Baltic Porter Review

 
Appearance: Very dark brown, but not quite opaque when held to the light. Thin but persistent tan head. Good lacing.

Aroma: A unique biscuity and intensely chocolate nose. Not quite like any of the other beers I've made. Bittersweet chocolate mixed with bread crust or the like. Maybe like a chocolate desert cake? As it warms I get some earthy or spicy hop notes but overall the impression of bittersweet chocolate predominates.
 
Taste: Leads with a taste similar to the nose. I get bittersweet chocolate, some coffee and crystal malt sweetness, again with an interesting biscuity quality. Perhaps surprisingly given the amount of roasted grains, I do not get any acrid characteristics - either they're not there or the sweetness and bready character covers them up. At the end, some nice alcohol warming brought about by the 9% or so ABV. Crystal malty sweetness but definitely not cloying. Hop bitterness mixes cleanly with alcohol and roasty notes. Clean lager fermentation, with no off-flavors that I can detect. I don't really get any fermentation esters or dried-fruit notes.

Mouthfeel: Thick and chewy without being cloying. No acridness. Aftertaste is pretty smooth for a boozy beer. Carbonation on the low/moderate end - I don't think I would change.

Overall: I'm very happy with it. It has a clean, complex aroma and taste with a really interesting mix of bread / biscuit and chocolate roast. The balance between sweetness and acrid / roast is much more even here than it was in either of my Russian stouts. It's a sipping beer, but more drinkable than a RIS. I'd like to try this style again. My guess is that the Amber Malt is driving the biscuity flavors.

As to how close it tastes to the Smuttynose Baltic Porter, I'll do another taste test with my wife and eventually I will get some feedback from the clone competition. That will all be for another post.