Public Enemy
Dust Bowl Brewing Company - Brewery Taproom


- From:
- Dust Bowl Brewing Company - Brewery Taproom
- California, United States
- Style:
- Baltic Porter
Ranked #36 - ABV:
- 9%
- Score:
- 91
Ranked #8,477 - Avg:
- 4.19 | pDev: 6.68%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 7
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Dec 02, 2024
- Added:
- Jan 05, 2018
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 4
This style originated in the region bordering the Baltic Sea and is a take-off on English porters. Originally an ale, brewers in the region switched over to Lager yeast making this big, dark beer extremely smooth and chocolaty. It lacks the roast bitterness of a stout, but has layers of chocolate, coffee, caramel, perhaps toffee and a wine-like finish.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by RyanK252 from California
4.19/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.19/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Can poured into a Dust Bowl Brewing Co pint glass
A: Pours basically black with a frothy tan-brown head that settles to a light layer and leaves a little thin lacing.
S: Roasty, char, black coffee, earthy, dark fruit, molasses, burnt sugar, a little resinous pine, and a hint of smoke.
T: Roasty, black coffee, char, bittersweet chocolate, and a hint of smoke, earthy, a little resinous pine, molasses, toffee, and burnt sugar, subtle touch of dark fruit, plus some faint umami notes hiding in there.
M: On the fuller end of medium body, slightly lively moderate carbonation, yet creamy smooth.
O: This can has been sitting in my fridge for a year waiting for the right night. Tonight was that night and it did not disappoint. Wonderfully complex, all the flavors come together beautifully. Definitely gotta try it fresh now and see how it compares. Good to know it cellars this well.
Dec 20, 2022A: Pours basically black with a frothy tan-brown head that settles to a light layer and leaves a little thin lacing.
S: Roasty, char, black coffee, earthy, dark fruit, molasses, burnt sugar, a little resinous pine, and a hint of smoke.
T: Roasty, black coffee, char, bittersweet chocolate, and a hint of smoke, earthy, a little resinous pine, molasses, toffee, and burnt sugar, subtle touch of dark fruit, plus some faint umami notes hiding in there.
M: On the fuller end of medium body, slightly lively moderate carbonation, yet creamy smooth.
O: This can has been sitting in my fridge for a year waiting for the right night. Tonight was that night and it did not disappoint. Wonderfully complex, all the flavors come together beautifully. Definitely gotta try it fresh now and see how it compares. Good to know it cellars this well.
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina
3.96/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.96/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours coffee colored with a nice bubble show that raises a three finger beige head; splashy lacing
Smell: Almost smoky, there is a lot a char in the aroma here, with chocolate and chalk underneath
Taste: The chocolate is joined by the chalky flavor, up front, with the char developing; a hint of red wine emerges, in the middle, as the beer warms; the finish is filled with char, however
Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation
Overall: To me, this tastes closer to a Smoked Porter than a Baltic Porter; not bad, but I needed to recalibrate my expectations
Mar 03, 2021Smell: Almost smoky, there is a lot a char in the aroma here, with chocolate and chalk underneath
Taste: The chocolate is joined by the chalky flavor, up front, with the char developing; a hint of red wine emerges, in the middle, as the beer warms; the finish is filled with char, however
Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation
Overall: To me, this tastes closer to a Smoked Porter than a Baltic Porter; not bad, but I needed to recalibrate my expectations
Reviewed by JohnnyHopps from Indiana
4.1/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.1/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance - The beer poured black in color with an off-white head, demonstrating carbonation.
Smell - The nose was malty, yet slightly smokey.
Taste - The profile radiated smokey, slightly bitter melts. The profile hugged close to the edge of being almost too bitter. There was a nice sense of smokiness. In the finish, I could detect a slight sweetness.
Mouthfeel - Modest carbonation and the malts, created a smooth mouthfeel.
Overall - Perhaps I like a good Baltic Porter but have not realize it till now
Dec 24, 2019Smell - The nose was malty, yet slightly smokey.
Taste - The profile radiated smokey, slightly bitter melts. The profile hugged close to the edge of being almost too bitter. There was a nice sense of smokiness. In the finish, I could detect a slight sweetness.
Mouthfeel - Modest carbonation and the malts, created a smooth mouthfeel.
Overall - Perhaps I like a good Baltic Porter but have not realize it till now
Reviewed by Stoutmaster9 from California
4.26/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.26/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
A nice Onyx. Tan head of bubbles large and small. Bit of lacing.
Strong vanilla scent. sweet fruit cake / candied nuts.
Not surprised figs would join this Cellared chorus.
High hop/lively carbonation.
Chocolate-Roast notes, complex & refined.
Booze well-hidden, at first, then merges harmoniously with this (unique?) Baltic buzz alchemy.
Among my first porters Baltic, rather impressive!
Jul 13, 2018Strong vanilla scent. sweet fruit cake / candied nuts.
Not surprised figs would join this Cellared chorus.
High hop/lively carbonation.
Chocolate-Roast notes, complex & refined.
Booze well-hidden, at first, then merges harmoniously with this (unique?) Baltic buzz alchemy.
Among my first porters Baltic, rather impressive!
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington
3.8/5 rDev -9.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
3.8/5 rDev -9.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
2018-06-26
22oz bottle served in a snifter. Bottled on 12/04/17.
Pours black with a medium-small light brown head, medium-low carbonation. Smell is roasted malt and a little yeast.
Taste is black cherries, anise, a hint of coffee. Mouthfeel is smooth, thick, and effervescent. Overall, it's good.
Jun 27, 201822oz bottle served in a snifter. Bottled on 12/04/17.
Pours black with a medium-small light brown head, medium-low carbonation. Smell is roasted malt and a little yeast.
Taste is black cherries, anise, a hint of coffee. Mouthfeel is smooth, thick, and effervescent. Overall, it's good.
Reviewed by rarigney from Washington
4.16/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.16/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a very dark brown with a generous dark tan head. The head dissipates fairly quickly and leaves almost no lacing. The aroma is subdued but has some dark roast smokiness. The taste is far more complex than the smell, with notes of sweet chocolate, coffee, dark roasts, maybe even wine? Medium to full bodied, smooth and almost creamy, with a slightly bitter finish.
Feb 07, 2018Rated by MryJack from California
4.43/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.43/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Amazing beer!!! Tastes barrel aged but I'm told it's not...
Jan 30, 2018Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
4.24/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Not sure how or why I got to add this, but hey, really wanted to say something about this here on BA as I was quite impressed.
Since the ABV was as high as it was, I opted for my snifter for this. Bottle date said: 12/04/17.
The appearance was a nice looking dark brown color close to black. Seemed more like a thin dark brown color in the pour. Just a sheet of a little off white to tan foamy head sat atop and drifted off fairly quick. Mild filmy lace ran around the glass in a semi-soapy fashion.
The aroma had a wonderful meshing of a dark chocolate bitterness that clipped a mild coffee roastiness and gave a nod to a nice dark fruity maltiness. Subtle whiffs of some milk chocolate came in underneath.
The flavor wanted to balance fairly nice between the roast, bitterness, and sweetness, but honestly, the more sips I took, the more I realized that it leaned slightly towards the sweetness of those dark fruits, and various chocolates. Nice mobile semi-cake sweet-like structure in the aftertaste (lager-like? yes, I'd like to think so).
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt on par. Some stickiness in the finish, but also pulling in a slight grip from some of the roasty behavior.
Overall, now that's a very nice Baltic Porter and the ABV definitely makes it a great one on a blustery snowy Vermont night for me.
Jan 05, 2018Since the ABV was as high as it was, I opted for my snifter for this. Bottle date said: 12/04/17.
The appearance was a nice looking dark brown color close to black. Seemed more like a thin dark brown color in the pour. Just a sheet of a little off white to tan foamy head sat atop and drifted off fairly quick. Mild filmy lace ran around the glass in a semi-soapy fashion.
The aroma had a wonderful meshing of a dark chocolate bitterness that clipped a mild coffee roastiness and gave a nod to a nice dark fruity maltiness. Subtle whiffs of some milk chocolate came in underneath.
The flavor wanted to balance fairly nice between the roast, bitterness, and sweetness, but honestly, the more sips I took, the more I realized that it leaned slightly towards the sweetness of those dark fruits, and various chocolates. Nice mobile semi-cake sweet-like structure in the aftertaste (lager-like? yes, I'd like to think so).
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt on par. Some stickiness in the finish, but also pulling in a slight grip from some of the roasty behavior.
Overall, now that's a very nice Baltic Porter and the ABV definitely makes it a great one on a blustery snowy Vermont night for me.
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