Harpoon Leviathan Baltic Porter

12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours a dark, dark brown that’s nearly black in the glass underneath a big creamy tan head that shows very good retention and lacing. The aroma is dominated by dark roasted malts and lots of milk chocolate. It’s pretty sweet for the style and has hints of roasted coffee. It smells almost like a mocha with a shot of espresso. The taste is also dominated by the roasted dark malts and has a little more coffee than the aroma. There are definitely hints of lactose and milk chocolate. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and well carbonated and it’s fairly smooth and less roasty than I was expecting in the finish. This is a very good beer from Harpoon but it’s not at the top of my list of porters as the lactose is a little out of place in the taste and the body probably doesn’t stack up to the best in the style. Still, a good beer.

12oz Bottle. Wonderful deep roast aroma, deepened with pilsner malt mineral qualities and sweet fig jam. Pours dark, but clear red-mahogany, with a swirl and lick of tan head. Flavor plays a bit lighter. The pils malt jumps forward and roasts take a backseat to generic stout-like alcoholic, warm cream, and brown sugar. Generally, a very generic strong beer flavor. Texture is nice, covering the mouth, but laying light and giving a rising sense. Alcohols aren’t harsh, but add complexity. This beer could use some more heft though, in thickness and darkness. I like the pils lager character but want more oily blackness. Too pale, too bland, and gets a little acrid in the end. Thanks so much Sean!

Bottle: Poured a dark brown color with a nice tan head. The aroma was roasted coffee. The flavor was dark chocolate, roasted coffee and sweet malts. Overall, an excellent baltic porter.

Bottle. Pours dark brown with a medium tan head. Aroma is smoky and roasty. Flavor is of dark chocolate and a rather sweet coffee with some darker fruit flavors as well. Very rich. Very nice.

This is my first Baltic Porter, so I’m not sure what to expect. To me, it really tastes like a blend of a good, rich porter, and a barleywine. It has the lush mouthfeel and rich roastedness of a porter, with the strong, alcoholic and thickish presence in the finish. It’s okay, but I much prefer an Imperial Stout.

12 oz. bottle - thanks riversideak!! cola brown, with thin tan head; sweet candy on the nose; mildly boozy with some rich coffee; soft texture is a little syrupy though coffee seems out of style; nice and thin; decent baltic

[bottle] Coffee, chocolate, and lots of fruit in the aroma. Thick, inky black-brown with off-white bubbles around the side and a thin cover. Sweet raisin and black currant flavour with tons of vanilla roast and mocha. Gentle bitterness leaves the balance towards sweet, but velvety and smooth and not cloying. Clean vanilla finish, moderate carbonation, slightly salty, full body. Excellent.

Poured into a tasting glass from the tap. The color is dark black with a slight light brown head. Not very carbinated. The smell malty is a hint of dark chocolate. The taste is of roasted malts, some smoky coffee and chocolate flavors as well. This beer is one strong beer. Had a nice kick to it, and still had some nice flavor to it that kept it from being too much to handle.