Baltika 6 Porter

Brewed by Baltika Brewery (Baltic Beverages Holding - Carlsberg)
Style: Baltic Porter
St. Petersburg, Russia

Cool 16.9 oz bottle. Extremely large fluffy tan head. Dark brown appearance, almost black. Very roasty dry coffee flavor. The roast is not too powerful, but the dryness does come through pretty big in the finish. Not a very complex flavor, but well balanced all the same.

Bottled. Nice porter. Had a slight roasty flavor to it.

Pure black pour with caramel highlights. The nose is mostly dirt, kind of astrigent with subtle notes of roasted malt. The body is quite thin for a 7% brew. Mostly sweet chocolate, the body also notes butterscotch and vanilla. This is tasty, quite drinkable and really affordable.

Was unpleasantly surprised with this beer. Looks great, dark with a wee bit of head. But smells like raisins and licorice. Taste is the same. Sickeningly raisin sweet with a caramel back. Body is not porter-like, kind of thin and watery. I’ll stick with the other offerings from Baltika.

Malty aroma with hints of cocoa. Nearly black apperance with a tight brown head. Malty flavors with hints of roasted barley. Notes of chocolate and licorice. Body was smooth and creamy. Very nice baltic porter.

Baltika Porter is a Baltic Porter by style, which is a descendant of Russian Imperial Stout. In the 18th Century, British brewers send a very strong, robust version of stout to the Baltics and Russia as a winter warmer. This beer was a huge success, and Baltic and Russian brewers started to brew their own versions of Imperial Stout, but did so with a lager yeast strain, making these beers very similar, but because they were lagers, a bit rounder, smoother, and cleaner beers. Baltika Porter is a classic example of this style, with rich, chocolatey, powerful flavors matched with a smooth and polished character. Coming in at 7% abv, it has enough strength to take the chill off the coldest of Russian winters. Baltika Porter pours to a beautiful, bright, deep brown to ebony color with a creamy white head, and a good bit of carbonation. The nose is very nice on this beer with aromas of caramel, dark chocolate, and touches of molasses, and roast. The palate is firm with lots of good dark chocolate and coffee flavors, paired with more roasty notes on the tongue. The body is full, yet it is also so polished and clean on this beer making it very, very drinkable. Baltika Porter finishes with more dark chocolate, coffee flavors, then ends with a dry, roasty, and slightly warming alcohol finishes that lingers. This is a really outstanding version of Baltic Porter with fantastic dark chocolate, coffee, roast, and dry character. It makes for a perfect winter warmer, and is a great beer to relax with after a hard day at work. This beer is also an idea beer to have with desert, and would match well with rich, decadent chocolate deserts, as well as a thick slice of NY style cheese cake. At $2.30 a 16.9 oz bottle it comes in at a very nice price as well. If you happen to find this beer in your market, seek it out, and enjoy a bottle or two of the Beer Lover’s Russian caviar.

Pours a dark red black with an ephemeral tan head. The aroma is the strongpoint of this brew sweet vanilla and caramel with a hint of bitterness and hops. The mouthfeel is creamy, yet it seems slightly acidic and abrasive. It’s a confusing combination, but it works for a higher gravity porter like this. There’s a gentle malty sweetness to this brew, and then there is a bitter hop and roasty note. The alcohol really brings out these more abrasive flavors, and yet the sweetness accentuates the vanilla/caramel notes. Charcoal really lingers on the palate. This is a pretty complicated beer, but not half bad.

Pours black, until you hold it up to the light, with a thick but quickly dissipating reddish tan head. Aroma of munich and black malts with som lactic notes. Some stalish noble hops as well. Flavors are very smoky, not rauchbier smoky, but smoky all the same. A good amount of choclatiness to. Wet palate. Medium bodied. This beer is a very good example of what the differences between a baltic porter and an imperial stout should be. A great example of the style and unfortunately, those of us here at ratebeer (including myself) are hooked on Imperial stouts, and tend not to appreciate a beer that resembles but does not copy that style. Very enjoyable.