Why We Chose It: Led by its milk stout (nitro and non-nitro), the Colorado brewery jas earned a strong reputation. Personally, I love a little heat, but also know it can go awry very badly if not done well. So this will be a fun tightrope...
What Left Hand Says About It: The chili pepper porter - Dried cherry and plum flavors with subtle smoke, roasty malt sweetness and the warmth of chilis.
ABV: 7.2
IBU: 34
Malt: 2-Row, Chocolate, Munich, Rauch, CaraAroma, C-120
Fun Facts: I'll leave it to Left Hand and their love of Colorado lifestyle: "Living here in our great state requires great balance — there’s just simply too much to do! Soak in over 300 days of sunshine a year. Catch a show at Red Rocks. Climb to the top of 14,255′ Longs Peak. Catch an Avs or Rockies game. Drop into some fresh powder at A-Basin. Tee up on the first hole at Haystack Mountain. Fly fish the South Platte. With so many choices, how does one manage? We sum it up all in one word: balance."
Much colder today than yesterday. This means more suitable porter time! This one is very much a contrasting porter to last night which was sweet. Then today introduced a pepper element to the porter. I think I like this one a little bit better. I just liked the pepper and somewhat spicy finish to this one. It would seem that Left Hand has more than just nitro stouts which on a random note should never be used in beer miles... 3.75 out of 5.
ReplyDeleteThis selection was my most highly anticipated of the 24...I knew it could go either way. And the jury is still out. I do like the spiciness of the finish, how the very slight burn lingers for a minute after a sip. I'm just not sure what the right occasion would be when I would really enjoy this. I do know that 9pm-Tues-night post-middle-school-band-concert-at-home-while-the-kids-get-ready-for-bed isn't it. Looking forward to hearing others' thoughts on this one!
ReplyDeleteI've got a mixed history with pepper beers. There is the good (Alvarado) and the bad (Habanero Sculpin) and rarely the in-between. I'm not sure I realized this was the spicy kind of pepper when we purchased it. But again, that's a solid reason why it's good to have one and not six of these.
ReplyDeleteThe first sip tasted like a mild, smooth, tasty porter. Then about 5 seconds later I got the heat. Not too much heat, but definitely some heat. And I feel like it builds on each subsequent sip. Never too much and I think it adds to the beer. Beats a generic porter, but doesn't beat a spectacular porter. Solid. I give it 3.75 out of 5 Kordell Stewarts (who was last seen trying out for the Redskins this afternoon).
What is the other kind of pepper? Sweet Red Pepper Porter?
DeleteUgh. Habanero Sculpin. That was brutal.
DeleteJust some standard black pepper.
DeleteIts ... so ... er ... . Nope, thought I had a tangible feeling and comment but I lost my track. Back to the start. Close my eyes. Take a sip, and ... . Er, I'm Lost again. Lost for words. What is this? What is the story behind how this creation came from drawing board to our fridges. Dr Pepper mixed with beer for fun. [Or something?] I applaud the brewery meister in Colorado for creating something that evokes in me so much sentimentality. It so strongly makes me miss last years 24DOB beers. Either taht or the brewery meister has taken his legal edibles to a whole new level. 1.5 Butt Farts on this baby
ReplyDeleteDon't worry Kevin. Many delicious beers lie ahead, but now I'd like to sneak a habenero beer into your fridge just for the reaction.
Deletearent you worried I might over-react
Deletethe brewer should use his right hand instead
ReplyDeleteThis beer is an insult to porters and peppers. They don't belong together. First 24 dob brew I didn't finish. The left hand milk stout is one of my favorite beers, but the pepper on the back of the throat was aweful. Good thing I had a Breckenridge vanilla Porter on hand to get rid of the bad taste in my mouth. Seems like a brewer got caught up in a bad triple dog dare. I give it 1 kid with his tongue stuck to a frozen pole.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I dumped mine too. The fresh colorado waters - along with the acidic spice - cleaned out my toilet bowl. LMAO. Ironic when in the fun facts the brewery says they're all about 'balance'.
DeleteGood job I picked up a Fullers Porter earlier too
DeleteGood job I had also picked up a Taddy Porter earlier today... Guess I picked the wrong day to give up glue sniffing
DeleteAn IPA and peppers can work (see Alvarado’s Heatseeker IPA), but a porter and peppers? Especially after last night’s PB and C? Skeptical this would work. Below average rating on the first half of this one, but the second half was very drinkable once you’re accustomed to the subtle heat. I almost forgot it was a porter. 3 out of 5
ReplyDeleteI walked the tightrope and made it to the other side. While unlikely to order any more times soon, I am glad I tried this one. For me, the heat was mostly in the backend and never completely overwhelmed or made me hesitate in having another sip. Bill did remind me how bad that Sculpin was. I recall having to work really hard to get through that one, but this was generally a pleasant experience... I just won't be buying a six pack . I give it 2.5 our of 5 Anthony Kiedises.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
ReplyDeleteThis is a question I have asked myself more than once today.
First, WHY does Sirius XM have a channel dedicated solely to Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Music? (I shit you not - it's Channel 30.) So, I feel a bit bad about this post, as there is part of me that is thinking Kevin Hughes is sitting back, smoking jacket on, moose slippers warming his feet, brandy snifter in one hand, a clean glass of pepper porter in the other, watching Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller LIVE! In Concert on Blu Ray on his 4K Television with Surround Sound, and that he is enjoying hearing "Joy to the World" being rocked out on a Casio keyboard from 1985.
I mean, who am I to rain on the Kevin's parade? And Chip Davis - what did he ever do to me?
Still, I can't help but wonder - who decided we needed a full month of this on the radio was something that was wanted or needed(?) WHY? See, e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmuyow8cJ2A. I mean, the fact that this sold literally tens of millions of records is inconceivable to me. On the other hand, I can't seem to be able stopping to check out this channel just so I can report to all of you how awful it is.
Plus, Kevin Hughes has actually excellent taste in music. There is, in fact, a very good chance he has no idea what Mannheim Steamroller is. On the other hand, if he and Chip Davis hang out every Christmas season for foie gras and Bordeaux, it would not shock me.
Moving on.
WHY? Why would one put chili peppers in a porter? To be shocking? (Sort of like, what if one were to play "Joy to the World" on one of those Casio keyboards you would play that were on display at Sam Goody at the mall you used to hang out in 19--? (Thar's right, you were not alone.)
In some ways, in terms of taste, I liked last night's porter better. But I have less respect for this one. Chili peppers? In a beer? In a porter? Why don't we just do one with plutonium? Or a porter flavored with kale? Or listen to an ancient Christmas carol played on a Casio keyboard with sound "Harmonica 3" and "Samba 2" rhythm? Do you see what I am saying? (BTW - I think I have tied up this blog post nicely.)
Just because you can (or bottle) [insert rimshot here], doesn't mean you should. That is how I feel about this one. 2.25/5.00.
I should note: so much enjoying 24 DOB. Looking forward to that Rye beer tomorrow.
Dan, this is amazing. I can see that this beer was such a catalyst that clearly evoked so many of your philosophical questions, such that by the time you started hearing Chip Derrick you became so emotional. Helped you rationalise a strange day. Or was this strange beer the stranger part of the day? By definition then, this beer amazingly evoked a great deal of thought, self examination. By definition this should inherently warrant a rating higher than the harsh 1.5 I gave it earlier. As it happens I have 2 matching smoking jackets, so now I know youre such a big fan of Chip Donald please do head over to my house and bring all of your Chip CDs so we can both indulge in drinking some great 24Days of beer out of the brandy snifters while listening to Mannheim Roadrunner. I have to say, the 80s was such a fab era for music. There was so much good stuff, though sadly a lot of stuff didnt make it over the water to me when I was on the other side of the pond. Having checked out the best part of the 34 minutes of the Manchester Sledgehammer youtube link you shared I totally see why you were so sentimental. For the beer though, for having inspired so much thought and communication I up my rating to 1.69
DeleteAfter review, the ruling on the field as been overturned. Given the beer did not reach the point of full completion, as the QB threw it away, and the full yardage was not achieved, according to rule L856.33R.2:2 the score cannot be greater than 1.0. Accordingly, the net score is officially 0.9
DeleteMy first thought for this one was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k2Pv8Rr4U0
ReplyDeleteIt tastes like burning. That said, this is a really high quality porter, and the heat is kinda fun if you're in the mood. Actually, it is my favorite pepper beer. (Now I am thinking about this sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-2QtHd33O4)I wonder what this would taste like with buffalo wings. Anywho, ... the other flavors were only barely noticeable to me, but that's fine. Not my favorite, but it was worth the experience. I'd give it a 3.