Jason Moore
Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company was founded in 2011 in the heart of Houston, Texas. The brewery prides themselves on their innovation; forward thinking recipes and overall creativity in the process of brewing up beers that fall outside “the box” as people say.
On its website it lists the following statement regarding their position on the creativity of craft beer:
Founded on the independent spirit of the Buffalo Bayou settlers, we channel the history and tenacity of a city forged by inventors, tinkerers and people not afraid of a little hot weather. Located within miles of the Houston skyline, our brewery stands behind the Houston population, partnering and working towards creating a better community.
Buffalo Bayou is also focused on sourcing local ingredients from farmers, local vendors and using those in their beers. Its hope is by doing this to foster better community relationships, this is what drives their business and also the reason they wanted to build in an area where many people could access the brewery.
Chai Porter from Buffalo Bayou is part of their Secessionist Series of beers, where according to its description, they are brews that are, “ambitious and boundary-pushing”. It was originally released in 2012 and was just re-released for the second time this year in February. A number of beers have made an appearance in this series, including;
- 1912
- Buffalo Sunrise
- Meer Koebel
- Double Buffalo
- Brown Buffalo Eye’d
- Abrikoos
- Black Buffalo Eye’d
- Summer’s Wit
- Cucumber Wit
- Smoke on the Bayou
- Buffalo Sunset
- Gingerbread Stout
- Red Velvet Stout
- Figaro Figaro Figaro Fiiigaaaro
- Great Blue Buffalo
- Blood Orange Buffalo
- Lenin’s Revenge
- Ginger Citrus IPA
- Don’t Fear the RIPA
- Black Raz
- Vanilla Mocha Sunset
- Saigon Sunset
- Special Batch Smoke on the Bayou
- Wit Da Eff
- White Raz
- Rotenone
The Chai Porter from Buffalo Bayou pours extremely dark, much like a stout. There is one finger of mocha-colored head that disappears very quickly. A thin layer of bubbles stays on the surface the entire time it’s in the glass.
This was quite possibly one of the strangest noses on any beer I have ever had before. I can pick up aromas of teriyaki sauce, a lot of spiciness, pepper and the anise, which comes out in the form of black licorice and all spice. As weird as it sounds, I can also detect something that smells almost like suntan lotion, some chocolate and malt aromas as well.
The flavor on this beer is all over the place, it is sweet and malty up front, and then gives way to a completely jumbled mess of spices in the middle. I can taste the anise, black licorice flavor, some herbiness with a peppery undertone, and after those flavors fade, I am left with a very dry finish. It almost finishes like a cup of burnt coffee that has been left out too long, there is acidity that leaves a sharp sour taste at the end and the dryness is almost like eating a piece of dark chocolate.
