The History of Baltic Porter

Baltic porter is the biggest, blackest, and boldest of all the Porters. Considered to be a bit of an evolved version of a traditional English Brown Porter, they started to rear their heads in the late 1700s from the countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Much like the origin of India Pale Ale, these beers were brewed with a higher alcohol content to survive their boat ride across the North Sea or beyond. Additionally, their dark brown color covered up some cloudiness, and numerous malt varieties were used to cover up imperfections. It may come as a surprise, but the majority of them are actually brewed with a bottom fermenting lager yeast as opposed to a top fermenting ale yeast.

Baltic Porter Characteristics

Baltic Porters have a rich, malty, sweet aroma that can contain caramel, toffee, nuts, toast, and even licorice. You’ll probably pick up some alcohol notes of moderate strength, along with plums, raisins, prunes, cherries, or currants, occasionally with a vinous, port-like quality. Those brewed with darker malts will give off some chocolate, molasses or coffee, but keep your nose tuned for burnt notes, because they should never be there. They can be dark reddish in color, to very dark brown with a thick, sticky tan head. Oddly enough, these beers are relatively clear, but the ones on the darker side can be opaque. As with aroma, this style will have a rich malty sweetness with a complex blend of deep malt, dried fruit, and alcohol. There’s a silky smooth, mouth filling schwarzbier-like roasted flavor that again, won’t be burnt, and that lager yeast that it’s brewed with will give it a very clean character. They start out sweet but that darker malt flavor will quickly take over and be right there to the last sip. They’ll be a bit on the dry side, with some coffee or licorice in the finish, with medium bitterness from the malt and hops, but just enough to provide balance. Baltic Porters are quite a mouthful, with some well-aged alcohol warmth, but with the moderate carbonation they won’t be too heavy on the tongue.

Baltic Porter and Food Pairings

Right out of the gate, if it’s meat, and it’s roasted, smoked, grilled, baked, braised, or broiled it’s a perfect match for this big, bad style. Any kind of dish with a classic mole sauce that contains spices, chilies, nuts, and chocolate will be great with Baltic Porter, not only with the flavor profiles matching up, but that clean lager character in the background will tame some of the spice in your dish, and the roastiness will play well with whats going on. As you’ll probably guess, desserts with Baltic Porter are a no-brainer. The chocolate malt in the beer will pair up with literally any kind of chocolate dessert (as long as it’s not too sweet), and it will also be a great contrast to a dessert with fruit, especially anything with raspberries, cherries, or strawberries. If you want to go the simple route, get yourself some good vanilla ice cream and you’ll have quite a treat.

Why You’ll Enjoy Baltic Porter

If you’re a fan of darker, less-bitter beer, and you haven’t yet checked out this style, do yourself a huge favor and seek out a few that I have listed below. One great aspect of this style that you may not expect is that the price point for these beers is surprisingly reasonable, especially imported versions. That doesn’t happen too often these days with beers of higher strength, so if cost efficient is part of your game plan when you head to your local beer store, put some of these on your shopping list.

Cheers!

Okocim Porter

Sinebrychoff Porter

Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter

Victory Baltic Thunder

Zywiec Porter

TAGS [ BALTIC PORTER | TOP BALTIC PORTERS | BALTIC PORTER CHARACTERISTICS | ABOUT BALTIC PORTER | BEER REVIEWS | BALTIC PORTER BEER REVIEW ]

Dave just sent me a link to this article in The New York Times by Eric Asimov, and the introductory paragraph really grabbed my attention:

"People get stuck on the word stout. It confuses, the way it connotes size and fleshiness. And the color, too — inky, impenetrable black — suggests mass and power. As a result, many people think stout is a formidable blockbuster of an ale, heavy and alcoholic, just the way they assume darker roasts of coffee have more caffeine than lighter roasts. Nothing could be further from the truth."

As the manager of a local coffee shop during my college years, and a woman who loves all stout brews, including my favorite go-to beer Guinness, I know these misconceptions well… and I thank Mr. Asimov for trying to set the masses straight.

Damn, now I need to pick up more Guinness. Thanks, Dave :)

TAGS [ STOUT BEER | GUINNESS | DARK COFFEE | STOUTS ]

This past weekend, Dave and I had the pleasure and privilege to attend one of the best Real Ale Festivals this side of the Atlantic at Clark’s Ale House in Syracuse. A true Syracuse mainstay, and one of the first real beer bars to sprout up back in the early 90s before places like that started to become more common the past few years, Clark’s has always done it right with great beer, great atmosphere (there are no TVs), and a legendary roast beef sandwich that is basically a requirement to enjoy when you’re in town. The Peoples Real Ale Festival is an event they have held the past couple of years with great success, and this was my first opportunity to attend.

Cask Ale, or Real Ale as it’s known in the US, is beer brewed with traditional ingredients and allowed to mature naturally. Being only common in Britain these days, this beer is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and contains live yeast, which will continue to condition the beer in the cask (known as secondary fermentation).

The result is a natural CO2 carbonation which allows the hop and malt flavors to develop, giving the drinker a much more simple, naked, and un-fooled-with beer. No extraneous gas is used in dispensing of the beer, usually by way of a hand pump. It’s a very unique, and more importantly, traditional way of serving beer than the normal filtered, pasteurized, chilled beer we’re used to most of the time. Some people think that Real Ale is warm and flat; however this is incorrect. Cask Ale is served between 54-56 degrees, which is cool, but not cold like normal keg beer, and there should be a noticeable carbonation from the secondary fermentation in the cask.

Here is a complete list of the beers that were available:

Blue Point Oatmeal Stout
Blue Point Rastafa Rye
Brooklyn Best Bitter
Brooklyn BLAST
Captain Lawrence DIPA
Captain Lawrence Pumpkin
Captain Lawrence Smoked Porter
Ellicottville Prince of Pale
Empire Maple Smoked Porter
Empire Amber
Flying Bison Rusty Chain Amber
Ithaca Flower Power
Landmark Vanilla Bean Brown
Middle Ages X
Middle Ages Dragonslayer
Sixpoint Bengali IPA
Sixpoint Amberdeen Scotch Ale
Sixpoint Righteous Rye
Southern Tier Pumpking

I was fortunate enough to sample about of what was available, and everything I had was very enjoyable. Highlights for me were the Sixpoint Aberdeen, the Brooklyn Best Bitter (I have a real soft spot for simple English Bitters), and I made it a point to do a side-by-side with the two porters and the two stouts. Also of note was the presence of 2 different rye beers, an often under-brewed and favorite style of mine.

As impressed as I was with the beer list, I think I was even more pleased with the way the event was run. It was very well organized, with 2 guys sharing bartending duties on all the casks, which were placed in an area where no long lines would develop and bar traffic could move around with ease. Even better, you had the option of getting 8- or 16-ounce pours so you needn’t buy a full pint of a beer if you were unsure if you would like it. This provided the opportunity to try the majority. And most of all, the price point didn’t hurt—most 8-ounce pours were $2.

So, cheers to Clark’s for doing it well, and doing it right. Thankfully, there has been a bit of resurgence and growing popularity of these types of festivals over the past few years, and I encourage everyone to take full advantage of them when held in your area. After all, it is how our forefathers enjoyed great beer, and a bit a nostalgia and history never hurts!

TAGS [ CASK ALE | REAL ALE | BEER TASTING | BEER SAMPLING | CASK ALES | REAL ALES ]

Now that I’m an official beer snob, I tend to be quite critical of others’ judgment calls – especially when it comes to judging craft brews. In true beer snob fashion, I assume that 95% (if not more) of the general public has no idea what makes a beer "good" and they wouldn’t know actually know a high-quality ale or lager if it fell from the sky and hit them over the head.

Men’s Journal ran an article on October 5th titled "America’s Best Beers" and I must admit authors Christian DeBenedetti and Seth Fletcher did a fantastic job compiling an impressive list.

I was glad to see that Stone Brewery’s Levitation Ale, Flying Fish Exit 4, Victory Prima Pils and Dogfish Head Squall IPA made the cut. In fact, several of my favorites made their top 15 and based on their proven impeccable taste, I can’t wait to try the others that I haven’t yet had the opportunity to enjoy – and I stress the "yet."

The guys broke things down into categories, choosing three of their favorite lagers, ales, dark beers and Belgian styled brews, plus three that they deemed "best cutting edge."

An additional 10 beers are mentioned in the article Top Five Beer Towns in the U.S., published the same day.
(In case you were wondering it was San Diego, NYC, Portland (OR), Philadelphia and Chicago that made that list).

Check them out, tell us if there’s a brew you wish had been included and let us know what YOU think!

TAGS [ AMERICAN BEER | TOP AMERICAN BEERS | MEN'S JOURNAL | BEST BEERS | 25 BEST AMERICAN BEERS ]

Recently in my Top 5 picks, I’ve been focusing on lighter, more seasonal beers. Now that we’re beginning the descent into the Fall season, my favorite time of year, I thought it would be the perfect time to focus on one of my very favorite styles of beer.

The History of Scotch Ale

Scotch Ale, also known as Strong Scotch Ale or Wee Heavy, is at the top end of the spectrum for the style, being the strongest, maltiest, darkest, and I feel most delicious of the Scotch Ale family. They’re fermented at cooler temperatures than most ales, and combined with going through a long boil in the kettle, they produce clean, intense malt flavors that are sweeter, fuller-bodied, and of course higher in alcohol than their lighter brothers and sisters. They’re actually a very accurate representation of their indigenous ingredients and the region. Hops traditionally are not native to Scotland, and especially back in the day were expensive to import, hence the focus on malt being the big star in these beers. Instead of using hops, brewers focused on herbs, spices, and roots to balance out all the sweetness.

Characteristics of Scotch Ale

Most Scotch Ales are light copper to dark brown in color, often with deep garnet highlights, with a thick tan head that may quickly dissipate in higher strength versions. Malt lovers, this style should be at the top of your list. Roasted, caramel malt is the dominant trait, with some nuttiness that may last well into the finish. Like I said, hop flavor will be at a minimum, and alcohol warmth is present a lot of the time. Like some other styles, there’s a bit of what I like to call a fruit basket flavor going on, with plums, raisins, and dried fruit being very noticeable. They’re full-bodied beers, thick and chewy, with moderate carbonation, and some versions are dangerously drinkable.

Scotch Ale and Food Pairings

Scotch Ale is another very versatile beer for pairing with food. Roasted meats are the first to come to mind, and game is another winner with this style, especially pheasant, quail, partridge, and venison. Sausage, meatloaf, pork, and basically any roasted meat are also great to pair with these beers. Desserts are also a great match, especially shortbread, creamy puddings, and creme brulee. One thing that should be noted is to avoid pairing this style with spicy foods the lack of hops wont give them the power to stand up to the heat.

Top 5 Scotch Ales

This was a tough Top 5 for me to pick, primarily because its one of my favorite styles, and there are thankfully numerous commercial examples widely available that are very unique in their own way, so the competition is tough. Now that we have some evenings that have a bit of a chill in the air, these are some great ones to enjoy during those last few nights you can squeeze in on the back patio. Cheers!

Scotch Silly

Alesmith Wee Heavy

Traquair House Ale

Dark Horse Scotty Karate

Meantime Scotch Ale

TAGS [ SCOTCH ALE | SCOTCH ALES | TOP SCOTCH ALES | BEST SCOTCH ALES | SCOTCH ALE REVIEW | WHAT IS SCOTCH ALE | BEER REVIEW | BEER REVIEWS ]

The wait is finally over. After what seemed to be an eternity, the bottle of Root I ordered nearly 2 weeks ago arrived yesterday afternoon (Woohoo!) …and I’m here to tell you, it’s worth every single highly-anticipated second of that wait time. In fact, I cracked it open just as soon as I got home last night.

It’s probably because I’ve always had an affinity for the smell and taste of Root Beer that explains the excitement with which I opened this handsome bottle of liquor. Something about the smell of root-anything reminds me of the summer trips of my childhood to North Carolina, visiting my extended family and sitting out on the front porch looking up at the stars. Even now, during the occasional walk past the Home Brew section in our warehouse, I catch a whiff of our Root Beer Making Kits and it sends me back to those warm, homely thoughts of childhood summers.

Produced by Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (Art in the Age for short), Root takes us back to the pre-Temperance Era before Root Tea became the soft drink Root Beer that we know nowadays. That is, this baby’s got alcohol.

At 80 Proof, this deep reddish-brown, caramel colored liquor has a smooth flavor – just as root beer would (and should) if it had a kick. It is a well-balanced blend of natural herbs, spices and alcohol – without being overly herbal or overly boozy. Best of all, it leaves a wonderful after taste that is somewhat spicy, yet totally refreshing and very much root beer-like. Even the bottle seems to throw back to its days as an herbal remedy – which was Root Tea’s original, native purpose.

Popping the cork, the blended aroma of anise, cloves, orange and lemon peel, birch, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon wafted from the bottle. A wayward drop of Root soared into the air and came to rest on my finger, giving me my first taste ever… Delicious!

Nothing about Root, its flavor, packaging, or promotion says "pretense." Nor does it reek of effort – which is always a good thing in my book. Overall, this is pretty much a low-profile liquor that deserves every bit of the attention and spotlight it gets - and more.

If you’re lucky enough to have a liquor store near you that carries Root, I recommend you pick it up; otherwise, you’ll have to order it. See Art in the Age’s website for details.

TAGS [ ROOT LIQUOR | ROOT BEER LIQUOR | ROOT TEA | ROOT BEER ]

Belgian white ale, witbier, biere blanche, whatever you want to call it, was one of the first true styles of beer that I sunk my teeth into over a decade ago, after years of living off American macro lager (for those in Upstate New York, that meant Labatt & Molson). It was truly a training wheels beer for me, and has been for a lot of others. We’ve been feeling some serious hot weather in this neck of the woods the past couple of weeks (…cough…finally), so being in need of a great summer seasonal, here are my 5 that will fit the bill nicely.

The History of Witbier

Witbier is a very popular style today, but surprisingly enough at one point it almost vanished completely from the landscape. Its origins date back to the Brabant region east of Brussels in Belgium in the 1500s, where wheat beer had been brewed for hundreds of years. By the 1950s, it had all but disappeared, due to wars, the big movement towards lagers, and breweries being bought and sold or closing down altogether. In 1966, a man named Pierre Celis, one of the greatest and most influential minds in the history of modern brewing, established the De Kluis Brewery, next to his house in Hoegaarden. He made a beer that the town had once been known for, and the road to recovery was being paved; however in 1985, a fire forced its sale to Interbrew, and Pierre moved to Texas to start over. At that point, he started the Celis Brewery, and although it was eventually sold to Miller, thankfully the Michigan Brewing Company bought the rights and has resurrected the entire line of his beers, and his flagship white ale is and always will be in my top 5.

Witbier Characteristics

A moderate sweetness with light notes of honey or vanilla and spicy, fragrant wheat aromatics will be the nose that is an earmark of these beers. They’re very pale straw to very light gold in color, with a cloudiness from starch haze and yeast and a dense, white, mousy head with lacing that should be present until the last sip. Witbier has an incredibly flavorful, refreshing sweetness combined with a zesty, orange-citrusy fruitiness. Herbal, spicy flavors from the coriander will be ever present, but should not dominate the flavor of the beer. Like Hefeweizen, hop bitterness is low to medium-low. They’re medium-light to medium bodied with a smoothness and light creaminess from the unmalted wheat and occasional oats, with a dry, tart finish.

Witbier and Food Pairings

Witbier is an incredibly versatile style when it comes to pairing with food, and is a no-contest winner with salads. If you’re having brunch, take my word for it—it will replace the finest orange juice you can get your hands on. It’s also terrific with fish, whether it’s a light halibut or smoked salmon. A seafood dish prepared with citrus will be a match made in heaven. Mexican, Thai, or Indian food, as long as its not too spicy, will also pair wonderfully.

How to Enjoy Witbier

One last note on this style. It’s become incredibly trendy to have a glass of Witbier, especially in a bar, with an orange slice on the rim of the glass, or even dropped into the beer, a habit that I admittedly bought into in my early days of being a beer geek. From my experience, 95% of the time the bartender will add it, a lot of the time without asking me. I suggest the next time you have one, omit the fruit. I’ve discovered over the years that while the orange slice is nice you really don’t want it to interfere with the flavor of the beer. So here’s to beating the heat and to my Upstate New York friends, try and get your hands on one of these before the snow hits in a couple of weeks. Cheers!

Top 5 Witbiers

Celis White

Southampton Double White

Blanche De Namur

Brugge White

St. Bernardus Wit (Pierre Celis Signature)

TAGS [ WITBIER | WITBIERS | BELGIAN WHITE ALE | BELGIAN WHITE ALES | WITBIER HISTORY | TOP 5 WITBIERS | WITBIER AND FOOD PAIRINGS | BEER REVIEW | BEER REVIEWS ]