Chipotle Porter - Mikkeller, Copenhagen

Beers brewed with chili peppers is one emerging trend that I haven't been able to get behind yet. It may be that that the beers I've had weren't great examples of the style, but peppers are definitely a bold and forceful ingredient that have to be handled with great care. The pepper ales I've had thus far have all been too peppery. There's just too much peppery heat that comes from the addition of peppers that overpowers the other flavors and kills my taste buds. Mikkeller is a brewer who has surprised me before and I'm hoping this Chipotle Porter is a different level of chili pepper beer.

The Chipotle Porter pours dark like you'd expect from a Porter. The head is a bit surprising because it is so dark. It's a Mocha colored shade of brown that makes this beer look quite menacing. If you didn't know this beer was only 6.6% ABV you might think it were at least twice that just by looking at it.

The aroma tells a different story. There's a strange liquid smoke and wet newspaper aroma that makes the beer seem a bit artificial... not that putting Chipotle peppers in a beer is inherently natural. There isn't much malt or sweetness to be found, most of the more subtle flavors are drowned out by the smokiness and oak barrel aroma.

The flavor of the Mikkeller Chipotle Porter is similar to the aroma in the sense that it has a very unsettling wet newspaper quality to it. I can't decide what it is about this beer that reminds me so much of wet cardboard and newspaper... perhaps the light barrel flavor and pepper, I don't know. It's odd but not entirely off-putting. The newspaper/cardboard quality quickly fades and is replaced by the mild sweetness of chocolate malt and a little more barrel aged flavor. The Chipotle peppers don't make themselves noticeable until the beer reaches the back of your palate, just before the finish. There's a dry saltiness and inherit heat that is unmistakably peppery, but they are not overwhelming.

As the beer warms to room temperature the pepper flavor settles as the other components of the Chipotle Porter come through a little more. The peppery heat remains constant throughout and seemed like an encouragement to take a break between sips unless the peppers were going to shut down my taste buds. I never quite reached that point with the Chipotle Porter but I felt like it wasn't far off.

If you're looking for an interesting twist on a dark Porter style beer and you're a fan of hot peppers, this beer may appeal more to you than it would to some others. I enjoyed the Chipotle Porter because it did allow for quite a lot more beer flavor to come through rather than just letting the peppers dominate the flavor. That being said, there's still a lot of pepper flavor in this beer...