Head brewer Giles Dennis celebrates 2004 Brewer of the Year award with superior mahogany dry-bodied Baltic-styled porter deceptively labeled an ‘ale.’ Mocha-chocolate waft enhances burnt caramel core, candied Scotch sweetness, vanilla-marshmallow resonation, and honeyed maple-molasses dab. Secondary smoked cedar, charred wood chip, cashew, and tar illusions softened by chewy chocolate cake finish. Yummy sherry-rum thicket fills deep bruised cherry-dried apricot recess.

Inefficient mahogany-hued Baltic-like porter with dry nutty mocha disposition stays astringent as cheap espresso, burnt coffee, and cocoa bean illusions belie earthen hop char. Black chocolate bittering, latent cola nut surge, and burnt wood sensation fail to variegate backend, though further sips reveal frothy lactose creaminess.

Packaged in 1-pint brown casket, moderate-bodied sienna-hued beige-headed Baltic porter seems closer to brown ale or watery barleywine. Overripe raisin, sugarplum, sour grape and cola nuttiness pleat sweet frontage. Musty cellar-like dankness consumes soy-sauced caramel-toffee malting.

Palatable sweet malt sugaring and sharp grain minerality decorate moderate pale porter. Disappointingly lacks body, richness and overall strength from first healthy swig forward.

Supposedly the first Polish brew ever made, ruddy Baltic stout retains spongy lactic froth, chewy mocha-chocolate creaminess, and bruised citric trace to lingering bitter coffee finish. Well-rounded, thick, and quite soothing considering blatant 8.1% alcohol content. Serve to English porter fans then barleywine lovers as refreshing changeup.

Could the best Baltic-styled porter be brewed in Denmark despite competition from the usual suspects such as Poland, Czech Republic, Russia or Lithuania? Never oily, slick, or plastic like lesser Eastern European competition, this lactic full body retains rich brown-sugared molasses-chocolate-vanilla creaminess and benefits from being un-pasteurized (enlivening the doughy yeast). Chocolate liqueur sweetness, plum wine acerbity, and vinous port tartness sidle oncoming licorice, raisin, prune, and black cherry souring. Fudge brownie finish embittered by dry tar-like black coffee counter-punch. Leathery tarp and earthen bottom fortify robust conqueror.

Whimsical crimson-ruby Baltic porter not unlike sugared barleywine with its burnt caramel, chalky cocoa, and molasses exertion overriding raspberry, red grape, and dried raisin-fig hints. Frothy cascading flesh-tone bubbles and deep plum body hold early promise, but thin roasted hop finish forfeits creamy dark chocolate emphasis.

Muddy black porter boasts 5.5% alcohol content, full-bodied thick-headedness, syrupy caramel sweetness and cocoa-powdered mocha-coffee bittering climaxing at enduring molasses finish. Brown-sugared vanilla, stewed prune, raisin puree, and dark rum illusions vie for attention. Possibly Sweden’s best, worth every drop, though expensive at 8.8 ounces (now brewed by Carlsberg Sverige).

‘Hardwood smoked malts’ waft through bottle-conditioned Baltic-styled porter endorsing Winston Churchill (on label). Bittersweet black chocolate richness relegates roasted coffee bean severity and hop-charred walnut harshness. Sticky blackstrap molasses backdrop brings out cacophonous cocoa cusp, minor espresso tinge, and latently, vinous cherry-grape souring.

This moderate porter doesn’t hit you over the head with chocolate and coffee overtones, just a few well chosen malted grains, simple ingredients that combine for soft-toned irresistibility. Brewery defunct: 2001.

Despite 7% alcohol heft, mahogany-hued moderate body maintains light port appeal as ethereal prune-raisin register, sour cherry proxy, and barren currant-grape trickle soak dry wood-smoked tone. Roasted nuttiness saturates caramelized barleymalt foundation and lurking dark chocolate-y maple sugaring infiltrates amiable Black Forest cake finish.

Murkily defined Baltic porter retains acrid dark chocolate malting over soured prune-raisin subsidy. Milky dark amber hue result of ‘mellow’ caramel malting, sweet honeyed molasses dip and mild fudgy creaminess. Barley-roasted mocha mildness puts this closer to brown ale than heavier porter. Too light and watery up-front, though medicinal-to-chocolate liqueur finish retains richness. More peculiar than unique.