A Pair Of Reviews

Topic the First: Alaskan 2010 Smoked Porter. Alaskan reminds me of Full Sail - solid regular lineup and a great group of seasonal releases. With the Smoked Porter, the brewers have always been up front about the importance of aging this beer. This means that you are guaranteed an insane amount of flavor when drinking a particular version in the same calendar year. After this bottle, I can safely say 2010 is par for the course.

Deep black swirls, malted-milk colored head, and . . . well, let's be honest - you didn't buy this for the looks. The smell is where it's at and it's extremely distinct. Your olfactory sense is immediately grabbed by the smoke and it just continues straight into the flavor. In it's current form, this is like drinking beer formerly buried in an alderwood-house fire. There are some tobacco notes here and there, but the smoke is dominant and not letting a whole lot else get through. This is another beer that will be good after a year or two on the shelf.

Topic the Second: Ninkasi's Sleigh'r. This was another one I picked up over the weekend in favor of the "Ninkasi does better seasonals than year-rounds" rule. And damn if it isn't another very strong showing from these guys. Described as a "dark, double alt", The New School took a look at this earlier today and I have to concur with the opinions: Get Some.

Sweet, dark malt and toasty/bread flowing up out of the glass. But Sleigh'r throws you for a loop with the taste - more hop flavor than I expected but it's wonderfully mixed with the malt backbone. The bitter finish is enough to let you know it's there, but not enough to wipe out the previous taste patterns. There is more happening here than I would've expected going in, but I'm not at all familiar with Alts. My knowledge would immediately increase if this was the mold they all emerged from. Take the praises coming from reviews everywhere to heart and find this beer if you can.