Spectral Beast
Relic Brewing Co.

Black with a small amount of dark khaki colored head. Aroma and flavor are both very heavy on the roast. Not complex, but tasty. Relatively thin feel. Solid beer.

Sampling a cellar temp 12 oz can poured into my snifter. The beer pours a cola brown hue with a frothy tan head of 4 cm. This fades quickly to a thin edge layer after the pour.
Beer certainly looks the part of a baltic porter.
The beer aroma is some roasted notes and almost to the smokiness scent. I also get a little bit of dark fruit sweetness, just a hint of plum. No hops and the booze is pretty well hidden too.
First sip reveals an average body with fine spacious carbonation, and a bit of a coating on my palate after each mouthful.
Flavor is what the nose advertised with some dark chocolate and a bit of molasses. There is a hit of roast on the finish , almost char, but otherwise there is a pretty clean straightforward flavor profile.
I dont get the booze and hops are basically absent, making this a 10% brew that is dangerously drinkable. A nice malt forward brew from a solid brewery. Glad to have picked this one up and would definitely purchase it again.

Good flavor, but a bit overpowering for me.

 

Had this with Christmas dinner. Boy was this a strong beer. I had trouble selling anyone on splitting the can with me, the powerful aroma was enough to deter more cowardly people. For a brewery that does so much in the ipa category, i was surprised by how well they nailed this porter. One of the best beers ive had ftom them and one of the best porters ive tasted anywhere. That said, it is strong. It is Extremely rich with malt running the whole range of complexity sweet to bitter, toffee to coffee, hints of red wine to chocolate stout. My only “criticism” would be that it felt a bit more like an imperial stout than a porter. Go with a snifter glass and split the can, fireside.

 

 

 

 

Another big thanks goes to Patrick for this monster...

Just like Patrick's heart, Spectral Beast pours a menacing black as sin, like a diseased forest on a pitch black night. It's clean though, mirroring my handsome face in it's reflection, as a dark tan head rises and falls victim to the black hole below.

It punches you in the face with intensities of roasted almonds and charred white buns hot off the grill. Chocolate, coffee, and mineral rich water drag behind before a wonderful woody note drifts distantly.

This is bold. The roasted grain is so dominant, and a reminder of coffee and cigarettes at a late night show keep jeering me on to take another sip. I can take it. Bitter chocolate, more oak,and just the slightest notion of alcohol rounds this beast out.

Classically, Baltic Porters are lagered yet can feel rich and dense. This is just that. Oily and smooth, warm, roasted and bitter. It coats everything it comes in contact with, yet does not feel thick. It is a sturdy beer.

This is magnificent. It almost straddles a line between a Russian Imperial Stout and a Baltic Porter, but either way, it's damn good. I've been sipping on this for over an hour, and I intend to enjoy it a while longer. Indulge in this if you can.

Thanks again Patrick! Cheers.

Delicious.

Poured from a 12 ounce can bought at the brewery into a pint glass. Comes out black as a moonless night, with a dark caramel head about two fingers thick. Strong roasted malt aroma, with a hint of dark chocolate. Smooth roasted malty sweetness on the first taste, with a brief chocolatey interlude finishing up with a tangy bitterness, cleansing the palatte.
The 10% abv is well blended into the mix. Excellent Baltic Porter!

The blackness should be foreboding. The body is black and completely opaque. Not inky or shiney. A matte black like the self titled Metallica album. One solid finger of leathery, bubbly head that shrinks away in to a perfect, small but firm ring. I have three uneven islands for a cap. You may have less in your beer when you have it but I wouldn't expect more.
The aroma is roasted malts. But not roasted by humans. Something else. Roasted perhaps by a demon that was tending to a charcoal grill while wearing old leather cow hide biker gloves.
The taste is fairly close to the aroma. This demon brewer, however, while bending over to tend to his brew, let slip a lovely bar of french dark chocolate. ( At least now we are aware of his weakness.) Mingling together with the heavily roasted malts, leather, tannins and char, the chocolate is a relief to the wonderful burden of dealing with the malt assault.
As it warms and the chocolate starts to come out in the aroma, it shows itself equally in the mouth feel. The heavy body is given a creaminess that adds to the delight, the delight in knowing that as long as some of this beer is still left in your glass, your soul is intact. The perfectly heavy and creamy body is balance by the lingering char of malts reminiscent of The Gimp's disastrous flirtation with pleasure and pain. Towards the middle of the beer a deformed, child like figure popped out of my glass and tried to attack me. He looked liked Kuato. Points off 'feel' for that one.

If I decide to finish this beer and I am no longer around, know that it was worth it. And if you decide to have a Spectral Beast, drink three quarters of it and give what is left to your worst enemy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Midnight black, like the otherworldly darkness that disguises the namesake spectral beast, and topped by a thin head the color of wet sand. Aromas of smoke, charred wood, cocoa, roasted barley, and highly kilned malts like black patent spill from the glass. Full-bodied and on the creamy side. Flavor-wise, this monster of a beer has a bite, and it makes a big impression. Intense malt character, from bitter chocolate to dusty charcoal and leathery tannins overwhelm the taste buds. A long, lingering finish eventually departs with a tiny hint of sweetness. This is not an entry level Baltic Porter, but fans of bold, dark ales should seek it out.