Baltic Porters: Where's the Love?!

We just released a Baltic Porter in Tombstone a couple weeks ago. A lot of people just don’t even know what they are.

 

I used to enjoy the 2 Polish ones that I saw back in the day. Alaskan makes one occasionally. Black Tooth in Sheridan also brews one occasionally.

I'd like to see more of them too.

 

Totally agree. I love Baltic Porters. I have had a few that are amazing (Karl Strauss and Morgan Territory). Chewy, rich and full of flavor.

 

I was fortunate enough to have a delicious barrel aged Baltic Porter from Sierra Nevada a few days ago. It was tasty, a sweet, malty concoction that drank easier than any stout or imperial porter could hope to. I'm with you, if it were up to me we'd be drowning in Baltic porters.

 

Enegren maple baltic porter is the best baltic I've had to date. From what I've been told Enegren is the first and only brewery to use maple to carbonate the beer. It's amazing and mostly a shelfie here in SoCal

 

I've only had a few, but based on even that small a sampling I can say I love the style. Smuttynose's was great, but I have no idea what the status of the beer (or brewery) is. Regular (non-BA) Framinghammer is also top notch. A (small) step down were Black Boss and Barrier Brewing's Rip Rap.

 

Sixpoint's Beans series was amazing. I think they've stopped distributing it though.

 

I prefer Saku over Boss, but this is one style where I find great bang for your buck in the cheap imports. $3.50 or something, and in a surprising number of grocery and convenience stores. Locally, Bend Brewing, 10 Barrel, and Spider City have put out tasty versions. Deschutes even released one in 6pks last year.

 

Oh yeah, Just Tapped was a goodie from Deschutes.

 

Did Tombstone brew that as a lager or an ale? A local brewery here (Untied) brewed one as a lager recently and it was outstanding.

 

Schell's has released a Baltic Porter (as a Dark Lager) in their Cave-Aged series each of the last three years.

Here's my take on the latest one: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-781.633629/page-4#post-6795813

 

They do seem to be a bit harder to come by, outside of Jack's Abby and Sixpoint Beans series. Duck Rabbit makes a pretty decent one, not sure if they distro out to Colorado.

 

Devils Backbone has one that I thought was pretty good - that may see increased distribution since the AB purchase.

 

I just posted the below in another thread earlier today:

Workhorse Brewing

Baltic Porter (8.0% ABV)

A balanced grist bill comprised of English and German specialty grains set the tone for this malt-driven lager. Malty-sweet flavors from the toasted base malts quickly yield to the more rich and heavy notes of deep cocoa and roasted coffee. A long, lagering phase tempers this beast into a smooth winter warmer.

I had a draft pint last weekend and I enjoyed drinking this beer.

On a separate but related note Workhorse also has a beer branded as Black Lager on tap as well:

Black Lager (5.5% ABV)

“This mahogany-colored lager is built upon the foundation of two German brewing traditions: Pilsner and Dunkel. We've taken a recipe heavily influenced by toasted malts and married it with the spicy and floral hoppings of a Pilsner. Extensive lagering yields a beer rich in malt character shored up by pronounced hop flavors and aromas.”

Cheers!

 

If you have a nearby Total Wine or other store with a good import selection, Fortuna Komes offers a very good Baltic Porter. Zywiec is another decent, if not spectacular, Polish offering.

 

For the purpose of answering the question, it was a lager. But I’m tempted to channel my inner @marquis and point out that it’s neither a lager or an ale.