Baltic Porter
Dovetail Brewery

Baltic PorterBaltic Porter
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Dovetail Brewery
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
Baltic Porter
Ranked #35
ABV:
6.6%
Score:
91
Ranked #6,104
Avg:
4.13 | pDev: 5.57%
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
64
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 03, 2023
Added:
Feb 21, 2020
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  2
When the popular English Porter started traveling up the Baltic coast in the 1800s, brewers in Sweden, Finland, Poland, and Russia adapted the style and made it their own. This Dovetail version is based on the Baltic Porters we love to pick up at the Polish delis on the West Side.

It's our darkest lager; capped by a large stand of cream-colored foam to showcase deep and rich malt aromas of milk chocolate, raisins, and restrained coffee roast. It's smooth and balanced, but exhibits slightly more bravado and complexity than its English counterparts.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by eppCOS:
Photo of eppCOS
Reviewed by eppCOS from Colorado

4.09/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
From a can, dated 3.17.20 -- enjoyed 3.30.20
L - Beautiful near-midnight brown pitch to this Baltic. It's lighter than most Baltics at 6.1% here, so no surprise it's not super-dark. Good lace and head for a few minutes.
S - Tobacco, roasted malts, and almost a hint of sea salt in this. Really intriguing. Not "Heavy" on the nose like some. A bit of that characteristic char/tar that can emerge in Baltics, but on the low-key side.
T - Fantastic wave of dark malt, roast, almost coffee-meets-tobacco road effect here; love it for the weight, impressive.
F - A little thin on the mid and back palate after that first wave of flavor, and I have remember, "oh right, it's only 6.1%" - good carbonation, but just a little reedy as a B.Porter goes. My only knock on this.
O - another knock-out traditional European style; goes much lighter than your usual Baltic Porter, too, so it's a really creative interpretation of a Baltic. Thanks, again, to @77apm for shipping me this one. ;)
Mar 30, 2020
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by ejimhof from Pennsylvania

Dec 03, 2023
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

3.79/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
I had this on draft 4/19/23 @ the Hopleaf.

Brown/black appearance.

Nice tan head; nice lacing.

Burnt caramel, cream & faint chocolate notes in the nose.

Creamy medium mouthfeel.

Burnt caramel & cream flavors up front; fresh earth notes on the finish.

Big, interesting...but a bit too burnt caramel forward. Definitely drinkable.
Apr 24, 2023
 
Rated: 3.82 by karlstratos from New Jersey

Feb 04, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by PapaGoose03 from Michigan

Jul 25, 2022
 
Rated: 4.41 by Shantzak from Pennsylvania

Feb 10, 2022
 
Rated: 3.82 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Feb 08, 2022
 
Rated: 3.98 by SSGCujo from Wisconsin

Nov 03, 2021
Photo of sjrider
Reviewed by sjrider from California

4.13/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Can pour -my last beer from the lager fest box, opaque dark roasty brown with thick khaki head leaving scattered lacing. Nose is all malty goodness. Taste follows with a few nuanced dark flavors. Decently carbonated- finishes on the thin side, really an easy quaffer. A tasty dark lager.
Nov 03, 2021
 
Rated: 3.94 by Boone757 from Virginia

Oct 25, 2021
 
Rated: 3.88 by pkalix from California

Oct 23, 2021
 
Rated: 4.18 by LXIXME from New Mexico

Oct 12, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Oct 10, 2021
Photo of Rug
Reviewed by Rug from Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Canned 1/13/21

I don’t drink nearly enough Baltic porters. It always strikes me as odd that they’re actually lagers. This particular one was featured in the Lagerfest in Cyberspace, the only virtual beer fest on BA that I did not attend. However, I was lucky that Half Time still had some in stock so that way I get to try what many others did. Let’s dive in

Pours an opaque dark brown with 3 fingers of pillowy tan head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves minimal lacing

In the nose, this has the roasty character of an American stout and the slight fruitiness of an English porter, it’s really a nice balance. I’m picking up on aromas of creamy milk chocolate, white grape, light roasted coffee, soft oak, chewy caramel malt, and raisin

In taste it leans more towards the fruity English notes, but there’s still a decent balance to it. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting raisin, chewy caramel, milk chocolate, light roasted malt, and light toast. The swallow brings notes of rich toffee, golden raisin, creamy coffee, vanilla, milk chocolate, and roasted malt

A medium body pairs with minimal carbonation, resulting in a creamy and rich beer. Finishes off dry with a balanced sweetness

This is one hell of a beer. I could put away a lot of this one. Just another reason to have more of the style
Sep 23, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by heerboth from Pennsylvania

Sep 20, 2021
 
Rated: 4.27 by SebastianOwl from Massachusetts

Sep 10, 2021
Photo of Manta200
Rated by Manta200 from Kentucky

4.21/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Lagerfest in Cyberspace 2021
Sep 07, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by kuhndog from New York

Sep 03, 2021
Photo of BFCarr
Reviewed by BFCarr from New Jersey

4.18/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Roasty and tasty.
Pours deep brown with a thick tan head. Aroma is roasted malts and dark chocolate. Taste follow, with the dark chocolate taking a bigger role over the roasted malt/coffee notes. Not much bitterness beyond what you'd get from regular dark chocolate and the sweetness is muted too. Feel is very good for a lager, fairly creamy and smooth. Overall, it's creeping up at 6.6% but it delivers on the nice non-bitter roasted chocolate porter flavor.
Aug 29, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by cryptichead from Illinois

Aug 28, 2021
Baltic Porter from Dovetail Brewery
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 64 ratings