Online Tasting: Baltic Porter Day (10th Edition)

So I had to go to the DMV today and apply for my "Real ID" since I fear my "fake ID" may prevent me from buying beer on a plane in the future. Afterwards, I decided to stop buy the big beer store to see if I could find some Baltic porter. I was hoping that this one would be languishing on the shelf and lo and behold! it was.

Except it wasn't languishing, and had a box date from this year, leaving the questionability of a sticker date aside. Raven's Roost is a core beer for Parkway out of SW Virginia, though I don't find it on the shelf as regularly as their site indicates they produce it.

I gave this beer a 4+ rating 10 years ago, and have enjoyed it in the year's since. What do I think now?


Built up a nice head, though it fell fairly easily to a crusty top. A refill from the bottom of the can and I now have a medium thick collar with 2/3 coverage of thin, tan bubbles. The nose is quite toasty - in the sense of intentionally letting the bread in the toaster oven get to the black color stage without having to wave a kitchen towel after opening the oven door.

Second whiff, and there's still that impression, but also a slightly astringent, mildly weak dark roast coffee. There's also perhaps a lagering fruitiness lifting and slightly twisting these aromas. Taste has a similar vibe from the fruit notes - indistinct behind the blank ink of the roast, but trying to get out.

The opening taste is slightly metallic and a bit more bitter than I expect from a Baltic porter. The "metallic" note, I should say, is not unanticipated, as it is a note I get in varying degrees in Baltic porters, for one reason or another, it's the bitterness combining with it that is a bit more bracing (then again, it is fresh, maybe?).

The coffee, charred toast, and roasted malt notes make up the rest of the tasting experience. It isn't heavy, but is fairly robust with malt and perceived hops, and finishes fairly clean despite the robust, bitter flavors. It isn't very carbonated, but has a nice "fuzzy" feel to it.

I'm not sure I'd give this quite as high a score today, but I'd still be near 4. I am guessing I'll have a couple cans that get to at least a couple months old and I'll have to see how that bitterness plays out in that time.

More marketing (from 7 years ago)...

 

I'm a bit curious if there's an industrious soul out there that will do the actual statistics on how many "plain" Baltic porters are tasted here versus "adjusted" in some fashion. The style isn't overly present on beer shelves in my experience, and I know I am heavily leaning towards batting .500 in my own division of substyles.

To that end, I wasn't sure if Devil's Backbone (AB InBev owned) still makes Danzig, and it wasn't on the shelf today. Their beer finder doesn't have it as an option despite it still having a page on their website, so I might be stuck to the beers I bought today.

 

I bought a six pack a month or so ago. They still make it, it just isn't everywhere like 8 point or Vienna Lager.

 

Good choice ! My two favorite Baltic Porters are brewed in my ancestral homeland of Poland: Komes and Żywiec. Smooth, dry, creamy and relatively high ABV... but not ridiculously high. My wife and I love to split a large bottle of Żywiec with our bacon and pancakes on Sunday mornings. But she is practicing Dry January and I am not... so I get it all to myself tomorrow !!! There is a 3rd Polish brand that I see in my local shop on occasions..."Black Boss".. I don't care for that one, it is too sweet. Na Zdrowie !

 

Thank you @beergoot for hosting this event.

I went to my local pub last evening for a tap take over by south France brewery ‘Brasserie le Detour’ - 8 handles - including a Baltic Porter, ‘Fortitude’.
Fortitude is a traditional European Baltic Porter, blended with a strong ale aged in Laphroaig single malt whiskey barrels.




The brew delivered impressively fresh, with an excellent brown foam crowning deep brown brew.
Rich nose of smoky molasses, dark chocolate, heavy malt and an herbal note that defies description.
Taste brought a curveball to my expectations. Laphroaig Scotch whiskey uses a distinctive peat which gives a unique smoky character that integrated itself complementarily into the beer. The initial flavor, cold from the tap, was familiar Baltic Porter and ‘something else’. But as the brew warmed, wonderful additional layers of vanilla, oak, and spirits compounded the flavor profile. The 95 IBUs delivered fine bitterness and mighty 9.5% ABV brought intensity to the finish with mouthwatering ethanol present. Residual notes of molasses and dark chocolate made for a unique and satisfying experience.
Mouthfeel is velvety, with medium carbonation.
Overall, art of the craft on display in elevating an already fine brew into a creative delight that was worth breaking my Dry January streak. Getting this on draught was ding ding bonus points.

 

Yeah, it's a sad reflection that only 1 of the Top 10 here on BA is a "regular" one: Smuttynose Baltic Porter
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/top-styles/80/

 

Thanks @beergoot for hosting this.
This is a style I enjoy during winter days. Being widely available locally is certainly a plus.

Going with a classic Żywiec Baltic Porter. Pronounced roasted coffee, excellent weight, definitely not overly sweet, quite balanced overall, an old school style that I dig.



Cheers!

 

Komes Raspberry Porter



My first of three examples I'm hoping to contribute today. This one has a prominent raspberry taste along with some smokey malt. Never been a fan of raspberry flavoring but this seems to work well. Kinda reminds me of cough syrup but enjoyable.

I think my next 2 are unadulterated so really looking forward to those.

 

Baltic Porter Day 2025 by Põhjala.

Gorgeous 11% imperial baltic porter brewed with bison grass.

 

Suprised I'm the first with this east coast baltic porter icon: a non-adjuncted 2020 Framinghammer, from Jack's Abby. Probably the best known Baltic porter in Massachussets, this is my all-time favorite snowy weather beer.

For four years in a can, this is tasting great - a little oxidative but that works well with the cocoa powder and molasses flavors, and the 10% abv keeps it sharp and integrated.

 

In Charleston SC Two Blokes Brewing released a Baltic Porter today

Nine Seas Away Baltic Porter
Nice head, roasted aroma, light anise and coffee flavors. Great winter afternoon beer.

 

I'll be joining you with a 2024 tomorrow. I wish they had left the design as is; I much prefer the German-inspired cans.

Thanks for hosting @beergoot! Some nice variety on display thus far.