Suede Imperial Porter – 10 Barrel / Bluejacket / Stone

10 Barrel/Bluejacket/Stone Suede Imperial Porter LabelIt’s no secret that I’m a fan of porters. Someday, I hope the rest of LA figures out how great a well made porter can be, but until that day there’ll just be more porter for me. So when I heard that stone was making one of their collaboration beers a porter, I knew that it would be a good one.

This collaboration was with Bend, Oregon’s 10 Barrel Brewing Co. and Bluejacket in Washington, D.C. When all three brewers got together they envisioned using ingredients indigenous to Southern California, which was accomplished by including avocado honey, dried jasmine, and calendula flowers plucked from the grounds at Stone Farms in San Diego. The first two ingredients I was pretty familiar with, both culinarily and in beer, but I have to admit that I had no idea what a calendula flower was. Turns out it’s a fancy marigold that has been used throughout the ages for in food, for both its color and as a replacement to saffron, as well as medicinally and a dye.

10 Barrel/Bluejacket/Stone Suede Imperial Porter PourPour is black with a nice amount of creamy, light tan head. Aroma has a creamy chocolaty malt with some herby floral notes and some mild honey sweetness. Its got a medium body with a light amount of carbonation. The flavor starts with a smooth mix of jasmine and honey with just a hint of red fruit and moves to a quick herbal note that closes with a slightly bitter cocoa and coffee malt. The aftertaste has a bittersweet chocolate flavor with some herbal notes and a very subtle burn at the back of the throat.

Though, I very much enjoyed this beer, it’s more of a curious oddity to me. Coming in at 9.6% ABV, it definitely falls into the slow sipper category. My love for porters pains me to say anything negative about this one, but I think it might have been more interesting as a non-imperial porter. I could see a more interesting play between the malts and floral additives happening with a bit less body. That being said, I’d swap a bomber of this out for most stouts any day of the week. Sadly, as with all of Stone’s collaboration series, this is a one off that will only be available for a short time (unless they decide to throw some in barrels for a barrel aged version). So give it a try and stock up if you find yourself a fan.

Name Suede Imperial Porter
Brewery 10 Barrel / Bluejacket / Stone
Style Imperial Porter
ABV 9.6%
Availability One time limited draft
and bottle release
Rating 4 out of 5

Cheers!
Beer Guy LA

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *