Okocim Porter

Carlsberg Polska
Brewed at Okocim (Carlsberg Polska)
Style: Baltic Porter
Warszawa, Poland

Serve in English pint, Shaker, Snifter

Damn, this is the best porter I’ve ever tossed back, I mean sipped. Big thick chocolate brown pour w/ minimal froth. Perfectly sweet malted nose. The flavors are so big and bright. Unlike other porters. It’s like someone turned on the lights. A unique style all it’s own. Slightly sweet w/ your typical porter flavors but 10X’s more intense. The clencher was the slight hop on the finish adding to it’s complexity. Goes down velvety. Alcohol is well hidden. Great ballance. Highly recommended.

Wow. This is my first perfect ranking ever. I’m not even sure what to write in my review. Poured from a 500ml bottle into a pint glass. No freshness dating on the bottle. Deep, deep brown colored brew with little light seeping through. A rich, A&W Rootbeer-like head resolves to a thick, creamy layer of foam. Decent lacing throughout the glassful. Aromas of sweet malt, brown sugar, toffee. Flavors mimic aroma, and this is exceptionally smooth. Malty, slightly sweet to start with, and then just enough hop bitterness to cleanse the palate. Only the slightest hint of alcohol comes through as the beer warms. I’ve never tasted a beer this smooth or creamy and as perfectly balanced as this. Exceptional!! Mouthfeel is extraordinary. Rich, creamy, velvety, with a clean finish. Is there even any alcohol in this? I’d never believe it. And it’s over 8%? No way. This is too smooth and creamy. I could drink this all night. It is the best beer I’ve ever had!!! As I mentioned above, this is the first perfect 5 rating I’ve ever given a beer, and this one truly deserves it. Wow! What a beer!!

UPDATED: JUL 31, 2011 The aroma is very malty and almost sweet. The appearance is very dark brown; almost black. The head is frothy and tan. The taste is somewhat bitter, but moreso malty. The palate is very thick and almost viscous. Overall, a very good Polish beer.

Bottle 500ml. Masterpiece. Aromas of chocolate, caramel, dark fruit, and hints of smoke. Taste is sweet, with a bitter background, and long length. Palate is syrupy, and full bodied. Black, with a frothy head.

This is a full flavored sweet brew. My personal favorite. It was unavailable in the US for about a year. I was pleasently surprised to find it again.

This is a Baltic porter, which means it differs from London porters in that lager yeast and lagering are used in its process instead of Ale yeast and warm fermenting with soft water. There is generally less hop astringency in the balance and the strength ranges in the 8-11% ABV range. They also tend to be a bit sweeter with the hops being more subdued. The results are wonderful! Like blending the sweet complexity of a strong dark dopple bock with the wonderful coffee-cocoa flavors of an London porter. This is probably the best porter I have ever tasted and the "imperial" strength and body is excellent. I was quite a porter fan when this was a popular seasonal Canadian commercial brewed by Formosa or Molson in the fall years ago but those tasty but watery porters are blown away by the very "big" Baltic porters. OKOCIM hass the best representation of the Baltic style porter hands down bar none. It has a rich mouth feel and luxurious chocolate-malty, spicy, licorice taste, not to mention a thick meringue-like mocha head that caps the drink to keep all those wonderful tastes intact until the class is drained. I buy out my local LCBO’s stock of this (20-30btls) whenever it comes in but I am informed that Okocim's owner (Carlsberg) will no longer produce this porter. I have one or two a month as a treat to break things up and savor them as no more is available. Too bad as this is one of the best beers in the world

Damn, 500 ml is the perfect amount for this tulip glass and it looks good too. Dark black brown that allows some light on the edges with a chestnut brown head that touched the rim of the glass. Milk chocolate nose with powdered sugar. Smooth silky texture with a great mild chocolate flavor. I don’t know exactly how to put it in words it is so good. Not overpowering the 8 percent alcohol is not noticeable at all. Some vanilla mixes with the sweet chocolate nicely. A powdery feel in the finish brings out more cocoa and a hint of almond. Just a hint of grassy hop that keeps it balanced perfectly. A very slight strawberry emerges to add to the complexity here, but the chocolate is still embracing me nicely. I think this is the best porter I have ever had. Thank you Poland. Ap-5 ar-9 tas-9 pal-5 ov-20

Pours a deep dark brown color, and shows off some ruby when held up to the light. It is topped by a good inch & a half of creamy tan foam. Great head retention and pretty good lacing too. Malty aroma, bold but not exceptionally powerful, of dark roasted malt, some fig, coffee, and alcohol. A taste treat - full flavors of bittersweet chocolate, molasses, sugar-sweetened coffee, and roasty grains. There is enough hop presence to provide a nice balance, yet no hop flavors are observed. Medium-full body, ample carbonation, very smooth mouthfeel. That sweetened coffee flavor lingers in the aftertaste. Although I detected alcohol in the aroma, I can’t taste any. However, halfway through the bottle I note a soothing and warming presence.