Chipotle Chocolate Porter

MG Ragtop Productions

As I write, I am enjoying a singularly magnificent artwork produced by a local niche brewery (MG Ragtop). It is bold, rich, creamy, dark...as black as the ace of spades, in flavor as well as hue. It claims to be "Chipotle/Chocolate Porter," and the Chi-Cho, while evident, is incredibly subtle and perfectly integrated into the overall experience. This is a beverage that is more than a beverage...it is truly an experience. And a wonderful experience it is!

The creamy and persistent head stands head-and-shoulders above what usually passes for a head. It is nearly like a chocolate pudding, that comes tumbling, almost explosively, from the confines of its bottle. I wondered whether it would ever subside enough for me to taste the dark liquid that gave it birth.

The forward flavor was, for me, the smoke. Chipotle has a singular way of bringing to mind the smoke of memories: campfires, wood-fired barbecues, even witnessing the local lumberyard burning to a pile of ashes (what an experience that was!). And the pique of the pepper itself is noticeable as a tiny tingling presence on the tongue. Not hot, not even spicy...simply the light staccato percussion in the background. And although the flavor is up-front, it is not over-powering, over-bearing, or even over-dominant. Just THERE!

The chocolate, even more subtle than the chipotle, is not so much tasted as it is felt. It contributes a round darkness that takes the swarthy elixir to even deeper depths in the shadows.