Trying to imitate the wonderful flavor of the HAMs Team Brew, "Whiskey Barrel Baltic Porter", I brewed a 10-gallon batch of Smoked Porter, using 2.5# of smoked barley malt grains, in addition to 18# of 2-row malt and 1.5# of pale chocolate malt. Upon first taste, I was frankly appalled - my porter tasted like . . . like . . . well, like BACON!! Oh no! How could I expect my friends to enjoy drinking liquid bacon, unless I promote it as a breakfast beer?! I was so embarrassed that I declined to bring a two week old bottle to the November Homebrewers Club meeting, offering instead a half-dozen bottles of previous batches. When I explained my reluctance to the members, Ken Jones, master brewer at the Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub, soothed my fears by suggesting that I just let the bottles age, and that in a couple of months, the smokiness would probably subside a bit. Well, we'll see, but for the time being, I'm labeling the beer and hoping for the best. If Ken's right, it will be drinkable, but I still fear that my friends will like it, if only pigs could fly.
MT
