Well, by leading them down a dark alley way and random back road in the wrong direction for starters. After ten minutes or so of arguing with a computer, we opt for the more journalistic approach (irony is a funny thing) and go the route of human communication to find our destination. Unfortunately for us, three dudes walking the lonely, late night streets of a cold and dark Portsmouth with video equipment approaching a lone female doesn't get the best reception. Beers Gone Wild maybe? Once the adorably perturbed girl realizes we're just cold and thirsty and not looking to take her down the aforementioned alley she points us in the right direction. "It's the building with a giant beer mug on top of it." Makes too much sense.
We're at the Portsmouth Brewery for one thing, beer and not just any beer, we're here for stouts. So after some milling around the front of the building, doing a couple takes of what I hope to be a decent introduction to my vicarious Anthony Bourdainesque vision of a life we head inside to warm our bones.
For those not in the know let me drop some knowledge on you to begin. A stout is a darker beer made from roasted malts such as chocolate malts. They typically have a dryer taste but are smooth with hints of coffee, chocolate and sugar. Stouts date back to the 1700's when English and Irish brewers began making porters, darker beers with the same ingredients that many port workers would enjoy at the pub after a hard day's work. A stout, as the name implies, is a stronger porter, typically higher in alcohol and with a bit more substance. So the lesson of the day is...every stout is a porter but not every porter is a stout. Good job class!
We saunter in, camera equipment in tow. We look important, but the art of illusion is everything and the key is to get the attention and lure the audience in with something they didn't know they needed. Yeah, I paid attention in marketing class. I find Todd Mott, head brewer at the Portsmouth Brewery and he has already been awaiting our arrival which gets me about as giddy as a kid at Disney Land. I make small talk with him for a bit and let him know that I need to get one beer in me before we begin, which of course he understands.
I'm in Portsmouth this whole weekend for one thing and one thing only (well maybe a few other treats along the way, as I'll discuss in another blog) but that one thing is stouts. On tap this particular night is a cask conditioned Imperial Stout from Smuttynose. Cask conditioned is basically referring to the fact that this beer is not having any additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide added to the pour. This has often been referred to as "real ale" and it is not chilled. I find it funny that this has to be put in quotations considering that this was the way everyone drank beer before pasteurization and draught beer.
As I said we're here for stouts and stouts we had. After enjoying a delicious oatmeal stout (review available soon after this), I realize that it is time to get on this Imperial and after getting the official recommendation (and permission in my opinion) from Todd himself, I add a quick top off of the oatmeal stout to the Imperial just to add a bit more complexity and carbonation to the beer. The top off is not much, as if it would matter because the Imperial is a blissful punch in the face of stoutness. At what I was told was an estimated 9-10% ABV, this beer was not something to take lightly.
The beer poured a deep, dark black that you could not see through even with a flashlight; my kind of beer! The initial aroma was that of a dark, chocolate licorice, hints of coffee and hearty. The oatmeal stout from Portsmouth Brewery complimented the over all bouquet of the imperial in that it added a more dessert like quality to it. The initial sip brought on a wide range of flavor profiles and tasting notes such as a sweet molasses, creamy chocolate and espresso. The texture was velvet like and at the end of the sip a small but noticeable presence of hops makes itself known. The after taste is that of having just sipped a french roast coffee with a touch of cream, no sugar. This is definitely a sipper's beer as it took me about 15-20 minutes to finish and I do recommend making this a one or two glass beer.
I know what you're thinking, "But Bergie, where can I get some Imperial Stout for myself? That sounds really exclusive and I hate that you write about trying awesome things after they're gone." First of all, hate is a strong word so watch it, and second, this cask conditioned imperial was merely a cask version of an imperial that is just another part of Smuttynose's Big Beer Series. Right now you can still find their Barleywine ale in stores (review up this weekend) but shortly, as I have yet to see it on the shelves at my local store shelf and can not say for certain, their regular Imperial stout will be available to the public. I recommend Barb's Beer Emporium in Concord or Bert's Better Beers in Hooksett. As for people outside of my local radar, any craft beer store or even some Hannaford's have been known to sell some Smuttynose Big Beers.
Look for reviews up this weekend on the Smuttynose Barleywine Style Ale and Portsmouth Brewery's Oatmeal Stout. I will also have some exclusive reviews of a couple rare beers from Smuttynose such as an oak whiskey barrel aged Farmhouse ale and a Utopia barrel aged Baltic Porter that I enjoyed tonight at The Press Room. I will also be posting an exclusive interview with Charlie Ireland from Smuttynose where we will discuss the natural science of barrel aged beers, renegade wild yeast and how sweet his mustache is.
Be sure to check back frequently throughout this weekend into Monday when I will be on location at the tapping of Kate the Great along with the rest of the seacoast. IT WILL BE HUGE!
Cheers from your fearless and always thirsty guide,
Bergie
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