Portsmouth Baltic Porter

Brewed by Portsmouth Brewery
Style: Baltic Porter
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Bottled. A pitch black beer with a residing brown head. The aroma is strong with notes of alcohol, malt, and prunes. The flavor is sweet malty with light notes of alcohol, leading to a dry woody end.

(Bottle 65 cl) Label simply reads "Portsmouth Porter" but this is supposedly it. Pours a beautiful, clear, reddish mahogany. Aroma of sweet, roasted malt with a burned edge. Full-bodied and rather sweet with lots of roasted malt and some ashy touches. Loads of coffee notes here. Some bitterness from the malts. 130806

Bottle. Nice fresh coffee aroma. The flavour is sweet, but with nice coffee notes. Some bitterness in the finish. Quite powerful and nice.

Bottle. Clear red brown coloured with an off white head. Roasted aroma of chocolate and coffee. Roasted flavour of chocolate and coffee.

Bottle. Dark red brown colour with a small beige head. Light roasted malty, chocolate, coffee aroma and taste, sweet. Medium to full body with a dry finish.

(22oz bottle, courtesy of jkwalking05) Pours a clear brown body with a medium beige head. Aroma of chocolate, roasted grain, toffee, light ash, and caramel. Flavor of grass, roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, and caramel.

CBC Cask Night by MBAA–pours a light tan head with retaining bubbles and black color. Aroma is roasty/chocolate-dark malt, secondary earthy hops. Taste is sweet roasty/chocolate-dark malt, secondary earthy hops.

Draught snifter at the brewery on 4/14/06
Deep coal black-brown, transluscent on the edges, upon settling, with bright ruby-orange tints on the edges when held to the light. Initially large, tan-flecked-grey head is slow to recede to cover, with minimal lacing.
The nose is rather muted, dulled by too much dark malt perhaps? and should be much more expressive out of an over-sized snifter. Even upon warming, the most I can get is some unmalted barley graininess, bits of toffee and vanilla and hints of light ashen/coal-like smokiness. Hops are green and lightly bitter, with floral notes brushing the sides of the nose as some light chocolate makes an appearance, however short-lived.
The flavor is quite true to style, however, with lactic acid quickly coming to the front as dark chocolate continues to dry the palate out. Some sweet milk-chocolate like notes and toffee begin to sooth away the lactic dryness, and things seem to come together. Chalky, borderline oily texture has shows light creaminess due to low, fairly engaging carbonation. Vanilla and bitter black malts dance about on the finish, never committing the beer to being overly dry or overly sweet. So in a way, it’s quite balanced, but the flavors are just so subtle and rather dull. Extended warming and swirling brings out some lightly crunchy coffee notes, hints of graham cracker and even some light dough. Touch of alcohol warming towards the end adds some vigor to it, but it’s surprisingly a very mellow example.