Baltic Porter
Bohemian Brewery

not enough of these around anymore. here we have a big inky black full bodied lagered porter on the robust end of the spectrum and quite well made, although i suppose a little sweeter than i personally prefer. its smooth though, creamy feeling even, and the lager elements can be well appreciated even with some residual sugar. there are hints of licorice, anise, and smoke to this, lots of chocolate, a coffee note, and a slight burnt, stuck to the bottom of the pot kind of starchiness. there is a european character to the grain, an english crystal malt element in the middle where some of the sweetness seems to come from, but there are some cool other nuances to this too, namely dark berries, which i dont usually pick up in this style, but here we have little mountain blueberries, sweet blackberry jam, and an almost raisin thing as well, really pretty complex as they go, and if the sugar is a vehicle for that, than i support it. heavy feeling on the palate, throat coating going down, probably not a beer i could drink a whole lot of, but i appreciate the robust flavor profile this has, and think it does a service to the style overall, especially here in the states where it seems to be going away. fun beer, more winter than summer, but i dig it.