Epic Brewing - Fermentation without Representation, Imperial Pumpkin Porter

Is it worth drinking? Yes!

Drinkability: 7

Smoothness: 5

Bitterness: 0

Flavor: 7

Do you know what time of the year it is?  Yes, it's pumpkin season!  From the pumpkin spice latte to the pumpkins beers.  For the next couple months, everyone will be drinking and eating everything pumpkin.  I'm not going to say that I don't partake in the enjoyment of the pumpkin.  Personally, the pumpkin pie is one of my favorite deserts of the season.  There is nothing like enjoying a nice slice of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or Christmas, but now we have pumpkin beers to keep us warm on those long, cold nights.

Today, I took the plunge and crossed over to the dark side with the Fermentation without Representation, Imperial Pumpkin Porter.  Upon first opening the bottle, this beer didn't come off as too strong, but that was soon to change.  As it released, the beer became stronger with each sip.  This wasn't a bad thing.  While the alcohol content made it strong, the pumpkin and spices in this beer provided for a great flavor.  I didn't feel the after taste to be overpowering either.  

Epic brewing advertises this beer as such "The essence of the fall!  This beer explodes with aromas of sweet spices giving way to chocolate and roasted malt.  Flavors are reminiscent of fresh-cut pumpkin and chocolate and complimented by hints of clove, fresh Madagascar vanilla beans, nutmeg and allspice."  While I didn't notice the chocolate as much, the pumpkin and spices were more prevalent, but not in a bad way.  All in all, I really enjoyed this fantastic porter.  Seeing how it is a limited run, get yours before they disappear.  If you like porters and pumpkin beers, you will enjoy this Imperial Pumpkin Porter from Epic Brewing.

To find more information on this beer, follow this link: Epic Brewing

White Flame Brewing Company - Weakness, Chocolate Vanilla Porter

Is it worth drinking? Yes!

Drinkability: 8
Smoothness: 8
Bitterness: 0
Flavor: 8

This delicious porter was brought to me once again by my gracious friend Dave Holland. Weakness, is an incredible chocolate porter that isn't overwhelming in chocolate flavor. There are subtle hints of vanilla in the finish. It's quite potent, but won't knock you over. It's a well balanced beer, and you can tell that this brewery takes pride in what they do.

The story behind the brewery is quite fascinating, you can watch the video below or check out their story at whiteflamebrewing.com . I like how they operate, all of their beer is only available in their brewery/taproom/restraunt. They are very small, with a small brewing setup. I like this because I think traveling to breweries, or having great friends that live close and will bring some hard to get beer is part of this "Craft Beer Explosion" that they speak about on their site. If you get chance to get near Hudsonville, Michigan stop in, and take home a "Crowler" or two!