Batch #2, brewed Jan 2021. Purchased at Little Five Bottle Shop, Athens, GA in November 2021. Pour is aggressively carbonated, but after the initial pour, the carbonation is less annoying and settles into a lovely, highly carbonated beer that behaves a little better than at first. Depending on the light, the beer is either jet black or has some reddish, brown lighter highlights at the edges. Tan head is a “fizzy” affair, but has decent retention and creates a nice, thin, mocha, creamy layer...
Notes on beers in the style
Baltic Porter
Til Fra (To From)
Opening this today (11/14/10) to commemorate week #300 of NBS. This is a bottle that I received as part of my 2007 Secret Santa package from BA nlmartin over three years ago. Seems like a good moment, occasion and decision to crack this one now. Price tag says it came from "Dilly Deli". 750 mL bottle with gold foil on the neck, a plastic "cork" and cage. Small pop on opening. Undated as far as I can see, but as I say this was given to me in 2007. Jet black body with a few reddish-brown...
Smoked Baltic Porter
After a really strong start to my experience with Great Divide over many years, inmore recent times there have been some very mixed results. Unfortunately, this is another relative disappointment which doesn' make the mark for me. Pour is pretty much as expected with a low carbonated, jet black body that doesn't produce much head or lace after the initial, aggressive pour. Requisite light, charred malts but the smoke is disappointingly restrained. I don't necessarily want a massive Rauch...
Alaskan Baltic Porter
22 oz bottle thanks to BitterBill for the opportunity. 2009 Vintage. Pour is a standard black, with some brownish highlights at the extremities. Head appears quickly but it is very "fizzy" and then it dies immediately. Coupled with the color, the beer looks EXACTLY like a freshly poured Coke - exactly. The head (or rather the lack of it) is rather disappointing and although the color is good but the overall appearance is not all that thrilling. The nose gives a heap of sweet molasses and...
Baltic Thunder
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...
Southampton Imperial Baltic Porter
12 oz single, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Given that Southampton is a brewer that I have great respect for, and this is one of my favorite styles, I have to say that I was ultimately really disappointed in this. Color and pour were promising. Perhaps not the depth of head formation or retention, but acceptable. Chestnut brown. The nose was an unusual bready combination which seemed a bit out of place. It almost seemed O'fest in its character. Tastes have some more odd, lager characteristics....
Nefarious Ten Pin Imperial Porter
22 oz presentation with the attractive blue wax. Looks promising. Pour is a lovely, black body with some brownish highlights. The head is rocky, mocha in color and high. It looks great, but to be honest it fades a bit quickly and loses depth leaving not much lace. This is a really interesting beer to me for a number of reasons. Firstly I really enjoy SKA. Secondly the head fading so quickly is a bit of a disappointment. Normally, beers of this style, with this ABV tend to be pretty boozy and...
Smuttynose Baltic Porter (Big Beer Series)
22 oz bottle, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. $5.49 I think. Pour is non-profoundly jet black with the requisite head. Solid if unspectacular. Nose is very malty but a LOT of alcohol. The alcohol theme is taken into the taste. Alcohol is the main feature with a touch of roastiness and some light charcoal. Alcohol makes repeated appearances but the whole package ultimately smooths out to be drinkable. It drinks every bit of its' 8.7%. Bitterness drops a number in the finish too. Light alcohol burn...
Shipyard Imperial Porter (Pugsley’s Signature Series)
22 oz bottle that was purchased at Tower on Piedmont. Gold foiled neck and one of those thicker, higher quality labels that wraps the whole bottle. May have been $7.99. I've passed on this one a few times, decided to take the plunge a couple of weeks ago. Went for an unconvential glass and put this one into the Tucher Weizen 500 mL - all beers look great in that glass. Pour is black - I mean black! A few red highlishts at the extreme edges, but barely there. Head is minimal, but it fades to a...
Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter
12oz bottle from a recent trip to Greensboro, NC, USA. Pour is a classic, simple black body with a typical small, mocha colored head. Looks more like a RIS than anything else. Some roasty alcohol in the nose. Obviously lots of roasted notes, but to be honest it is really quite sweet. The sweetness is the distinguishing factor that pulls it into the Porter category rather than the Stout. Mouthfeel is typically creamy. Mild alcohol burn in the finish, but despite that it drinks well below the...
Ølfabrikken Porter
500 ml bottle, "Mindst holdbar til 200709". Pours as a dark, motor oil like viscous look, but the body drinks a little lighter than the appearance would suggest. Some significant toffee colored yeast deposits sit at the very bottom of the glass. Coffee colored head, not much lace. Rather sweet. To me this drinks like a Milk Stout. Lots of lactose sweetness. A mild bitterness in the finish but this is really an afterthought. If I had done a blind tasting on this I may have mistaken it for...
Zywiec Porter
500 mL bottle, Best Before 10-14-2006, so I am a bit behind schedule, don't suppose it matters at all. Thanks to Silentsabre and The Maniacalone. Pour is jet balck with some ruby red highlights at the extreme edges. Not much head and some lacing. Strong port and alcohol aroma. Mouthfeel is huge with layers and layers of thick sweetness. This drinks as if it were a RIS. Burned malts, strong alcohol, bitter-sweet and large, this is a porter that is busting out of its pants in an attempt to be an...
Okocim Porter
500 mL bottle with a slightly different label than the one pictured. 8.3% ABV noted on this label. Dark mahogany with plenty of red highlights. Aroma is amazingly rich with plenty of whisky and alcoholic notes competing for my attention. Tastes are extraordinarily rich with waves and waves of dark fruits, alcohol and scotch whisky rolling over the tongue in a wonderful warming and rich manner. Delicious burnt chocolate in the finish. Amazingly rich and great depth. I was amazed at how rich and...
Sinebrychoff Porter
Jet black with some ruby red highlights at the extreme bottom of the glass. A very solid, tan colored head that is really very, very substantial - in fact it looks like a big ice-cream float. Good lacing that increases with warmth. Very good looker. Some alcohol in the nose, but not a great deal more. Smooth, but some degree of bitterness at the same time, quite an unusual combination. The bitterness lingers in the mouth too. Not quite as smooth as I would like, I enjoy my Porters a bit...
Gonzo Imperial Porter
This gives me some things that I really like in a Porter, and some things that I don't. I prefer my Porters to exhibit a mild, creamy overall experience with a classic black appearance and a smooth texture. The appearance criteria are nicely fulfilled by this brew - a jet black body, small tan head with a little lacing, but that's where the Porter style is left behind and the beer then departs on some wild hop extravaganza. Fine if you like beers that get hopped out of the style, but less...
Perkuno’s Hammer Imperial Porter
Lovely. Solid Porter with alcohol, smoothness and associated drinkability to back up its impressive resume. I love a good Porter and this is another one. Still can't top my personal St. Peter's favorite, but a great experience nevertheless. The usual opaque, black pour with some deep crimson highlights (perhaps that was just the lighting rather than the beer, but it looked good nonetheless). Plenty of creaminess (a trait I look for in a Porter) and smoothness in the brew that makes it highly...
Baltika #6 Porter
$1.99, Greens Beverage, Ponce de Leon. Atlanta, GA, USA. The fact of the matter is, Baltika does another solid job of providing a nice quality, value for money beer. Pours jet black, with the usual large head that receedes to yield the typically spotty, creamy head with some nice lacing. Very large mouthfeel, creamy satisfying beginning and end, with a little unexpected bitter bite in the finish. 7% ABV is very, very well disguised in thick, sweet malts with some lovely balance. Very filling...
Carnegie Porter 5,5%
The aroma associated with this beer is exceptional. An amazingly chocolately, coffee rich, heavy smell is apparent. It poured with a small head and little lacing. A large, filling mouthfeel came with the beer with a distinctly smoky aftertaste. Delicious, but I doubt if I could drink a large amount of this at one sitting. Even as a seasoned drinker it represents a rich brew.