Obscura
OEC Brewing (Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores)

pours dark with thick head - nice malty smell strong malt taste in every sip

I’m a sucker for a good Baltic Porter, and I have a hard time imagining that a Baltic Porter from OEC will be anything short of awesome. The coolship fermentation seems to be a sticking point for some with this one, but I personally think it’ll add a further layer of fruity complexity to the already complex style. Let’s crack it open and find out

Pours a very dark brown with 2 fingers of frothy tan head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves minimal lacing

I’m surprised that the nose isn’t super intense because of the coolship, but there’s a nice complexity anyways. I’m picking up on aromas of dark toast, tart plum, light roast coffee, cocoa powder, earthy hops, burnt caramel, black cherry, rye bread, and light toffee

Similarly in taste it doesn’t have the slight funk I was expecting; in fact it feels even more “classic” than the aroma led me to believe. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting milk chocolate, dark toast, raisin, black cherry, medium roast coffee, brown sugar, vanilla, light caramel, and tobacco. The swallow brings notes of cocoa powder, black cherry, burnt caramel, molasses, biscuity malt, earthy hops, medium roast coffee, and brown sugar

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a slick beer. Finishes mostly dry with a nice roast

It’s not my favorite example of the style, but it’s much better than others have made it out to be. I recommend it

12oz can from HalfTime. Dark brown pour, beige head fades to floating patches. Aroma is dark malts, light chocolate, mildly sweet. Taste is roasty, dark chocolate, buzzy bitterness that lingers on the tongue. Medium weight.

 

Sorry, I know they've heard it before, but I just didn't like the coolship treatment of a Baltic Porter...tasted like a stout gone bad.

 

It pours a kind of muddy dark brown with reddish highlights. The tan head is scant, falling quickly to a few little islands.

On the nose, it is very roasty. There's some semi-sweet chocolate going on, a little caramel note, a vague spiciness, coffee, and a little charred smell just short of burnt acridity.

The taste opens with the chocolate coming through nicely, then the roasty toasty malts come to play, coffee brings that slight char with it - mercifully well short of the unpleasant levels that taste can deliver. The vague spice note is showing up as a very light licorice note. There is a mild hop spiciness - very mild. Ever so slight malt-driven bitterness. I can convince myself there's some vanilla in the taste. Actually has a slight tartness to it.

The feel is quite light versus other Baltic porters I have had. It's soft and aside from a lingering chocolate taste, it's dry and clean. Eventually the alcohol delivers a little warmth.

Good stuff. Well made and everybody plays nice in the pool. Quite a lot of flavor in a super smooth beer that isn't super heavy even with the 8% alcohol.

 

 

No canning date (released on 10/28/2021, so presumably canned within a few days of that date); consumed on 4/6/2022

Pours a pitch-chestnut trending black as it hits the glass, and topped with two fingers of fluffy, pale beige foam; good head retention leaves a thin veil of cap, larger, frothy collar, and a healthy spatter/numerous rings of webby lacing spread around the walls of the glass.

Aroma reveals a nutty overtone lingering through fresh coffee intertwined with clean roast as roasty cocoa builds to a back end layered with subtle black bread, a vaguely fruity lager yeast, and touches of minerality before finishing with shreds of dark chocolate.

Taste offers fresh cocoa husk accompanied by a dusting of bakers chocolate sporting milk chocolate trends upfront; a slight minerality builds to black bread and soft raisin over the mid-palate, while lager yeast and tinges of smoke/leather meet fading spent coffee grounds on the finish.

Mouthfeel shows a body on the lighter end of medium, with moderate carbonation trickling a delicate fluff into the mid-palate, where a subdued bittering finds a clean texture, mildly roasty into the back end with wavering thinness though consistently approachable into a minimally warming finish.

A clean, fresh malt char sees drying lager characteristics shine through in a focused projection of both roast and sweetness with equal consideration to approachable lagered nuances; a cleverly direct and refined Baltic Porter drinking well below its ABV.

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and a good bit of lacing.

This smells like roasted malt, licorice, dark chocolate, vanilla, dark fruit, and leather.

This is very roast and very "old school" so to speak, with not a ton of sweetness, other than some light milk chocolate notes as the beer warms up a bit. There's roast, licorice, and leather, with some dried fruit and raisin sort of flavors. It almost tastes like there's a touch of oak, too.

This is creamy, and pretty rich, with a nice body and good drinkability.

I like this a lot - it feels old school, it feels rustic, and mostly - it feels tasty.

Very bland. Unexciting.

 

 

I see "Product of USA" near the barcode but nothing on the label or can indicating a date.

Appearance: It is a black-bodied beer with a short off-white head that borders on very light tan. The head doesn't last long. Darker than the typical Baltic Porter and with less head retention. No lacing.

Aroma: Notes of coffee and a light char.

Taste: Charred wood up front with a light bit of tang in the middle of the palate. It tastes a bit watered down. Nothing of note on the back of the palate or in the aftertaste. After a while with this beer a bit of Brettanomyces character started to come through. Slightly autolyzed yeast near the bottom of the glass.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied with a dry finish. The label on the can states that this is "8.0% Alc./Vol." and the beer does a good job of hiding that alcohol.

Overall: The beer floats in the average to sub-par range as a whole. The can states that this is "Coolshipped & Open Fermented" which undoubtedly means this was fermented in a Koelschip. The base recipe of the beer doesn't seem very well put together and there is this odd Brett character that starts to come through as the beer is consumed. The beer does have a nice char flavor which can be pleasant but the whole thing just feels off. A disappointing Baltic Porter. I don't recommend it and I wouldn't pick it up again.

Dark brown with two fingers of khaki head, a little soupy up top. The head settles into an uneven cap that leaves messy lacing.

Roasted malt, show leather and a little cocoa in the nose. Very “brown” smelling.

The taste follows closely with chocolatey sweetness added to the mix. A very slight metallic-sour tang also shows in the finish. Otherwise, quite roasty and brown here too.

Medium to full bodied. Slightly chewy. Middle of the road carbonation.

Solid all around.

Poured from a 12 oz can undated, with the line "Please do not age" on the label? Fo figure.
A - Color is the point on the scale between brown and black. The pour yielded a quick to exit tin of white cap.
During the experience, carbonation crawls up the inside of the glass, supporting a thin ring.
S - Dark malt, a hint of char, raisin, fig. Theres a bakers chocolate component in the mix as well
T - The char is stronger on the palate, in no way dominates, the fig, raisin, cocoa are all the mix. A lovley grainy base supports the rest of the elements.
M - Beautifully soft, with a full feel thats also quite lite on the palate. Round without being flabby. The finish is semi sweet, and quick to dry out.
O - A very good Baltic Porter, lots of flavor, walks a tight path. The texture is something else. Well done.

No can date
Pours a med frothy almost 1 finger tan head with moderate retention, soapy lacing, very dark almost black color

Nose is quite nice, toasty roasty, dark chocolate, cocoa, some cookie dough and baking spice, mild caramel and nougat, spice brings a hint of anise, faint char

Taste brings more of everything, dark chocolate cocoa up front, with roast, coffee, a bit of char like burnt caramel but not acrid or burnt, little caramel and cookie dough as well, more baking spices with hint of anise, hint of vanilla spice maybe, some bitterness kicking in from the roast and mild spicy hops, a touch of fruit in there, drier finish, soft with med bitterness and a touch of smooth alcohol especially when I inhale, lingering dark chocolate and some roast

Mouth is fuller bod, a bit soft as well, creamy frothy med carb, very light warming... actually more like cooling alcohol

Overall very solid Baltic Porter, drinkable while rich and full, great characters, this was well done

Dry, roasty, smooth yet crisp feel. Moderate char and dark fruit, spot on for the style. Solid Baltic Porter.

Misunderstood apparently, there's no Brett or wild fermentation happening here. Purely the power of suggestion by misinterpreting the label stating "coolshipped and open fermented." A coolship can merely be a cooling vessel in transfer and an open fermenter doesn't equate to wild fermentation either. Even wild beers aren't "fermented in a coolship". Check yourself before you wreck yourself.