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Baltic porter

Everything you need to know about Baltic porter

Porter Bałtycki


Baltic porters are characterised by their dark colour, usually dark brown to black, but there are examples that are a slightly lighter, in various shades of brown. 

The head should be creamy, compact and persistent. 

The aroma and flavour of porters are very complex and rich. You can find notes coming from dark malts, such as caramel, freshly baked bread crust, nuts, coffee, chocolate, toffee and biscuits. You can also sense aromas and aftertastes of dark and/or dried fruit – cherries, raisins, plums, dates. In older aged versions, notes of honey and sherry, port or Madeira may appear. 

In addition, in the mouthfeel you can detect pleasant alcoholic notes and a slight warming sensation. The bitterness is at a medium level and comes not only from the hops but also from the dark malts and alcohol.




Baltic porter in its classic version has an alcohol content of 8-10%.

Imperial versions can be even stronger. However, the alcohol content usually does not exceed 11-12%, as the brewer’s yeast cannot tolerate higher alcohol concentrations, so higher strengths cannot be achieved without a freeze-distillation.




Baltic porter is a strong beer. The original wort gravity for classic Baltic porter is in the range of 18-22°Blg, imperial versions are even stronger.

The colour of Baltic porter is described as dark brown, brown, almost black. Maroon, ruby or reddish reflections in the beer are also characteristic; these can be seen when the beer is perfectly clear and the glass/pokal is held up to a light source. The beer’s colour comes from the use of barley malts roasted at high temperatures. 




In a Baltic porter you can find a wealth of malt-derived flavours. Sweet maltiness comes to the fore, followed by notes of caramel, toast, dark bread, coffee, biscuits, nuts complemented by accents of dark dried (and/or fresh) fruit.

The bitterness is moderate, coming from both the hops and the roasted malt.

Baltic porter is full-bodied, pleasantly warming but very smooth, even velvety.

 

Baltic porter should be served at a relatively high temperature for a beer, around 8-14°C. This temperature will allow you to extract all the richness of flavour and aroma from the beer and appreciate the complexity of the drink.

If the beer is too cold, simply warm the glass with the porter in your hand to feel more intense aromas

Baltic porters usually have a rich malt bill consisting of several types of malt. The base is Vienna and/or Munich malt.

These malts bring a lot of malt flavours and aromas and give the beer body, as beers with a high proportion of these malts do not ferment too deeply.

A whole range of caramel malts, both light and dark, can be used in a porter.

These malts not only impart caramel flavours but also improve the head of the beer.

It is worth using dark caramel malts of 300-600 EBC. They will give strong caramel accents.

Munich caramel malts can be used to give some flavours associated with prunes. Chocolate malts and colouring malts complete the grist. These will give the beer the right colour and chocolate, coffee and nutty flavours.

Ingredient kits for brewing Baltic porter style beer can be found at any home brewing shop. 

Usually you will find a malt-based version, but shops often offer simpler versions based on malt extracts. 

Some shops sell extract kits with specialty malts, which add complexity and substance to extract-based brews. 

Shops provide detailed step-by-step instructions on how to brew beer using the kits.

Porters should not be heavily carbonated.

The carbonation of porters is described as low to medium.

It is usually between 1.9 and 2.5 vol CO2.

In Baltic porter we can mainly sense complex malt notes described as:

  • sweetness,
  • caramel,
  • biscuits,
  • toasted crust,
  • bread,
  • wholemeal bread,
  • sponge cake/ladyfingers,
  • nuts.

Complemented by notes of dried, dark fruit:

  • prunes,
  • dates,
  • raisins,
  • cherries.

and darker accents:

  • coffee,
  • chocolate,
  • roasted.

Notes of liquorice may appear. And in more mature beers you can encounter notes reminding of strong wines such as sherry or port.

Dorota Chrapek
Dorota "dori" Chrapek

The author of the article is Dorota Chrapek – food technologist and certified brewer, author of blog.homebrewing.pl and many publications on beer and brewing, organiser of sensory training and brewing workshops, lecturer at the Faculty of Brewing and Malting of the University of Krakow, home and professional brewer, consultant in the brewing industry.



BIBLIOGRAPHY:

– Bartosz Markowski „Porter Bałtycki”, Kompendium Piwa
– 9C Baltic Porter, bjcp.org
– EBCU Workshop “All About… Baltic Porter” on Youtube.
– P. Andrzejczak, P. Nowicki, M. Zalewski „ABC Piwnego Stylu Roku 2024 Porter Bałtycki” pspd.org.pl
– Artur Karpiński „Porter Bałtycki – piwowarski skarb polski” www.beerbaconliberty.com

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