Left Hand Fade to Black Volume 3: Pepper Porter

3.9/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled 10/27/2011. Pours clear almost opaque dark brown color with a thin tan head with good retention that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. A decent amount of lacing on the glass as you drink. Aromas of big chocolate, caramel, roasted malt, red pepper, chilies, light coffee, and a bit of smokiness. Very nice aromas with good balance; pretty much everything I expected. Taste of big chocolate, caramel, roasted malt, light coffee, red chilies, light smoke, and nice spiciness. Small amount of bitterness with spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, chocolate, roasted malt, and light coffee; with long lingering spicy heat on the finish. Medium body and carbonation; with a very nice creamy mouthfeel that drinks fairly smoothly. The peppers limit the drinkability a bit, but it still goes down nicely for being over 7%. Alcohol is not noticed at all, and is probably masked by some pepper heat in the back. Good balance of flavors, but the peppers take the front a bit more in the taste. Overall this is a very nice, unique, and enjoyable porter. I really enjoy spicy food, but I believe a little less pepper heat would have made it even better.

A nice porter as I would have expected. A little to much heat, but still very enjoyable.

Left Hand Fade To Black Vol. 2

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours very dark brown color with a dense 2 finger dark tan head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves some nice lacing. Aromas of roasted malts, chocolate, burnt wood, and cedar. Taste of chocolate, roasted malts, smoke, and cedar. Some very slight bitterness, but not very much on the finish. Insanely creamy and smooth body, with some smokiness and roasted flavors lingering after the finish. Medium body and carbonation. Overall it is a great beer, and one of the few smoked porters I have had, and maybe the best one as well. I would love to have more of this, it has an great balance of flavors, and one of the best mouthfeels I have had. Excellent.

This definitely is the best smoked beer I have had. So smooth and very tasty. Looking forward to this years Fade to Black release.

Left Hand Imperial Stout

3.6/5

AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a dense 2 finger light tan head with very good retention. Aromas of roasted malts, chocolate, caramel, banana, and nut. Taste of roasted malts, nuts, chocolate, and some fruits. Finishes with a bit of lingering bitterness, and alcohol. Big full body with light to medium carbonation. Solid.

People I have talked to about Left Hand have always said the Imperial is better than the Milk Stout. I like the Milk Stout better than this one.

Left Hand Milk Stout

3.8/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours opaque black with a small tan head with good retention that reduces to a lacing cap with good glass lacing. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts. Taste of chocolate and some bitter coffee. Fairly creamy and smooth, but light body. Medium carbonation. Good stout. I enjoyed it more as I made my way through the glass.

Overall this was good stuff. I still have a lot of Left Hand beers to try yet.