Beer of the Week

The beer: Chocolate Orange Porter

Brewed by: Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine

Description (from the website): "Inspired by the tempting combination of chocolate and orange, we created this smooth porter. Cocoa nibs deliver notes of dark chocolate and roast coffee, while a combination of sweet orange peel and orange zest draw out a hint of citrus in the beer’s finish."

Would I buy it again? If you go into this beer expecting orange or citrus flavor, you're going to be disappointed. However, that doesn't mean the orange isn't doing anything here; what the citrus does is lighten what would otherwise be a very heavy, dense porter. It's still pretty thick, but it's much easier to drink than you'd expect. It wasn't what I thought it would be, but it is still very good, and I probably would buy this again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Haunted House Hoppy Dark Ale

The brewery: Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine

Description (from the website): "Doomed by a love of pitch-black Porters and our Allagash House Beer, we summoned the recipe for Haunted House. Roasted Barley and Blackprinz malt curse this beer with a gravely dark hue. Hopped with Cascade, Nugget, and Northern Brewer hops, this beer ends with a ghost of coffee-flavored bitterness and hauntingly complex malty palate."

Would I buy it again? I wasn't initially sold on this one, as the heavy dose of hops clash pretty strongly with the dark maltiness of the beer. But I discovered a bit later that this beer pairs quite well with pizza. It washes down the savory saltiness quite effectively. That's a pretty small niche, though, and not quite enough to justify spending more money on it, but if you are eating pizza and this beer is available, they are pretty good together. Also, I do like seeing a fall beer that isn't either pumpkin flavored or an Oktoberfest/Märzen. Variety is always good.