22 oz bottle that I bought way back when it came to GA for the first time. The bottle has a white, dot-matrixed date that says, Best Before Dec 31 08. Deliberately held on to this for aging purposes.
Pour is a classic, dark brown, black, ruby red combo. The head is good to start, but fades badly to leave little retention and no lace.
The nose is AMAZING. An extraordinary, beautiful, slightly oxidized Madeira fruit, alcohol and boozy, liquor note. Lots of sherry notes.
Taste replicate the massive liquor note and a light hint of smoke. Some alcohol that is sharp but seems in line with what is appropriate. Delicious sweetness associated with a dark fruit, fig-based note that is reminiscent of the finest, dark Belgians. Moreish and slightly drying in the finish. Sherry comes again.
The only problem here is NOT the fault of the beer, but as an aged beer it has lost the mouthfeel, body and carbonation. I like my Baltic Porters to have some life, and the gain in beautiful oxidation notes has come with a price, but that’s my fault for aging it. Mea culpa.