Baltika 6 Porter

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

The beer came in a 500 ml. brown bottle with a best by date of 16 October 2005. As the bottle was uncapped, and beer poured, the dark brown - bordering on pitch black – body was revealed, and a half inch thick brown head formed briefly, before receding to a thin collar of foam. Aroma was more fruity and vinous than a typical porter with a smell consisting of chocolate covered plums, cherries, and raisins. Taste was also devoid of much roastiness, with sweet plum and caramel flavors dominating. There was scant evidence of faded roast grain flavor if I let the beer linger longer on the palette. Slight oxidation was apparent in the aftertaste with a hint of soy. As complex as it was, I can think of several craft Baltic style Porters that are better. This was more of an easy drinking industrial interpretation of the style.

Black pour, only lets hints of ruby show through good light. Huge light tan head. Aroma of dry chocolate and malts. Flavor is robust bitter chocolate, roasty malts, alcohol. Long bitter chocolate finish. Pretty decent brew.

16.9oz bottle. 62° out of the cellar. Served in a pint glass. Dark brown/black color with red tints and a small tan head. The aroma is roasty with some definate fruitness coming from the hops. Smells good, but a bit weak. The taste is roasty malt that transitions into a nice hops flavor with a touch of bitterness. The hops taste citrusy. The finish is dry and roasty, with an almost espresso quality. It seems to lack the lactic flavor that seems to be present in most baltic porters, instead it seems like a regular american porter with a good helping of hops. The mouthfeel is big, but not too big, and is about average for the style. This is a good beer that blows its sibling, #4, out of the water.

Bottle. Black with a tan head and a rich malt aroma. The body is heavy with a sweet, smooth malt flavor. The finish is clean and quite refreshing for an inexpensive beer.

strong roast and licorice (bottle at the smokey Gooskis in Pittsburgh). solid head, dark & opaque (dark bar). flavor of mollases, licorice, mild cardboard, a little smoke. crisp finish

Pours very thick, dark brown (nearly opaque) with thick, brown head. Aroma is malty with some caramel, some cocoa, and hints of spice and hops. Flavor begins with lots of malts, sweet caramel, and lots of chocolate. The middle of the flavor shows subtle hints of dried fruit and some hop bitterness but mostly more chocolate and some toasted bread. The beer finishes malty and chocolatey with a little taste of yeast and hops. The mouthfeel is thick but velvety from the carbonation.

Bottle. Thanks Luke! Pours stout black with tan head. Aroma of hops, roasted malt, dark fruits. Nice mouthfeel. Seems like a pretty decent representation of this style.

Bottle. Very dark ruby pour with a creamy beige head that lasts a while. Slightly sweet aroma has notes of roasted malt, caramel, chocolate and licorice. Flavour is just about the same but with a hint of coffee as well. Smooth, creamy mouthfeel with a slightly sweet finish balanced by some late bitterness. Alcohol is noticeable but not offputting. Overall a very nice Baltic porter, leaning more towards the sweet side but very pleasant nonetheless.