Winter Baltic-Style Porter
Choc Beer Co. / Pete's Place

Winter Baltic-Style PorterWinter Baltic-Style Porter
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Choc Beer Co. / Pete's Place
 
Oklahoma, United States
Style:
Baltic Porter
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
82
Avg:
3.5 | pDev: 13.71%
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
18
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 27, 2012
Added:
Nov 14, 2010
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3 by harpus from Alabama

Jul 27, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by bdeast1 from Alabama

Dec 06, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by JRod1969 from New York

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of beagle75
Reviewed by beagle75 from Iowa

3.11/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a tulip glass.

A: Opaque, dark brown color with two fingers of fluffy beige foam head. Scant lacing remains on the glass.

S: Vinous and fermented dark fruit with a definite mineral edge. Roasted grain is understated, exceeded even by carbon dioxide. No alcohol is detected.

T: Begins off-dry, with heavy fruit that is dark, cherry, and medicinal with a significant roasted malt component immediately following. Acidity is moderate into the middle, where some bitter cocoa powder develops. The finish gains momentum, showing a full and dynamic roasted malt profile that lingers on the palate. No alcohol is detected.

M: Thin to medium viscosity, fizzy and too fleeting on the palate, with heavy carbonation.

D/O: Although its flavor profile is a mixed bag, the rest of this beer is unremarkable at best. Even the flavor seems harsh and disjunct at first sip, becoming better only as the late flavors become comfortable on the palate. It is strikingly lacking in bitterness or other hop-derived flavors, suggesting perhaps that it is a dark beer fit for certain kitchen applications. Taken from the glass it is not at all compelling, despite the fact that it does not fatigue the palate too badly.
Sep 25, 2011
Photo of Blakaeris
Reviewed by Blakaeris from Iowa

4.08/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours very dark brown with a dense creamy head that hangs around awhile.

Aroma is burnt dark grain, hints of dark fruit and an unusual herbal, musty quality.

Taste is more of the burnt dark malt from the nose up front. smokey and bitter. A good bit of chocolate and dark fruit sweetness brings balance. Some woody and nutty aspect appears. Finishes with a musty basement-like yeast quality.

Mouthfeel is medium-full and creamy soft.

A very flavorful and interesting porter. The smoke, sweetness, and vague musty spice mesh extremely well in this brew.
Feb 02, 2011
Photo of bashiba
Reviewed by bashiba from Iowa

4.21/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured a deep dark brown with a giant pillowy tan head, great retention and thick lacing.

The smell has a mildly sweet yet roasty charachter with a bit of nuttyness.

The flavor has a nice mild sweetness with undertones of burnt molasses, chocolate, and toffee. Some nice nutty undertones come through along with a subtle earthy bitterness to balance it out a little, though still on the sweet side as would be expected.

The mouthfeel is creamy with a lot of carbonation.

Very drinkable and nicely done Baltic Porter, its unfortunate more breweries don't tackle this great style.
Feb 01, 2011
Photo of wagenvolks
Reviewed by wagenvolks from Texas

2.53/5  rDev -27.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
12oz bottle into a Black Star Co-op nonic.

A frothy, foaming brown beer fills the glass. The edges are a hazy chestnut, and the head the color & consistency of sand. Great retention, but I fear that's more a byproduct of the aggressive carbonation than the underlying beer itself. Aroma is on the weaker side for a Baltic Porter, with traces of chocolate and dark cherry. Caramel nuttiness hides in the background.

This beer starts out well enough. Milk & dark chocolates hit the palate first with a mix of sweet bitterness. But then the finish turns to the sour side with an uber-carbonated metallic twang and dark roasted malts. Copper leaves traces of blood on the back of the tongue. Overall, a pretty weak attempt at a Baltic Porter. But then again, I can't say I was expecting too much from Choc...
Feb 01, 2011
Photo of Domingo
Reviewed by Domingo from Colorado

3.02/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Grabbed this at the "Class Six" store in Montgomery Al. I don't think this normally makes it there.
Pours a really rich, deep brown, but it's still clearly brown. Quite the gusher - I lost some of this one. Off white head is really creamy and thick.
Sweet dried fruity nose. Inviting for sure.
The taste seems sweet up front, but it's drier than expected as the sweetness is only on the front of the palate. Raisins, semisweet cocoa, a little roastiness, and fresh plums kick in right before a somewhat burnt and hoppy finish. It tastes like it's missing something at first. As it warms that missing component starts to take on astringency and harshness.
Overly thick texture keeps the drinking slow. As you work your way down, that thickness can grind on you.
Not horrible, but not good.
Finishing a whole bottle is a chore, even if you lose some due to gushing.
I can't say I'll ever drink this again. Finishing 6 was tough, as I thought this was a variety pack.
While this seems good initially (look/nose), it falls apart fast.
Feb 01, 2011
Photo of russpowell
Reviewed by russpowell from Arkansas

3.82/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Review based on notes, picked this up about a month ago...

Pours mahogany with 3 fingers of sand colored head. Good head retention & lacing

S: Cherries, figs & raisins in abundance

T: Follows the nose with a touch of molasses & licorice up front. Fruitty notes & a touch of boozey warmth as this warmed up. Finishes dry with plenty of dark fruit & a touch of praline sweetness

MF: medium bodied, a touch over carbonated, smoothed out a but as it warmed up

Drinks pretty easy. I loved my first bottle of this, but over the duration of 3 weeks the flavor & mouthfeel went south a bit. I will drink this faster next time!
Jan 06, 2011
Photo of Fnord
Reviewed by Fnord from Texas

3.73/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Appearance - Very dark brown with an extremely generous tan head.

Smell - Chocolate, burnt coffee, graham cracker, alcohol, and vanilla.

Taste - A slightly tart beginning and a bittersweet finish. There may be some nut flavors lurking in there. A lot of roasted malt flavors, but the alcohol isn't particularly noticeable.

Mouthfeel - Medium body and high carbonation.

Notes - It's a bit thin-bodied for a porter, so I wonder if it's made with lager yeast. It says "ale" on the bottle, but that doesn't mean anything here in Texas. I wouldn't call this a Baltic porter, as it doesn't seem strong enough. It's very tasty, though, with all of the roasty goodness a porter should have. I call it an excellent porter, if not a Baltic one.
Jan 02, 2011
Photo of wolfinthemirror
Reviewed by wolfinthemirror from Oklahoma

3.83/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This beer pours beautifully. Very dark, dark brown, nearing jet black, with a sizeable inch worth of foam that dissipates not long after the pour.

Smells very strong. Huge malty presence, and almost a grape like aroma. a little bit of alcohol pokes through as well in the end, but not much.

In the taste I get a lot of malty flavor. very big and robust, I can taste a little bit of chocolate and other flavors that are hard to pick apart.

medium-full bodied, highly carbonated. The higher carbonation combined with the malt profile gives it this sort of Icey characteristic that is well suited for its Baltic name. I do wish for a tad less carbonation, however. my only real complaint.

The drinkability is good, this is a very tasty porter that is packed with flavor, even better on tap in my opinion.
Great winter offering from Choc.
Jan 02, 2011
Photo of Bitterbill
Reviewed by Bitterbill from Wyoming

3.4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 1 | overall: 2.5
Bottle courtesy of russpowell. Thanks Russ!

It pours pitch black with a 2 finger head of foam and some lacing.

Roasted malt, hop bitterness, with some aromas of milk.

Roasted malt, milk, some chocolate and toffee, mild to semi strong dark chocolate bitterness(it varies for me)...a pretty good tasting brew.

Now, the mouth feel. This has got to be one of the highest carbonated brews I've ever had. It's down right hard to swallow after every sip. So much tingling in the throat...that pretty much ruins the mouth feel totally.

Drinkability would be decent if only...see above. Everything else about this beer is good.
Dec 31, 2010
Photo of TylerBGoode
Reviewed by TylerBGoode from Oklahoma

3.81/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
The lone local beer that is currently on tap at 2 Sisters Pub in Bartlesville, OK, Choc's new seasonal porter is a quality porter and possibly the best non-Signature Series beer currently available from Choc. Poured into a standard pint glass, the dark hue and frothy head is inviting but the aroma seems a bit underwhelming. The smells you do decipher are coffee and chocolate.

Luckily for us, the flavor is less subdued. Sweet, but not overly sweet, this porter is nicely balanced and a joy to drink. It's also not so thick and creamy that it can't be served with food - this certainly helps the drinkability in my opinion. Another plus to the drinkability department is the fact that despite a relatively high abv, the alcohol flavor is superbly masked.

Though I've been largely disappointed by many of Choc's year round offerings and all of their seasonal brews (stay far away from the Choctoberfest), their winter seasonal steps up and very nearly hits a home run. Choc's Baltic-Styler Porter is yet another highly drinkable and very enjoyable Oklahoma brewed porter.
Dec 15, 2010
Photo of Jason
Reviewed by Jason from Massachusetts

3.16/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
12oz brown bottle with no freshness date.

Thin tiny bubbled creamy lacing, pretty damn black in color. Mild roasted grain character in the nose, more sweetness and vague dark fruit. Big crispness slowly opens up to smoothness, full-ish body. Watery charcoal, toasted bread, dried hay and molasses cookies come to mind. Slight hop character, bitterness is there just to balance. Alcoholic esters ring in hard with a twang and warmth, the malt does pick up the pieces and drives to the drying faintly roasted finish.

A beer that good use some taming, a bit on the wild side (not wild yeast). Still, not half bad.
Dec 07, 2010
Photo of tronester
Reviewed by tronester from Oklahoma

3.73/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Pours a very dark black with a big tan head. Smells of freshly overturned soil and fresh rye bread dough. Very interesting and nice. Taste is liqorice up front, followed by an earthy, fruity middle, and a dry, tart finish. Mouthfeel is thin, medium carbonation. Drinkability is good. A good beer from Choc. I have had better Baltic Porters but this one is a good example of the style.
Nov 28, 2010
Photo of StaveHooks
Reviewed by StaveHooks from Oklahoma

3.45/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
A - Pours a hazy dark brown with a thick 2 finger tan head.

S - Roasted malt, stale coffee.

T - Tangy smoked roasted malt, anise, dry roasted astringent grain, hints of vanilla with a sour coffee flavor that adds some acidity. Bitter dark chocolate with hints of tobacco. Slightly astringent on the finish.

M - Medium body with too much carbonation.

This is a tangy beer. I've only one other Baltic Porter and this one stands up pretty well. It's tangy, smokey, and dry with bits of sour to make it interesting.
Nov 28, 2010
Photo of Mora2000
Reviewed by Mora2000 from Texas

2.63/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
The beer pours a hazy dark brown color with a tan head. The aroma is chocolate and roasted malt. The flavor is chocolate, coffee and roasted malt but there is some light tartness at the end. I am not sure what causes the tartness, but I don't like it too much. It doesn't seem to meld well with the other flavors of the beer so I don't think it was intended. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. If the tartness is indeed unintended, I would like to try the beer without it since I think the base beer would be very nice.
Nov 16, 2010
Photo of bump8628
Reviewed by bump8628 from Oklahoma

3.53/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A new winter seasonal from the folks at Choc.

Pours up chocolate brown with a fast-building, fizzly head that hangs around admirably.

Very mild roast with some smoke and licorice adding interest and a nice sweeping caramel note that carries the beer. Hops lend some herbal bitterness before a slightly tangy finish.

I'm not sure of the strength of this, but it drinks a little lighter than what's typical of the style.

It's nice to see a local brewery take a stab at a style that doesn't show up on the shelves very often and they've done a decent job with it.
Nov 14, 2010
Winter Baltic-Style Porter from Choc Beer Co. / Pete's Place
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 18 ratings