Classically styled Baltic porter - the (usually) bottom-fermented Eastern European equivalent of imperial porter or imperial stout - by this Berlin craft brewer, longneck bottle from Dranken Geers. Thick and frothy, pillowy, foamy, membrane-lacing, pale yellowish beige, dense and stable head atop a dark bronze-brown beer with coppery glow - not quite as black as usual for this style and still allowing light to pass through, but certainly dark enough to remain credible. Aroma of caramel candy, liquorice, roasted walnuts, cold cappuccino but subtly so, pecan nut cake, autumn leaves, hints of coffee grounds, ferrous spring water, black tea, bayleaf, dried prunes. Sweetish onset in a sleek, clean and non-estery way, light umami notes (black olive) along with touches of prunes and old dried figs, medium to soft carbonation with slick, oily mouthfeel, full but not as full as the typical top-fermented porter or stout of the same strength; deeply caramelly maltiness, lots of hard caramel with hints of nougat, pecan nuts and vague 'Koetjesreep' alongside - yet no explicit 'chocolateyness' and in fact moving towards a more herbal, sweet-spicy taste, evoking liquorice strongly, as well as 'drop' and fresh clove. Roasted bitterness graces the finish in a medium long, but relatively gentle way, not going all chicory- or charcoal-like, but adding a layer of bitterness to an already bittersweet, caramelly core. Leafy hops do add bitterness in the very end, accentuating this toasty (rather than roasty) part of the beer; alcohol is noticeable but only subtly so while in the very end, a coffee-like roastiness does reappear, in a relatively gentle way. Lingering toast, caramel, coffee and liquorice flavours without any of those top-fermenting effects do remind me of the classic Baltic porters I had in my day (and I had all the classic examples, from Baltika Porter over Zywiec Porter to Carnegie Porter, and so on); in my memory of all those benchmarks of this style, this one has the exact same general flavour profile - instead of going all 'postmodern impy'-like, as so many contemporary Baltic porters do. Straightforward, unassuming almost, but utterly old school - this tastes as if Berlin has been brewing Baltic porters for a century or more and was never influenced by American (or Estonian) style stouts. Have an extra point for offering a 'real' Baltic porter with historical credibility instead of fooling around with vanilla, bourbon barrel ageing or even more exotic additions - if you want to know what this whole style is about and do not have access to any of the classic examples, use this one as an introduction. I should not be surprised, actually, given that Baltic porter is essentially a Lager and this one comes from the kingdom of Lagers...

Bottled (from Alko, with Mats). Deep ambery brown colour with a small white head. Aroma is toffee, some chocolate, mild roasted and toasted tones. Flavour is toffee, roasted malts, some toasted tones as well as some mild liquorice.

Brło Baltic Porter, Fläschchen aus einem Berliner Supermarkt. - Schwarzrotbraun, trüb. - In der Nase sattes aber weiches, durch matte Süße abgemildertes Röstmalz, stark gesüßter Kaffee, Karamel, feine herbale Hopfung, kandierte Orange, Anklänge an Torf. - Antrunk weich und füllig röstmalzig mit Mokkabohnen, leiser Frucht (Aprikosenkonfitüre) und milder herbaler Hopfung. Die breite Karamelsüße ist gut eingebettet, erscheint aber trotzdem übertrieben, zumal ihr keine kernigen Röst- oder Hopfenaromen gegenüberstehen. Mild rezent, vollmundig. Im Abgang allzu milde herbale Hopfung. - Arg süßes, unkompliziertes Porter, dem es an Tiefgang fehlt. (16.12.2022.)

5

33cl Fles bij De Kluizenaar. Donkerbruine kleur, beige kraag. Veel rogge, roggebrood, vrij zoet, kruidig, licht-bitter. Te zoet en bock-achtig voor mijn smaak, maar stijlvast.

Solid. Nicely roasted, slightly hoppy, faint hint of booze. Bitter.

Bottle. Nice head with good duration. Color is black. Aroma and taste are roast malt, caramel, chocolate, licorice and hops. Nice roasty finish.

Bottle 0.33l, trade with pivnizub, vřelé díky! Two years aged. A bit cloudy, dark red to brown colored. AROMA- roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, prunes. FLAVOR- dry, lightly bitter, roasted, earthy, prunes, chocolate, coffee. Just medium bodied. Tasty. Maybe too light for the style.