Reeper B. Baltic Porter
Oettinger Brauerei GmbH

 

Pours a slightly cloudy, reddish mahogany coloration with a small, fizzy head. Smells of lightly toasted, bready malt, toffee and some nutty, fruity accents. Taste is a decent balance of slightly toasted and caramelly, rather grainy and bready malt and bitter, herbal and floral hops, with just a hint of toffee, dark/red fruit and a certain nuttiness also coming through. Finishes with a light/medium bitterness and some toasted malt and dark/red fruit lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

I actually think this is pretty drinkable for what it is, which is basically an odd cross between a Vienna Lager and an English Bitter, but it certainly makes for an absolutely terrible Baltic Porter, which it has pretty much nothing in common with and as what I have to rate it to style. There's simply zero of that rich, roasted malt complexity here expected of the style, while it is rather light in body and thin in mouthfeel as well. It does have a decent balance of malt and hops, sweetness and bitterness going on though, and while it is not especially flavorful, there are some nice toffee and red/dark fruit accents. It really is an okay beer for the price, just an awful Baltic Porter.