I love me a porter. Since I first had the style and its mildly roasty, coffee-y, and chocolatey goodness, I knew that it would be my style of beer and that it would be the defining style for my beer tasting and drinking experiences. I also love Halloween, fall, and bonfires. And now I'm about to drink a beer that combines all of that? Sign me up.

But, before we get into the review proper, let's take a moment to admire the can's label design. The redheaded woman described in the can's story takes the focal point on the label and her beehive hairdo becomes skulls at it expands upward. The back showcases a werewolf, a chair in which a man was impaled, and Warped Wing's flying whale silhouetted against a full moon. Here's hoping the porter in the can is as cool as the can itself.

As you may recall from my previous post about Warped Wing, which I wrote on their Trotwood Lager, the brewery doesn't currently feature an "About" section on their website. However, their Facebook page has us covered. According to this, the brewing company crafts unique twists on classic beer styles in a celebration of the innovation showcased by the history of Dayton, Ohio (the city in which the company brews).

Those unique twists are exemplified in beers like CreepShow. While there's now official webpage for the brew, the can tells me the following: It's smoky. It's malty. It clocks in at an eerie 6.66% ABV. I'll have to explore the porter myself to get the rest of the relevant info.

It has that roasty, coffee-y aroma I'd expect from a porter. However, there's also a smokiness intermingled within the waft I took. It conjures up imagery of autumnal bonfires within my mind's eye. As I write this post, Purrl's nowhere to be found. But Háma, who's lounging on a futon in the living room, gave it 3 whiffs. That's practically the equivalent of 6 Purrl whiffs.  


The smokiness is on the frontline of the porter's flavor. It expands in my mouth a really drives home that bonfire image. But, layered under the smokiness, I'm finding those porter notes that I know and love. It's an ingenious combination of flavors that really work well during the the cooling fall days we've recently been experiencing in Cincinnati.

The mouthfeel of this beer is pretty even-keel. It not overly carbonated, but there's a bite of bubbly in the finish to let you know that there's life in your swig yet.

In case you haven't picked up on the subtle clues I've been putting down, CreepShow reminds me of an autumnal bonfire. But not just any autumnal bonfire, mind you--the firsts of the kind that I ever experienced. It was at my late great-grandmother's house. I was a kid (probably seven years-old or so) and my dad had raked the fallen leaves in my great-grandmother's yard for her. Instead of picking up the raked leaves and setting on a curb for garbage collection (like what we did at my parent's house), my dad had raked the leaves into small piles on the gravel side street that ran by her house.

Later, when night fell, we all went to that side street and set the piles of leaves ablaze. It was a cool night, but the fires crackled with light and warmth. The wind was blowing and the whole world smelled like smoke and decaying leaves.

I like CreepShow. A lot. It's a fun, Halloween-y brew that shirks the whole pumpkin aesthetic. I'm giving it a sturdy 8.5/10. Be sure to track it down if you're in the mood for a smoky, spooky good time.