12 ounce bottle - About $12 for a 6-pack
- Purchased at Bacchus Wine & Spirits, Hixson, TN
Background
I can’t say I was looking for a new beer to pair with a cigar. I’m actually staying away from beer quite a bit these days as I try to shed about 20 pounds. Thank God whiskey is relatively low calorie and cigars have none at all. Anyway, I was actually looking at shoes on a tip from a couple friends…good, slightly used shoes at prices just about impossible to beat. Hey, while I’m here maybe I’ll stop into Bacchus and see if they have that Loch Lomond Scotch I’m looking for. Negative. But, hmm…what’s this? A “smoked” porter? What does that even mean?
So malting in terms of beer is basically the same thing as you might think of in terms of Scotch. They take the barley and get it to sprout (“malt”) then they take the malted barley and roast it before brewing. But for Scotch they usually smoke the barley to kill the growing process. They don’t detail the process for this beer, but I imagine it’s roughly the same, maybe followed by roasting those malts that were smoked, since the level of roasting in malts generally determines the color of the beer.
The second thing to know is that Bell’s Beer produced a series of 7 beers called the “Leaves of Grass Series” and dedicated to their favorite poet, Walt Whitman. This is the 4th beer of the 7 and is officially called “To A Locomotive In Winter,” also the name of a poem in the Leaves of Grass collection. The poem is about death and dying, like all great poetry. (Not really, though…if you want a synopsis, check out the Cliff Notes.) Their website says this: “German smoked malt, chocolate malt and roasted malt work in harmony with carefully chosen hops for a smooth, smokey take on a classic style.” It weighs in a 6% ABV.
Notes
Like all great porters, this beer pours thick and dark to the point of being black. (Yes, really, this time.) It developed a thin, creamy head that was persistent long after initial pour and was malty and a little smoky on the nose.
I decided to pair the Locomotive with an Avo Unexpected Moment, a thinly disguised Avo Domaine. When the news broke about the Unexpected Series being regular release cigars in disguise, some stores protested by selling off their stock at cost. I was mad at the company for pulling such a silly stunt, but I know a good deal when I see it. I got a box. I figured this Davidoff-made cigar would have enough “funk” and complexity to stand up to this very-different beer.
Taking a sip of the Locomotive and found it slightly sweet on the front end, with more than a little smokiness. There was a touch of caramel and a slight bitter hoppiness, then the smoke really came through on the back end and finish. The beer was creamy and smooth, almost velvety in texture.
It did go well with the cigar. Honestly, I would hesitate to try pairing this with many cigars. This one worked because of the complexity and the peculiar funk “mushroom” notes that many Avo and Davidoff branded cigars have, which proved to be a nice and interesting counterpoint to the overly smoky beer. I found the beer much more palatable with the cigar than by itself.
