Smuttynose Baltic Porter

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Baltic Porter
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Appearance: Pours a black body with a medium-sized, foamy, dark tan head. Smell: Roasty aroma with full notes of blackstrap molasses and fire-charred aniseed. Lighter background hints of raisins and smoke. Taste: Roasted, black malts that’s all at once smokey and sweet. Tastes of bittersweet chocolate, licorice, molasses, and cauterized cream crowd the palate and swarm the taste buds. Earthy, spicy bitterness remains light. Touch of fruitiness. More smoke and roast on the sweetish finish. Mouthfeel: A hair above medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: A very drinkable, very enjoyable brew from Smuttynose.

Pours to a dark ruby body with a thin creamy brown head. The flavor is black patent malts, fresh ground coffee that never got brewed, bitter black chocolate, English walnuts, very balanced with some nice hops. The aroma is bittersweet dark chocolate/black patent malts. Some nutty walnuts. The palate is fairly well balanced with bitter, nutty, oily, and dry components. A nice Baltic porter.

Deep pitch black coloured body, 100% opaque with a thick tan head. Aroma of deep roasted coffee, bittersweet chocolate and strong pit fruits...but of course some roasted malt is tucked in there too. Full-bodied; Super chewy mouthful that doesn’t start pleasant - very meaty and mushroomy flavours start out the taste, coupled with roasted malt, nuts and some sweetness of deep pit fruits. Aftertaste shows some cherries, chocolate and even more meaty and savoury tastes. Overall, a decent - but too strong and too meaty flavour. Still worth trying, but I’ve had many other baltic porters that were better than this one. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Whole Foods in Arlington (Clarendon), Virginia on 9-February-2008.

Bottle acquired from blankboy, and shared with tupalev & my lovely wife. Deep black with a large mocha head. Rich aroma of well-roasted malt, cocoa, coffee, and a bit of smoky wood. Full, silky mouthfeel. Lovely flavour with big roasty malt, espresso, dark caramel, and some dark dried fruit as it warms. Not quite as sweet as I usually expect from the style, but that’s OK, it still rocks.

22 oz bottle, via Dickinsonbeer. Pours a dark brown, almost black body with a one finger fizzy brown head that fell to a partial covering. Moderate visible carbonation. The nose is very roasty with that classic licorice note I want in a Baltic. Coffee, chocolate, char, minimal noticable hops. A little nuttiness. The flavor is much like the aroma, roasty, chocolaty, slight sweetness up front, bitter dark chocolate. Finishes with a slight burnt chalkiness that covers the sweetness well. Mouthfeel is full and creamy with nice soft carbonation. Mouthcoating lingering finish with just a little warmth. Overall, one of the best Smuttynose I’ve had, I think that they nailed this one.

Draft @ Rustico. Pours a very dark chocolate-brown color; medium tan head with solid fine-bubbled lacing. Fair amounts of cocoa, chocolate, and some dried dark fruits in the aroma; a bit reserved and straightforward. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: tons of nougat, cocoa, and milk chocolate; creamy, dense palate, with plenty of chocolate and chewiness; still, not overly complex; lots of douginess; a touch of alcoholic warmth showing through. Lengthy finish: cocoa, milk chocolate, and dough.

22oz bottle. Aroma of deep roast. Sweet malt and molasses. Pours deep Dark brown / black. Smooth, creamy texture. Very tasty.

Pours with a black body topped by a medium thick to thick, brown head with a good amount of lacing left on the glass. It is sweet and malty wiht a note of chocolate and a little roast, as well as a touch of fruity alcohol esters. Full bodied, smooth and a touch warming.