Victory Baltic Thunder

Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Style: Baltic Porter
Downingtown, Pennsylvania USA

Bottle poured into English pint glass. It poured dark brown, almost black with a 2-finger tan head. Aromas of roasted malt and some underlying nuttiness. The taste was primarily malt sweetness with undertones of chocolate, caramel and a very slight smokiness with a nice, slightly bitter finish. Overall, very nice.

Deep brown in color with a thin head that dissipated quickly. The nose has aromas of chocolate, plum, fig and spice. In the mouth it was medium to full-bodied and semi-concentrated with a slightly dry finish. Fairly simple but nice.

Heavy flavors of roasted malt and chocolate. Thinner body than I expected, and the head dissipates quickly. It’s a good beer and I’ll probably revisit it, although I would rather have his one in 12oz bottles rather than 22oz.

Bottle (22oz). Pours a very deep ruby-brown with a large diminishing frothy tan head. Aroma’s roasty and quite fruity with notes of coffee, chocolate and toffee -- pretty nice. Flavour of dark malt, dark fruit, toffee, nuts and chocolate. Decent bitter finish. Alcohol’s totally hidden. Medium bodied, oily mouthfeel. No complaints here, it seems right on style and I quite liked it. Almost hard to drink the whole bottle though due to the style, just a personal preference.

Pours a very dark brown, close to being black in color. Nice one inch head sits atop the glass. Smell is very roasted and dark malts. Taste is more of the roasted malt and some light coffee flavoring. Taste is rich and creamy as well. This is a solid porter. I had an aged bottle of the Perkuno and I prefer this fresh bottle to it.

22 oz. bomber. Pours clear dark brown, but definitely not opaque. Little head on the pour and none thereafter. Fragrant aroma of expresso, toffee and dark fruit. Flavor has similar characteristics, with toffee and dark fruits being prominent. Fairly dry, but not bitter. Warming but no overt alcohol. Extremely drinkable and balanced. Palate is medium-full, with low carbonation but still a smooth mouthfeel. This isn’t the type of baltic that I’ll stash for years in the cellar, but it is pretty damn nice drinking.

Enjoy by Date January 2009; Sampled August 2008
A vigorous pour yields a three-finger thick, lightly browned, full tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is almost black and when held up to the light shows a brilliantly clear, dark ruby hue. Rich notes of blackened toffee, molasses, some tamari, broiled raisins, at times some notes of candied cherries and candied figs are lightly offset by toasty notes of toasted grain, a medium roast coffee and a slight vegetal note that I sometimes get from roast grain. I definitely like the mix of concentrated, dark fruit and dark sugars that is found here in the aroma.

Rich and creamy up front with a touch of carbonation that lightens things up a bit in the middle. This is actually somewhat light feeling, as it does not have a huge body, but does have enough of one to feel a bit viscous and to allow it to stick to the palate a bit. Lightly sweet tasting, but not overly so, this accents rich fruit flavors, some touches of chocolate, a spike of molasses and a rich, dark, almost burnt, but not quite, caramel note. Fruit flavors are not as accentuated as in the aroma (due to the reduced perception of sweetness in the flavor compared to the nose), but still play a significant role in the flavor with notes of toasted figs, caramelized raisins, some prune notes and something a bit like chalky blueberries. Other flavors of chocolate beans, dusty light roast coffee, cocoa and some concentrated malt notes that lean towards an umami richness that is a bit like tamari or a hint of soy.

This beer is actually quite quaffable, which can be a little dangerous in a beer of this strength. A tasty beer, but it perhaps doesn’t quite live up to the original; perhaps it is that extra 1/2% of attenuation, as this seems like it could have used just a touch more body and malt richness.

From a bottle poured dark brown with a fair amount of head. Nice rich flavor of roasted malts with a quick finish.