Left Hand Fade To Black Vol. 3: Pepper Porter
Imagine Robert DeNiro sitting in your darkened parlour near the fire in his Louis Cyphre persona smoking a Tuscan cigar. This may be the beer with which to save (or lose) your soul. Dried fruit flavors entwined with smoky pepper and licorice embossed on roasty malt sweetness open on your tongue as the slow warmth of chilis creep up on your tongue and throat, finishing in an herbal smoke ring flourish.
3.6
312 reviews
Longmont, United States
Community reviews
Bottle 35,5 CL. Pours black with small brown head lacing pretty good fast vanishing tho. Notes of licorice, chili and capsaicin, roasted, coffee. Pretty nice light chili. Love the chili in the beer. Pretty good.
FROM NOTES: June 29, ’12
A: Definite pepper aroma mixed with chocolate.
A: Pours a dark almost black color with a light tan head that disappears quickly with no lacing.
T: Nice chocolate flavor in the front finishing with a roasted peppery aftertaste. Spice is subtle.
P: Little carbonation that rolls nicely on the palate.
O: I’m usually not a fan of spicy beers, but this one is nice and subtle with the pepper notes on the finish for the most part.
Sampled at the brewery. The aroma has hints of spicy peppers, notes of chocolate. The flavor is chocolate, peppers, toffee, roasted malts. Very well balanced, easy drinker.
Tap at Dexters. Opaque brown-black. Big, creamy beige head. Roasty chocolate and black pepper aroma. Smooth, milk chocolate tones dominate. Pretty good, rather mellow pepper tones. Interesting, decent Porter.
From notes: Poured into A Sam Adams Perfect Pint glass.
A - Pours almost black, with a fleeting head that dissipates into nothing. Not a trace of lacing.
S - Roasted malt, old coffee grinds, licorice, cocoa.
T - Roasted malt, has a slight smoked flavor, dairy and cocoa, minor chili heat.
M - Medium to moderate carbonation, medium body.
An average porter, not what I was expecting. Chili is muted at best and has very dull components. Seems a little forced and underwhelming. Dairy and cacao are present at the end but don’t mix like milk chocolate would. It’s a good drinker but it’s not worth seeking out.
Serving type: bottle
03-09-2012
Looks and pours like a stout / porter. Smells like a porter (maybe it’s too cold right now?) Tastes interesting and fantastic! Cola and coffee with some pepper sharpness though the most interesting thing is how the pepper hits ya in the back of the throat in the finish! Very cool, unexpected and tasty. Mrs. Brooha thinks it would go great with cheese of some sort.
Pitch black body with a quickly diminishing off white head. Sweet aroma with caramel, licorice, spices and plum. Sweet spicy flavour with lots of pepper, plum, licorice, a hint of coffee. Interesting, although a bit too much on the spicy side.
355ml bottle (ALEhouse, Riga)
Rich roasty aroma, slightly dry, earthy and savoury rather than sweet. A little Chocolate orange as it opens, perhaps? Pours basically black, with just a ruby glint, and with a tight but brief beige head that settles to a ring. Full in the mouth, pleasant carbonation. Lovely roasty retronasals. Slightly more burnt taste, but not astringent. Something odd - a bit of plasticine, off in a way, a little dirty definitely. On swallowing, the palate feels like it was almost a little thin and watery. The finish is dry and burnt, and with just a gentle dry barky and almost smoky bitterness. No chili, but I had a home-made curry for supper, and I like to make bottom-burners. (6:4:7:4:13=3.4) Ruined by the plate of beer snacks I just gave myself, alas - they make it even thinner, and really not so good at all (6:4:6:3:12=3.1)
Bottle, shared at Ales and Tails, Twickenham - 02/03/13.
Light black/Very dark mahogony brown with a thin tan head that clears edgeward.
Nose is dark malts, chocolate, spice, peppery.
Taste comprises dark malt, chocolate, spice, dark berry fruits, tar, peppery.
Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, peppery in the finish.
Fulfills the pepper title of the beer very well - drinkable stuff.
Bottle: Very, very deep ruby-amber coloured, presumably clear, auickly collapsing tanned head, roasty to smoky sweetish-fruity nose; moderate sweet-bitter flavour, medium bodied; slightly drier, slightly more bitter, but still sweet-caramelly finish with a t h r o a t - s c r a t c h i n g peppery aftertaste. The pepper spoils the beer…
Okay...i have to use the amount of characters that Ratebeer says soooo...nice porter but a bit unbalanced...nice try though
Bottle @ fiddlers. Black pour, no head. Aroma is roasty, very spicy, some chocolate, yeast and some ash. Flavor is dominated by spicy peppers, hot and roasted. Quite dark, harsh and with a thin body. Still a likable brew.
Bottle @ Johns. Pours dark brown with a small offwhite head. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate, cocoa, little pepper. Flavor malt, dark chocolate, coffee, and later on a nice pepper burn. Medium body, soft carbonation, nice warming peppers in the finish. 220113
Bottle. Nice head with good duration. Color is black. Aroma and taste are roast malt, caramel, chocolate, chili pepper, vegetables and hops.
Bottle. very dark brown with small off-white head. Aroma is roasted malts, chocolate, coffee and liquorice. Flavour is roasted malts, chocolate, little coffee, little liquorice, medium sweet, hop, black pepper, little smoke and a little bitter.
Bottle @ Aarhus tasting. Clear very dark brown with a beige head. Aroma is sweet, roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, tobacco and pepper. Flavor is quite sweet and moderate bitter. Dry and moderate bitter finish with a little pepper burn. 220113
Dark brown pour with a medium beige head that diminishes steadily. Stringy lacing on the glass. Aroma of roast malt, chocolate and a touch of pepper. Medium body with a roasty character and flavors of smoked malt , chocolate and again just a hint of pepper. The finish is sweet with a roast malt aftertaste. Decent overall.
From beerlicious iphone app: clear black. frothy brown head. light to med bitterness. short duration. Medium body. slick and oily texture.
Picked up a single bottle for $1.79 which was cool. Dark black, slight head. Smells like peppers, smoky sort of. Strong pepper flavor, smoke like serrano or something, and a hint of porter to balance everything. Alcohol was unnoticeable. Honestly I think I am really starting to like beers with peppers, yum.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 03-28-2012 02:31:03
Dark brown with a finger of fizzy head that vanishes within ten to fifteen seconds, leaving behind a thin skim and a rocky ring. Aromas of burnt chocolate chips, lingering smoke, mild peppery notes, coffee grounds. Something weakly catches the back of the throat, like ground black pepper or cinnamon. Sweet and slightly watery but blossoms into light roasted malts, bitter, dry chocolate, and peppercorns. A little bit of heat, accentuated by the carbonation and the body. You can feel it linger in your throat and on the top of your tongue. Like a flickering numbness that fades slowly. Aftertaste is slightly smoky. The heat will build, as I found when I got two bottles in, into a nice, warm baseline. Really pleasant. I enjoyed this beer more than the other pepper-concoctions of recent months. Surprisingly drinkable while preserving that little kick of heat that I am sure we’re all hoping for.
Bottle, picked up in the zly Casy downstairs fridge. Black with a thin but persistent beige head; aroma of red grape and truckstop pepper; some warming grilled capsicum flavours, a good deal of heat, some olive brine saltiness and minimal sweetness. Warming and invigorating
Pours black in color with almost no top, aroma of roasted malt with spicy-herb and smoky tones. Good bitter in taste and of course fire on the tongue from pepper. I would say that hotness from spices didn’t cover other aspects of flavor so this one from spice beer category was good for me.
Must re-rate.
Deep dark brown almost black with thin beige head, that disappears fast.
Aroma.. nose is promising roasted malts, chocolate, bit spicy..
Taste.. I love roasted malts, chocolate sweetness in beer and I love chili peppers.. not in beer.
This is really not my style of beer. For me.. chili is for pizza but not for beer.
Pours pitch black in the glass with a nice mocca head.First thing to notice when drinking is the overwhelming pepper after taste, ruins the rest of a overall good beer
In short: A solid caramel/chocolaty malt bill leading to a strong spicy ground black pepper finish. An acquired taste
How: Bottle 12oz. Consumed 7 months after the first bottle rating. Bottle sent to me by oakbluff, thanks a lot Scott
The look: Black body topped by a very small beige head
In long: Nose is mostly sweet caramelized malts, notes of vanilla and hints of black pepper. In mouth the black pepper is really more upfront, the beer is actually quite peppery. In mouth the malts is also more chocolaty wrapping around the nice caramel. And there is something about the spicy fruitiness of the malt bill that evokes rye. I think there’s a decent hopping here but it is buried in the strong black pepper finish. Appropriate smooth carbonation is full oily body, I liked the mouthfeel. Overall this reminds me of a chocolaty version of the well known Dieu Du Ciel Route Des Épices. I’m a bit of a sucker for Black Pepper ales when they are well done, and this one is. If someone ask me for a good black pepper beer I will recommend this beer, I like to answer beer related questions with precise information and all other questions with “How the hell would I know? Google it up”.
dark brown color, aroma of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, black pepper, flavors of sweet chocolate, bitter coffee, smoke, tar, black pepper, with a spicy chilly pepper finish, smooth, med body, leaves a nice spicy finish
Light pepper on the nose from a jet black pour. The blak pepper seems to work much better than chile. This one had some roasted grain notes to it and a little hint of smoke. The pepper wasn't overpowering, which was nice. Tiny tinge of sweet keeps it drinkable. Nicely done.
The body is black, the head ok. It smells a bit roasty, coffee. The taste is creazy strong roasty, chili, plump a little bit creamy. 11/10/10/8/-/9
Bottle, bought @ Bierzwerg.de.
Pours black with a small, thin, beige film head. Aroma is sweet, dark chocolate, light tar, some roasted malts and a soft vegetable note. Medium carbonation, fairly light mouthfeel. Flavour is quite sweet, kinda sugary, mildly roasted. Finishes off with a medium, rather firm chili bite.
Flesje. Bijna zwarte kleur, de kraag is snel verdwenen. Ruikt kruidig, peper,stroop. Smaakt kruidig en peperig.Het bier heeft een hele branderige, pittige afdronk en nasmaak. Het is allemaal wel apart maar het bier heeft helaas weinig body en weinig koolzuur en hierdoor smaakt het ook wat dun en vlak.