Can from Etre Gourmet webshop, Grez Douceau, Belgium. Had this Sunday 17th May 2020, still on CORVID-19 lockdown, listening to Jon Hopkins - Late Night Tales. Pours black with a small tan head. Aroma is predominantly chocolate but backed up with some liquorice and vanilla. Lovely creamy and smooth mouthfeel Taste is chocolate, caramel, lots of roasted malts, a little nuttiness (maybe praline?) and some beef stock just to add a little savoury twist. This is a nice beer.

Baltic porter made by Siren with the aid of Salt Beer Factory, a microbrewery located in Saltaire, the Victorian era model village that made its way onto UNESCO's World Heritage list. Mousy, quite thick, stable, thickly paper-lacing, yellowish beige head on a pitch black beer. Aroma of melting 'fondant' chocolate, beef stock cubes, brown bread dough, cane sugar, salmiak, damp earth, overcooked salsify, wet cinnamon in the background, walnut liqueur, tar, wet leather, bayleaf, treacle, toffee, black pipe tobacco, tea. Sweet onset, malt-fruity with subdued hints of candied dates and raisins, brown-sugary aspect even but thinly so and kept in balance by a sourish undertone and a stronger, very beef stock cube-like umami effect; softish carb, full and oily to even slightly syrupy mouthfeel. Walnut purée-, bitter black chocolate- and toffee-like malt middle with a hint of molasses, bittersweet, a tad powdery in the end when a toasty bitterness gains strength and almost evolves into full-blown coffee-like roastedness - but not quite. Remains smooth, toffeeish and deeply nutty till the end, when a leafy and peppery hop bitter accent shows up and things get warmed up by pronounced whisky-like alcohol, even burning a little bit in the very end; full, lovely 'dark' maltiness manages to keep the upper hand. In terms of malt profile as such, this beer indeed closely resembles the classic 'icons' of the often ignored Baltic porter species (as traditionally offered by Zywiec, Okocim, Carnegie, Baltika and the like), but that outspoken beef stock-like umami element bothered me a bit and it could do with a tad less booziness as well. Not a bad attempt, in all.

Can, 10%. Almost black with medium beige head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, caramel and salt liquorice. Flavour is roasted malt, chocolate, caramel, liquorice, salt liquorice. sweet, warming and medium bitter.

Can at home. Pours black with a beautiful head. Flavour is very rich and malty, dark malts, slightly bitter. Some hints of honey. Some chocolate and coffee. Lovely Baltic porter.

440ml can - Pours black with a full foamy tan head. Aroma is roasted, initially some bitter chocolate but predominantly roasted malts, caramel and treacle. Moderately bitter taste, some burnt brown sugar sweetness with roasted malts, chocolate and liquorice flavours. Oily mouth feel but smooth and very nice.

Can from Cotteridge Wines Birmingham and shared in Bangkok. Poured a clear medium brown colour with a round bubbly off white head. The aroma is roasty malt, floral, herbal, light aniseed. The flavour is moderate bitter and sweet, with a smooth, rich, herbal, liqourice, dry coffee, hop bitter palate. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

440 ml can. Pours a very dark brown with moderate to full head. Aromas of berries, sweet chocolate, dark sugar and roasted malts. Flavors follow same with a little sweet nuttiness and more pronounced berries, almost like strawberries, more than the normal Baltic Porter. Neat.