The glorious accident that is Baltic porter

By Joey Redner
Published October 26, 2007

The history of beer, like the history of man, is rife with happy kismet. We owe the discovery of penicillin to Alexander Fleming's sloppy lab work. The discovery of America by Europeans is due to Columbus' gross misestimating of the size of our planet, and randy gents the world over have the unintended side effects of an experimental angina drug to thank for Viagra. Sometimes things just work out.

Of course the people of the Baltic region - today comprising Latvia, Poland, Estonia and Lithuania - were just trying to enjoy a good pint when they accidentally created one of the world's most unique, and delicious, beer styles: Baltic Porter.

It all started around 1806 when Napoleon's Continental Blockade policy, designed to weaken the United Kingdom's economy, slowed the steady stream of Imperial stout and porter heading into Russia and the Baltic States. Prior to this, Barclay Perkins & Co. (stout and porter specialists) had become the largest brewery in the world on the strength of Russian and Baltic exports.

If war is hell, then war without beer must have been unthinkable to the Baltic brewers who quickly sought to recreate the popular English porter and stout styles previously imported from England.

Many of the world's most interesting and endearing beer styles are the results of necessity rather than deliberate formulation. Few beer styles are designed from scratch. Typically, beer styles develop quite organically. As beer drinker's tastes change, brewers modify their recipes to play up some flavor or downplay others. Brewing conditions sometimes require radical new approaches, due to a lack of proper equipment or ingredients. California Commons, lager fermented at unusually warm temperatures, are an example of necessity prompting the birth of a distinct new style.

Baltic porter springs from this tradition. Based on Imperial stouts - themselves modified with more alcohol and hops to survive the long sea voyage to Russia - Baltic porters draw their unique flavor from the malt, water and hops available to Baltic brewers. These ingredients yielded a sweeter brew showcasing prunes, raisin and cherry notes along with chocolate, caramel, licorice and toffee. Baltic porters lack the pronounced roast bitterness indicative of other stouts and porters. They also stand out because unlike most porters, Baltic Porter is typically brewed with lager yeast, rather than ale yeast. This imparts a cleaner flavor that is reminiscent of the popular German black lager named Schwarzbier.

The higher alcohol of Baltic porters, typically in the 6.5 percent to 9.5 percent alcohol by volume range, reflects the influence of Imperial stout on the style, but English brown porters have an equally important influence, reflected in the rich sweet malt profile.

Baltic porter is a rare style these days. The Baltic countries have not been immune from the effects of global conglomerates buying up regional breweries and cranking out golden lagers. Fortunately, a few traditional examples of the style still exist.

Okocim Porter from Poland features chocolate, raisin and brandy notes and a heady 8.3 percent alcohol by volume. Black Boss Porter, also from Poland, comes in three strengths ranging from 7.8 percent to 9.4 percent and has a pronounced walnut accent in addition to the typical Baltic porter flavors. A Le Coq Porter from Estonia is one of the oldest Baltic porters still in production. There is also a chocolate version of A Le Coq Porter, released as a winter special.

Aldaris Porteris comes from Latvia and features cocoa, raisins, brown sugar, prunes and caramel. Baltika 6 from Russian offers molasses, burnt dates, chocolate, coffee and slightly more of a roast profile than other Baltic porters. Consider sipping one of these historical brews as the weather begins to cool.

[Last modified October 24, 2007, 19:06:47]