Great Divide Smoked Baltic Porter

Formerly brewed at Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Smoked
Denver, Colorado USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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22 oz. bottle from City Beverage in Winston-Salem, NC. Pours dark brown to almost black with a thin, creamy khaki head. Aroma of rich smoky malts and chocolate. The smoke is certainly detectable in the flavor and lends an almost creamy texture to the mouthfeel. In my opinion the smoke blends beautifully with the chocolate and coffee flavors. I am a little confued about Baltic appearing in the name. At 6.2% it is lower in ABV than other porters. What makes this one "Baltic"? That confusing bit aside, this is an outstanding smoked porter.

Pours black into a Sam glass. Mocha head with medium retention recedes to skim surface. Smoky chocolate aromas. Thin with upfront sweet smoky chocolate continuing smoky in the lasting roasted caramel finish.

Pours a dark, murky chestnut brown with a small creamy beige head that recedes slowly and leaves only a little lacing. It’s a bit light in color for a Baltic porter but not too bad. The aroma is light with equal parts smoked and sweet malts. Some bakers chocolate thrown in as well. The taste is more of the same with lightly smoked malts, bittersweet chocolate and caramel. The flavors are well integrated but not especially bold. The mouthfeel is light bodied for a Baltic porter with soft carbonation. My struggle with this one is that they called it a Baltic porter and it doesn’t stand up to most Baltic porters out there in terms of complexity and body. That said it’s very drinkable (to be expected with the low ABV) and compared favorably to most smoked porters of the lighter variety.

Appearance: Passed across the bar top a dark brown, near black body with a finger-high head comprised of beige suds. A fleck of lace here or there on the way down. Smell: GDSBP gives off a dark, malty aroma - you’ve got some chocolate, a little splash of store-brand cola, and a hint of basic coffee. Some sparse dark fruit traces of plums and prunes. Very lean when it comes to the smokiness. Taste: Fairly robust dark maltiness yields fine tastes of lightly roasty coffee, semi-sweet chocolate morsels, and a hint of vanilla-flavored cola. Moderate sweetness. Slight dark fruitiness. The smokiness is light and rather well-integrated, giving you no more than a subtle accent. Minor bitterness. Sweetish, roasty, near-crisp finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation, leaving this one (at least on-tap) to feel a bit soda-like. Drinkability: Man oh man, Great Divide is just churning out the new brews. Some might prefer something a skosh more bolder, bigger, but I’m digging the especially easy drinkability of this new offering.

Thanks turdferguson for sharing. Seemed like this could have been tasty. Pours a dark black with two fingers of creamy tan head. Nose is lightly smoky and meaty with a mild caramelly sweetness, some day old coffee and chocolatey notes, and dark grain. Flavor is odd, the palate throws the perception completely. Kind of thin mouthfeel, crisp with a spicy bitterness. Some chocolate and coffee with smoky notes and not much else.

Nose has a strong woody character, also some smoke, grapes, ash. Slightly sweet flavor with a definite smoke character, albeit one lacking charisma. Thin palate, a little astringent and bitter, and just not what I had hoped it could be.

22oz bottled Aug 6, 2010. Pours thin dark brown with a two finger light brown head that leaves some nice rings of lacing with legs, holds a small foamy cap and ring. Aroma is has a fair bit of smoke, both wood and meat, roasted malt, and some chocolate/cocoa powder. Flavor is fairly smoky, good sweet chocolate, fair citrus hop presence on the finish, starts to get cola-like. Mouthfeel is thin, medium to high carbonation, does soften up a bit when served warmer. Pretty interesting but lacking in some Baltic Porter characteristics. Haven’t really had many smoked beers to offer much comparison of that aspect.

bottle. light bodied pour, black with minimal head. aroma of roasted malt, toast, smoke, chocolate, and coffee grounds. flavor of caramel, biscuit, graham cracker, smoke, peat, and chocolate. very thin palate

Bottle. Head is initially small, frothy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is dark brown. Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, coffee, dark chocolate), lightly hoppy (resin), with light notes of smoke/soot and wood. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Not too much going on in the nose besides roast and a bit of smoke. To say it’s restrained is putting it lightly. Watery and unremarkable in the mouth. Hmmm. Gotta be honest, I hoped for something more interesting. Not bad but kinda ho-hum.

Dark pour with a fluffy tan head and spotty lace. Aroma is light meat, and espresso. Body is too thin for a BP. Light smoke, roast, chocolate and Coffee