This old train is puffin' smoke

On the heels of the unresolved ambiguity of "Winter Ales" we go after porters. A "working man's stout" as some have called this brew, the panel was ready for the smooth flavors in a rich, dark beer (although not all our entries were aware of this definition).


Before the results are presented, let your fears of tasting order be allayed. It turns out the panel is equally fair (or harsh), regardless of the order in which a beer is tasted. As shown below, the relationship between order & score is non-significant. With a measly R² of 0.035, you can all sleep a little easier.


There was considerable excitement about the porters. While the Sierra Nevada - Flying Dog rivalry was being watched, few believed either would best the elixr of Anchor's Porter. Others competing (from East to West): London Porter, Coal Porter (Atlantic Brewing), Robust Porter (Smuttynose), Mocha Porter (Rogue), and Pipeline Porter (Kona Brewing).


Turns out, there are really only two kinds of porters, as far as the panel is concerned: porters we like, and porters that aren't porters. Thankfully, we only had one of the latter. The frontrunners were unexpected: Coal Porter took first, followed by London Porter. The favored Anchor came in at third. It was the perennial competitor Flying Dog (which, interestingly, has moved to Frederick, MD) that was effectively disqualified for being out of category (the panel had additional reasons to believe Flying Dog is confused about the darker ales, but more about that later).


Overheard:

• "Put this in your mouth and swallow." -Brandon's comment to Becca after tasting the Coal Porter. At least, I hope that's what he was talking about...
  
• "I can see Jeff's ugly mug through this beer. One should never have to see that." -Rainbow, with his first exposure to Road Dog.
  

Two other brews showed up, but were excluded from the tasting for being out of category:

• Smuttynose's Baltic Porter. A very rich, very good Baltic porter, part of Smuttynose's Big Beer series. A bomber to sip & share.
  
• Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter. Another great beer, despite the dissociative identity disorder evident by the description on the bottle: it's apparently an American-Style Imperial Stout. Who knows? Maybe they also say potahto in Colorado Maryland.

Regardless of the Gonzo's identity, it provides an excellent lead in to our next category. Stouts are on tap.

Stop the bus, I'm getting off here.

What, exactly, is a "Winter Ale"? Is it a brew of specialty malts, low-to-moderate hop profiles, and a secret blend of herbs & spices, painstakingly crafted to ward off the chills on blustery winter nights? Or is it merely a beer brewed once a year, released in late fall, adhering to no particular style or ingredient list? Our panel tasted nine such winter brews, to explore the winter ale landscape, with a hope of solving this holiday mystery.

Actually, that goal was abandoned early on, and we just focused on trying as much great ale as possible.

Local favorites included Harpoon Winter Warmer, Smuttynose Winter Ale, and Magic Hat's Howl (technically a lager, but the administration ruled it acceptable). Blue Point's Winter Ale crossed the Sound, and Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome made it across the pond. Coming in from parts the west were Santa's Private Reserve (Rogue Brewing) and the powerhouse Flying Dog's K-9. Perennial favorites from California, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and Anchor Christmas, rounded out the competition.

It became clear early on that an exact definition of "Winter Ale" would elude us, as would a consensus of favorites. Some in the panel preferred the malty, complex brews that many would identify as Winter Ale, while others, hopheads to the core, were starry-eyed over Cascade and Millenium hops present in the winter IPAs. The latter were in the majority, as reflected by the results. Coming in at third place was Magic Hat's Howl, an excellent dark black lager that goes down smooth without overwhelming malt & spice.


Celtics & Lakers, Burr & Hamilton, Eddie Van Halen & David Lee Roth, and once again the burgeoning rivalry between Sierra Nevada and Flying Dog came to a head. Both are seasonally brewed ales, but that's about the only thing putting them in this category, as both are pretty clearly IPAs (Celebration is unabashedly IPA). Although K-9 made a good showing, barely edging out Howl for the number 2 spot (6.5 to 6.43, respectively), it was easily bested by Celebration Ale. The IPA from California had an average score of 7.88, and garnered five number one votes from the panel.

A couple of bon mots for the concentration-deprived:

1. Rachel was the most consistent, with a variance of 2.25.
2. The Pants remains the harshest critic, with an average score of 4.89.
3. Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, prompted Rona to provide the title of this tasting's post, "Stop the bus, I'm getting off here."

So no consensus on the "Winter Ale" definition was reached, but I think most in the panel will be reaching for some newly tasted winter brews next time they head into the package store.

Porters, anyone?