Voyager - Bottle
8.1%

Voyager

Smoked Whisky Porter

Homebrew Series

Named after my favorite musical piece by Mike Oldfield, "Voyager" is a smoked porter inspired by Islay whisky and intended for slow sipping during the cold season. Brewed with peated malt and conditioned for 40 days on toasted oak chips soaked in 16 year old Lagavulin Single Malt Scotch Whisky, it's been maturing in the bottle for over half a year before being released.

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  • Last brewedMay 1, 2019
  • Alcohol8.1%
  • MaltsPilsner, Caramunich III, Chocolate Malt, Peated Malt, Black Malt
  • HopsNugget, Willamette
  • YeastMangrove Jack's M42 New World Strong Ale
  • ExtrasWhisky, Oak Chips
Voyager - Label Design

Every year I attend a charity auction at my office in which team members bring items to sell, with all proceedings going entirely to charity. In 2018, I myself auctioned off a voucher for a full brew day experience in which the winner could choose the beer style we would brew together and receive a twelve-pack of that beer to take away. Ultimately the winning bid belonged to a good friend of mine, to whom I proposed several different beer styles out of which we settled for a smoked dark beer. Since both of us were also whisky fans, the final recipe ended up being inspired by Islay whisky, in particular by the very distinct Lagavulin Single Malt Scotch Whisky. To achieve that kind of peat flavor it was clear that smoked malt simply wouldn't cut it, so instead I opted for peated malt in the grain bill, moving the finished beer onto a bed of medium toasted oak chips soaked in Lagavulin. After 40 days of contact with the whisky soaked wood chips, the beer was then bottled and conditioned in the cellar for another half year to reach full maturity. Although just slightly too carbonated, the beer itself ended up very tasty with a very potent peatiness and a distinct Lagavulin flavor, making it great for slow sipping indoors during the cold season.

Voyager - Pencil DrawingVoyager - Ink IllustrationVoyager - Digital Print

The Artwork

This piece was heavily inspired by my travels across the Great American Outdoors, with the bear skull, compass and looping chain recalling an intense hike in Yellowstone National Park where the winding trail that cut through golden meadows was sprinkled with signs of bear and wolf presence, not to mention the massive bison encountered all along the way. The adventure ended weeks later in Sequoia National Forest, depicted here by the two sequoia cones.

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Voyager - Artwork
Voyager - Outdoor View
Half Dome in Yosemite National Park • 2,695m
Sierra Nevada, USA

Availability

This is a homebrewed beer that is not available for sale or distribution of any kind. It was brewed at home in small quantities to be shared only with family and friends simply out of passion for the craft and as a tribute to the music that inspired it.

Merchandise

If you dig the label artwork and would like to get your hands on some merch that features it, then check out the Hopsylvania web shop and snoop around for something you might like. All orders and manufacturing handled by Spreadshirt.

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Voyager - T-Shirt

Other Beers

Check out some of the other things I brewed that might be similar to this one, or alternatively just explore the full range regardless of their style.

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