Barrel-Aged Baltic Porter
Boulevard Brewing Co.

12 oz bottle from a 2024 mixed 6 pack. That's right .... a mixed pack of barrel aged beers. Revisited in March 2026 with no change in my rating.

While barrel aged beers tend to be among my favorites, I can't remember loving a WINE barrel aged beer. This one is probably the first. While I found a touch too much red wine in the aroma, the quality and moderate level of red wine tannins and wood seemed very well set when combined with some bourbon barrel aging.

Overall. Distinctive, refined, complex and well worth seeking out.

 

Dark brown, bordering on black, with a thin beige head. The aroma brings roasted malt, dark fruits, and a touch of whisky. Those same notes carry into a malt‑forward palate, though without much added depth. A light acidity appears in the warming finish. Overall, solid, but something is missing.

Picked up from a mix pack a few weeks ago, this one is poured from a twelve ounce brown bottle. The liquid is dark brown with reddish highlights and a slim brownish head. The aroma is has a wonderful complexity...deep malts, ripe fruit, woody notes, and a bit of booze. Nice. The taste is more balanced than expected, with a warming quality and plenty of Maillard-modified malt flavors. Fullish in body and lingering in the finish. A satisfying sipper.

Black in color with a faint amount of light penetration. There’s a fingernail of beige around the rim. The aroma is of merlot, dark malt, vanilla, and bourbon. I’m tasting merlot, vanilla, and dark malt. The mouth is warm with alcohol and moderately carbonated.

 

FINALLY cracking open one from this mixed pack...

It pours a nice, dark brown/cola black with a pleasant mocha head - but the head faded right away. No lacing. Hmm. It has a malty, winey aroma and a similar taste. I would say the red wine character is very present over a malty backbone. It is quite enjoyable, but how well does it come together as a beer? It is unique and might be more expected as a stout, despite the 11.5% ABV. The toasty malty nature and touch of bitterness from the chocolate is an important complement to the strong grape quality. Sweet finish with some lingering caramel and dark berry notes. Bourbon comes through in the finish. Mid in body and carbonation. Smooth and light and a tad dry.

12oz bottle. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left sudsy lacing. It smelled of roasted malt, coffee, bourbon, vanilla and oak. Sweet chocolate taste with bourbon, toffee, vanilla and charred oak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opaque dark reddish brown color with a modest but lasting tan head and bits of lacing.
The aroma is complex - red wine, blackberry, light caramel and hints of bourbon.
The taste is even more so starting with a luscious red wine with notes of blackberries and cherries, then a touch of caramel slightly sweet, finishing dry with bourbon notes and returning blackberries, mild bitterness.
The body is medium/full, moderate carbonation, creamy smooth and very drinkable with a well hidden ABV.
Altogether, this is an outstanding version of Baltic porter, this should be a great after dinner sipper but could be great anytime, especially in cool weather.

smells vanilla and sweet bread,
taste quite red wine, sour dough, toast, cherry, bourbon,

this is really feels like drinking a wine not a beer, and lots of fruity.