Selins Grove Organic Baltic Porter

Brewed by Selins Grove Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania USA

Tap at JCBF09. Brownish black with a sizable whitish tan head. Complex Baltic porter, one of the best I have had. Whats more it differs because there was no real strong coffee dominating. Big chocolate taste with cinnamon and toffee and a bit of floral hoppiness. A real gem, my third favorite from the JCBF.

On tap at the Selins Grove Brew Pub. Poured a deep brown with a small sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, toasted nuts, grains, and some dark fruits. Tastes of toffee, toasted nuts, some dark fruitiness, and chocolate.

On tap at Selin’s Grove brewpub. Dark, with an odd off-smell. Kind of sweet tasting, but not much flavor at all, except a hint of bourbon/alcohol. Strange; my least favorite of their brews.

Growler shared by beerbill - hazy amber pour, with a thin ring of fizzy lace - nutty aroma, with light fruity components and doughy character which caries over into the flavor - hazelnut and a little acidic fruity tang (raisins, berries) which seems odd - doesn’t appear to be a lager, as is appropriate for the style - a bit of roast and chocolate in the finish - okay.

From growler. Aroma of coffee cracker. Flavor is super sweet coffee with dark fruits upon warming. Too sweet without enough there to back it up. 6-4-6-3-11/3

Rerate from tap late 10/26/08. Aroma of earthy malt and coffee. Flavor of ripe/overripe dark fruits, sweet chocolate. Mildly syrupy. 7-4-7-3-13/3.4

Growler shared by beerbill. Pours a dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma of raisin, sweetness, liquor. Flavor of roasted/smoked malts combined with sweet fruits. This combination did NOT work. Also seems as though this beer is best fresh fresh fresh and even a few days in a growler affects it. Not good! 5/4/4/3/10

Update 10/27/08: Had this again on tap at the brewpub. Pours a dark brown with a small white head. Aroma of light roasted malt and alcohol. Flavor of raisin, sweet malt, and alcohol. Slightly better than the growler version I had earlier, but I’m still not a fan. Definitely not one of Selin’s Grove’s better efforts.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours very dark brown with reddish highlights with a very thin off-white head that faded to a ring after about a quarter of the glass. Pleasant aroma of roasted malt and chocolate. Some dark fruit vapors emerge as the beer warms. Incredibly flavorful with lots of malt, some roastiness, chocolate, plums, and raisins. Smooth, silky mouthfeel. Light-moderate bitterness at the finish. I really enjoyed this one.

On tap at the brewpub. Aroma casts forth a peculiar molasses and mocha tone that seems incongruous. Not malty, not sweet, not roasty, just burnt. Not welcoming. Pours a surprisingly pale mahogany with orange fringe and soft white soap. Flavor confuses. There’s alcohols, charred cereal grains and nuttiness. Where’s the porter? This is more brown-ale like. A peculiar smoky ring takes over the beer, but heads to phenol-land. Palate stays a bit sweet. Not exciting. A poor example in my book.