Epic/Dogfish Head Portamarillo Beer Review

Hey there everybody! I'm sorry I haven't posted in over a week! I feel like the worst blogger ever. Please forgive me. Had a couple busy days and then a few more days of internet trouble and before I knew it a week had lapsed. Lucky for everyone though, I'm back in the saddle tonight and ready to deliver a beer review on a fun new(ish) beer, Portamarillo brewed by Epic Brewing and Dogfish Head. Epic and DFH made this same beer at both of their respective breweries. Tonight, I'll be drinking the Epic bottling that comes to me from way down under in Auckland, New Zealand. Epic is part of a new wave of international craft brewers that are following in the footsteps of their American counterparts by creating big, bold beers crafted with a slant toward individuality and daring. New Zealand, along with Australia and Italy, are major up-and-comers on the beer scene. New Zealand is lucky enough to be situated perfectly for some major hop production and the varietals of hops that they're turning out down there are spectacular (Nelson Sauvin, anyone?) Added bonus: Because they're in the southern hemisphere, their hop season is almost exactly opposite of ours and Europe's, so we can keep a year round supply of hops flowing on the international market. I've already covered some information about Dogfish Head in my review of their 120 minute IPA, so I suggest going there for further enlightening reading.

The Portamarillo would be what you call a porter, a style familiar to many beer drinkers, but it has a twist (Dogfish was involved, there had to be a twist). Whereas your average porter is made with some black malt and roasted barley (among other malts) that lend its characteristic dark color and roasty flavor, this beer has an added component. The brewers made use of tamarillos, which are a variety of New Zealand tree tomato. After collecting enough tree tomatoes, they smoked them using wood chips from the Pohutukawa tree (aka the NZ Christmas tree). They then pureed these smoked tree tomatoes and added them to the mash to be part of the finished beer. I can't imagine that the flavors of anything resembling a tomato would shine through the robust roasted coffee and nutty caramel flavors of a porter, but I'm hoping that some smokiness shows up without getting too smoky. Nobody wants an ashtray in their beer, even if it is from some sacred NZ tree. The name of the beer is something of a portmanteau, a play on words. It is a combination of "porta" which is a phonetic spelling of how your average New Zealander would pronounce "porter" and, of course, tamarillo. Porta + tamarillo = Portamarillo. Aren't they just so clever? Anyway, let's do this thing!

The beer is presented in a serviceable 500ml (16.9oz) bottle that features a small DFH logo to indicate the collaboration. Still not sure why there's a chicken on the label. After pouring very vigorously into my Dogfish Head signature glass, I am left staring at a beer that ranges from ruby at its edges to a very dark brown almost-black at its core. Overall, let's call it cola color. The head is about a half inch of khaki goodness that dissipates to a ring with a blanketing misty wisp of carbonation covering the surface. What remains of the head after a couple minutes seems sturdy, even rocky, and features a slew of different size bubbles. Right on target for a porter. Appearance: 13/15

Well hey there, beer! Smoke greets me on the nose straight away. Not an unpleasant smoke like ash tray or forest fire, but the kind of gentle smoke that I love in my scotches of choice. Almost reminiscent of smoked meat, ham maybe? This note really resounds with me and I anticipate exploring it in the palate. I do also find some roasty/toasty notes and some caramel in there too. There's a certain nuttiness to it, to be sure. I'm thinking almonds at this point but there's enough going on here that I haven't decided just yet. Nose: 23/25

Ok, the smoke is right where it should be. Initial impressions show off roasted and caramel flavors followed by a whiff of easy smoke, almost like a gentle tide lapping lazily on a shoreline rather than a smoky tsunami. Definitely prefer the tide to the tsunami. I've had some beers that were smoky to the point of being undrinkable and uncertainly unenjoyable (I'm looking at you, BrewDog's Smokehead). I get that almond flavor that I smelled in the nose so I'll settle on that to describe the nuttiness that creeps in after the smoke. I detect a faint buttery note that derives from a compound known as diacetyl. The presence of diaceytl is completely unacceptable in most styles but I checked the BJCP's Style Guidelines and they indicate that low levels of diacetyl are tolerable in porters. It isn't my favorite flavor here, but I'll let it slide since it isn't too apparent. Palate: 46/50

This beer has a deceptively light body given its 7% abv. I would call it on the light side of medium. Carbonation is moderate overall but somewhat higher compared to other porters. Its almost prickly across the tongue. Extremely drinkable that balances a laundry list of flavors that might become overwhelming in a heavier beer. Mouthfeel: 9/10

OVERALL: 91/100

Yup, overall a very solid offering. Would I buy a 500ml bottle at $10.99 again? No, but I'm glad to have tried it and thoroughly enjoyed reviewing it. This is actually my first experience with Epic (not to be confused with Epic Brewing in Salt Lake City, UT). While there are a variety of Epic beers available to me, most are IPAs with no bottle date so I'm concerned about their freshness coming from New Zealand. When you have a serious hop craving, there's nothing more depressing than cracking open a highly regarded beer only to find it faded into oblivion. This was a very good beer and you should pick it up if you see it because Epic and Dogfish Head have devoted their entire companies to redefining how people think about beer, and that's pretty cool. Cheers!

P.S. I promise that I'll get back to posting more frequently!