There are many positives associated with east coast living but one of the negatives is
not getting exposure to many of the west coast Stouts. There are only a few Stouts that regularly make the cross-country distribution journey – Speedway Stout from Alesmith Brewing comes to mind – while many other Stouts make it past the 
Mississippi River via UPS and FedEx via the lively trading community. One brewery that I’ve kept my eye on has been Smog City Brewing out of Torrance, California (just outside of Los Angeles). Through social media, I would see posts praising Infinite Wishes, their Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout and The Nothing, a Double Chocolate Imperial Stout. After doing a bit of research on their website, I became a fan. They started in 2011 by brewing using another brewery’s excess capacity. Business took off and they opened a brewery/taproom in 2013 and haven’t looked back! A couple other reasons that attracted me to Smog City – the owners are Jonathan and Laurie Porter (Porter, get it?) , they refer to their annual releases as “vintages” like I do, and they have a Barrel Whisperer on their staff! Yes, on their website, Cesar Alfaro’s title is Barrel Whisperer! Any brewery with a Barrel Whisperer on their staff is a fan of the Stoutwhisperer!
I reached out to Smog City via an Instagram Direct Message (DM) and who but Laurie Porter responded! A few emails back and forth and before I knew it, a bottle each of Infinite Wishes and The Nothing made the cross-country trip from Torrance to Raleigh! I usually plan my tasting and blogging schedule for the next month, but when I saw these bottles at my doorstep, I knew my schedule would change!
Infinite Wishes is an Imperial Stout aged for a year in bourbon barrels and it’s annual release has become a highly anticipated event for Smog City and Infinite Wishes fans! 
For the 2018 vintage, Smog City bottled approximately 1900 bottles which is about 800 less than last years vintage. What’s new this year is that they are releasing two variants, Cinnamon Vanilla Infinite Wishes and Hazelnut and Cocoa Nibs Infinite Wishes! After tasting Infinite Wishes, I can only imagine how incredible these two variants taste!
My time with Infinite Wishes was too short…..it started as it poured beautifully into my Stoutwhisperer tulip glass. The first aroma notes were intoxicating scents of bourbon, vanilla, and chocolate. The taste was sublime….rather than overriding the stout, the bourbon notes complimented the stout. That takes a keen sense of brewing skill and barrel whispering! The swallow was smooth and clean, with no burn or heat that some BA Stouts can give. I finished it too soon and I wanted more….a great recommendation in itself! Just count me a member of the Infinite Wishes fan club!
After my Infinite Wishes experience, I couldn’t wait to dive into The Nothing, Smog City’s Double Chocolate Imperial Stout. I enjoy dark chocolate and the label descriptions and the reviews really intrigued me. Upon opening The Nothing, the escaping aroma was one of dark chocolate cocoa – not the sweet sugary kind, but the wonderful scent of dark unsweetened cocoa. Brewed with “darkly roasted chocolate malts” and 2 types of cacao nibs, The Nothing is the darkest, blackest Stout I’ve ever seen. The pour of The Nothing is a sight to behold! The taste closely followed the
aroma, as the chocolate flavors really come forward from both the cacao nibs and the malts. The Nothing is really something! The Imperial Stout base with the chocolate malts combined with the cacao nibs create a luscious, alluring, black as night elixir that the Smog City Brewmasters should be proud of. As the phrase on the label states, “Don’t be afraid of the Dark!”
After tasting Infinite Wishes and The Nothing, I’m a Smog City fan! Those living in the LA/Torrance area, you have a gem of a brewery in your backyard and you need to patronize this brewery and their taproom. For people like me on the other side of the country, I’ll have to settle for the occasional #beermail from the west coast…..but I’m applying to be the Smog City brand ambassador for Stouts in North Carolina, so when Smog City begins to distribute to the east coast, I’ll be in a prime position for Infinite Wishes and The Nothing deliveries! How about it, Smog City?
Have a great Stout week!
Not surprisingly, maple has become the adjunct du jour in the Stout world, and frankly, I’m thrilled. The addition of maple syrup to an Imperial Stout adds taste, complexity, a bit of sweetness and an amazing amount of aroma. It is very complementary to the traditional flavors you find in a Stout – and even complements the other popular adjuncts out there today – vanilla, coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, and even peppers!
became a cult classic. Founder’s released it again in 2014 in a very limited release, but reintroduced it this past fall worldwide to incredible fanfare. Another stout that pushed the maple envelope was Toppling Goliath’s Mornin’ Delight. First introduced in 2013, MD was one of the Stouts that has made Decorah, Iowa (home of Toppling Goliath) a must visit destination for any Stout lover. Others have quickly followed…can’t name them all, but maple has become a more frequent addition to the Stout world.
14th Star Brewing Co. with their Maple Breakfast Stout using Vermont Maple Syrup. I was impressed with how the maple syrup added to the complexity of the Stout and was hooked. Then I was able to pick up a Maple Bacon Coffee Porter from the good people at Funky Buddha in Florida and I was absolutely floored with 
how much maple was packed into their bottles…not to mention the BA version of MBCP, Morning Wood! Just wonderful! Add Michgan Maple Jesus from Evil Twin Brewing and I was on a maple mission! Fast forward to Mikkeller Maple Vanilla Shake and the maple aroma and taste were simply amazing……next came Maple Bourbon Double Negative from Grimm Artisan 
Ales, then the 2017 vintage of Founders CBS which added to the maple mystique, and then getting a rare opportunity to enjoy a Mornin’ Delight from Toppling Goliath just took my maple journey to another level!
Every once in a while, I get to leave the confines of my office and hit the road. I had to head up to Richmond, VA last week for a couple of days of meetings. Once I locked in my travel plans, I took a look at the numerous Richmond breweries and bottleshops. Richmond is quite a hotbed of craft beer these days, so there were many more places than I could visit during the little free time I would have during my time there. I mapped out the few on my must visit list that appeared to be on the way to north Richmond – Veil, Hardywood, and The Answer. On top of that, fortune was smiling upon me – Veil was releasing a new batch of Oreo Hornswoggler Chocolate Milk Stout on the Tuesday I would be driving up there. I was able to get a couple of cans of Peanut Butter Oreo Horns a few months ago and really enjoyed them. So having a release of Oreo Horns while I’m there was great news.
and out of Veil in 15 minutes with my Oreo Horns. The only downside was that I didn’t get a special token to get a limited edition Hornswoggler glass! (Note to the good people at Veil – I still would like a glass…). Since the visit was so efficient, I decided to head over to Hardywood, which is about a 10 minute drive from Veil. As it was with Veil, Hardywood was busy, but I was able to walk right to the counter and get a bottle of Christmas Morning, a bottle of Rum Barrel Gingerbread Stout and a nice matching Hardwood GBS 
glass. I was hoping to find Kentucky Christmas Morning, but they sold out of bottles a day or two prior…..and although they had KCM on tap, I passed and headed back to meet my dinner commitments.
was the picture on the left. There you see Bell’s Black Note Stout in quantity! Here in Raleigh, Black Note was a hot commodity at release, usually with a 1 per person allocation. Here in Richmond, it sits.
If anyone follows my Instagram or Twitter feeds, you’ll know that The Toll from 
There was food for all participants and everyone from Raleigh Brewing was available to chat – the Owners, the Brewers, and many of the staff.
other Raleigh Brewing brewers. I asked them about their plans for The Toll and where they were looking to take their franchise Stout. Specifically, I asked whether we would see any adjuncts (Coffee, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Coconut, etc.) in any upcoming releases. Scott’s focus on The Toll is to make it the best Stout they know how – no adjuncts. It’s clear that they know what is happening in the Stout world and they have no interest in duplicating what is already in the market. They want to standout and be a leader by focusing on their strengths.
flavor profile. That seemed to be a common theme in my discussions with other attendees.
nectar of barrel aged Stout (Big Bad Baptist), barrel aged coffee, and barrel aged coconut!! Yes, you read that right! Epic put shaved coconut into barrels and let the coconut absorb the flavors that barrels can impart over time. They also added some rum barrels into the aging process and the result is magic.
Next up is the Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist. It’s Big Bad Baptist with the addition of barrel aged coffee……coffee that’s been aged in whiskey barrels. A totally different flavor profile, more boozy and less sweet than Triple Barrel, as you might expect. However, I can taste more of the base stout than I could with the Triple Barrel. I 
suspect that’s what the Epic brewmasters were hoping for…very different flavor profiles across the Baptist family. Just what a family should be…..same stout heritage, but different personalities!
…..and as Mrs. Stoutwhisperer so appropriately asked, “Why is it on a Thursday?” Good question….wouldn’t a celebration of Stout be more appropriate on a Friday or Saturday? As I write this, I’m enjoying a 2016 Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout…..which is a 14.3% ABV Stout. That’s best savored on the weekend, wouldn’t you agree? Well, no matter the day of the week, I think it’s great that the Craft Beer community comes together for one day to salute the Stout and give this amazing style of beer the due that it deserves.
While we’re talking about saluting the Stout, when in the heck are we going to get a Stout emoji? The good people at Guinness have tried to start a movement on social media to influence the emoji makers to create a Stout emoji. Apple just released an update that included 70 new emojis…..but no Stout emoji. Really, how hard is it? Take a tulip glass and put a dark liquid in it….and you have a Stout emoji. C’mon, let’s get a Stout emoji!!!