained a subtle sweetness which worked very well with the smoke and chocolate. Some caramel was notable, but the emphasis was smoke.

The finish was dry with lasting smoke and chocolate very pleasantly into the aftertaste. The body was medium full and the beer had a creamy texture to the mouthfeel. The alcohol was really only a factor in the warming experienced after consumption. A truly great smoked beer. Seek this one out!

750 ml bottle.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2006 00:36:13 | More by GCBrewingCo