Raccoon Lodge Barrel Aged Baltic Porter

Brewed by Cascade Brewing @ Raccoon Lodge
Style: Baltic Porter
Portland, Oregon USA

Thanks to Beerlando! Pours almost a dark purple color. The smell is full of pine with a little sour fruitiness. Taste is extremely woody with a little tartness and a good amount of hops. A little off balance with the strong wood flavor and odd hoppiness. Not terrible, but I was not really impressed.

Draft at Raccoon Lodge. Pours a dark brown almost black color with a small off-white head. Has a roasted malty chocolate aroma with some oaky vanilla hints. Slightly sourish roasted malty chocolate flavor with some woody hints. Roasted malty chocolate finish with lots of woody flavors in the aftertaste.

Bottle at Paul’s Gathering (Thanks beastiefan2k!) Pours a deep brownish amber with a well retained tan head. Odd aroma. Some weird plasticy phenolics, mild cocoa notes from malt, and a purple grape hint. Light mouthfeel. The flavor seems like it was a bit infected. Slightly tart with odd phenolics and a grape note. I think I picked up on a slight cask character, but the flavors don’t mesh well. Too many off flavors.

Thanks to beastiefan2k for sharing Pours a really deep coppery woody brown with a nice lasting thin head. Aroma is off, stale high aloha hops that are perhaps old, along with some high fusel sovents and some alcohol presence some light nutty caramel sweetness, sugary almost, with an herbal tea like quality. Flavor is medicinal, phenolic, light rubber, solvents, harsh old hops, bitter and astringent with little oak character.

22 ounce bottle from theisti. Pours dark brown with some mahogany highlights. There’s a beige long lasting head that leaves behind some spotty lace. Big time woodsy oak nose. There’s a bit of chocolate and some hop aroma that I can’t put a adjective to because of the oak dominance. The flavor is really dominated by the barrel aging. There is a big dose of hop bitterness. I’m really missing the maltiness though. I’m beginning to catch a bit of a raisin note, but its not at all what you get from the better Baltic Porters. Medium body and maybe a bit thin. Active carbonation and the aggressive oak make this beer a very rough drink. Overall, the beer is really quite good. There’s just that lack of malt character that is keeping this from being great. Thanks for the hook up Tim.

Bomber generously shared by theisti. Thanks again for letting us partake in this one, Tim. Pours dark brown with a touch of a reddish hue; a wisp of tiny bubbles swirl at the surface and leave a ring around the edge of the glass. The nose is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and light ash with bright, "green" hops in support. Light to medium-bodied and slick with a moderately sour transition to a dry, bitter finish. Green, hoppy and sour (almost astringent) up front with a dark roasted and ashy finish. This is an interesting interpretation of the style, but it’s just a bit hoppier than I would have preferred.

22 oz bottle mail ordered directly from the brewery. Pour is black, with ruby highlights and a smallish tan head. Aroma of pine hops and roasty sweet caramel maltiness. There is also a cocoa / milky element to the nose. The oak barrel mixes in as well. Interesting. Taste is the roasty, toasty slightly sweet caramel maltiness and a big shot of the pine hoppiness. Taste actually mirrors the nose quite well, also showing the oak barrel and cocoa. The residual hop aftertaste gets into hay and grassy areas as well. The oak barrel has some vanilla notes too. Palate is nicely mouth coating, and medium. Overall, I really liked this.

22oz. bomber, with thanks to thesti for sharing! Pours a cola brown that sits black in the glass, with a frothy tan head. Aroma is oak, chocolate, and more citrusy hops than expected for the style. Flavor is more citrus hops, chocolate and some oak. It’s got nothing to do with the rating, but wouldn’t call this a baltic porter. Nice stuff, thanks again for sharing Tim!