Back Road Autumn Ale 2005 (Baltic Porter)

Formerly brewed at Back Road Brewery
Style: Baltic Porter
LaPorte, Indiana USA

Sampled at Argo and Kathy’s 2006 Holiday Gathering courtesy of BBB63. Pours black with a brown head and ruby edges. Aroma of chocolate and pear. Flavor has notes of caramel, wood, pipe tobacco, chocolate. Pleasantly sweet with ample bitterness. Full, round and creamy on the palate. Excellent.

Pours black with thin tan head. Aroma is of crisp green apple, chocolate, and a cold coffee. Flavor is bitter coffee, ash, tobacco. Medium body. Rich but drinkable.

Bottle at A&K 4th DC tasting - Deep brownish crimson, creamy light tan head. Inviting nose of milk chocolate, coffee, mint cookie, and tobacco, with a soft underlying woodiness. Flavor was similar with some smoke tones, more coffee and chocolate, and a very light hop bitterness late. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, light bittersweet finish. Very nice...

Bottle: Dark brownish black with a lasting tan head. Aroma is chocolate, mild coffee, caramel, yeast, and roasted raisin. Taste is light dry coffee, smoke, yeast, licorice, and hops. Medium body, low carbonation, hard to believe this is 8.5%. Overall this beer rocks!

Bottle... A&K’s4thAHBT... This beer rocks!... Pitch black ale with a mid-sized, creamy, khaki head. Vanilla, chestnuts, hazelnuts, butterscotch, cocoa and tobacco are all present and accounted for in the aroma. Rich, roasted flavor with plenty of caramel and chocolate... maybe a touch too thin for the style. Medium to full-bodied with a lightly creamy mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Finishes chocolatey and a bit dry. World class brew!... and, btw, bucknaked rocks!

Deep, dark, opaque brown with a small, thin ring of tan bubbles. A soft, sweet chocolate aroma with some mild alcohol, fresh-brewed coffee, caramel, toasted grains and perhaps a small amount of raisin and prune. A moderate body but the carbonation is all gone. A little carbonation would help this out tremendously. The sweet, caramel and cocoa flavors are quite nice, but the whole thing kind of drops out at the end. Not a terrible beer, but could use a bit of work. I think some carbonation would really suit this beer. Elongating the mouthfeel and supporting the flavor profile would contribute greatly to the overall experience. Thanks for sharing this Mike, I appreciate it.

(12oz bottle) Minimal beige head atop a brown-black body. Aroma is medium sweet, smoked meat, coffee, raisin, caramel. Taste is medium sweet, smoked meat, caramel, molasses, some coffee, lactose, roasty, light raisin. Medium body that hides the alcohol quite well. Low carbonation. Thanks to BBB63 for bringing some extra bottles to Denver.

Close to no head. Smells sharp and meaty. Sweet, smoky notes and a rauchbier-like musty scent. A light tawng and a sour, cloying funky flavor is there. Uncomplex, with some bad vegetables and some light chocolate and coffee. Not bad, but didn’t do much for me.