Big Eddy Baltic Porter - Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.6/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours an effervescent ebony with 1 thumb of mocha colored head. Some head retention & near zero lacing

S: Dark fruit & faint carob & chocolate, some leafy hops as well

T: Dark fruit, carob, black currant, leafy hops & dryness, plus a touch of iron up front. More dark fruit, especially figs & prune; leafy & earthy hops as this warms, along with some Baker's chocolate. Finishes with slight medicinal notes, dark fruit, leafy hops & more carob

MF: Medium bodied, low carbonation, somewhat sticky

A decent Baltic Porter, worth a shot, but don't set your sights too high

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 04:45:20 | More by russpowell

brewcifix

Connecticut

4.75/5  rDev +28.7%

05-21-2013 21:42:20 | More by brewcifix

AmandaSchaefer

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev +1.6%

05-18-2013 12:59:55 | More by AmandaSchaefer

MSandahl23

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev +1.6%

05-16-2013 13:08:29 | More by MSandahl23

grumpygerman

Alabama

3/5  rDev -18.7%

05-16-2013 02:31:44 | More by grumpygerman

Lukass

Ohio

4/5  rDev +8.4%

05-07-2013 00:35:44 | More by Lukass

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.69/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Not expecting much since I got this beer for $1.75 mixed and matched at my local house of 1,000 beers.

A - Off to a pretty decent start. The slightly opaque colored head is a nice 1/2 inch that sticks around forever. Beer itself is a clear deep amber brown .
S - Mild chocolate tones with a touch of fruity yeasts and some chalky roast. It actually smells quite faded at this point.
T - Quite balanced yet not so bold I get some chalky roasts highlight but very minimal actual roast. Seems very good for it's age and even has a nice hop bite.
M - Kind of thin for a porter has a medium body but is not as chewy as it should be.

Overall not the worst porter I ever had but not bad for some BMC wanna bee's. I would get it again if I found a 10 dollar six pack.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 02:17:48 | More by DrDemento456

Sparty55

Michigan

4/5  rDev +8.4%

04-21-2013 02:16:52 | More by Sparty55

tbryan5

Louisiana

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

04-19-2013 00:02:28 | More by tbryan5

cofeeguru

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

04-17-2013 19:18:15 | More by cofeeguru

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.66/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A decent Baltic porter. Balanced, I would like a bit more bitterness edge rather than a malt job but still a good drinkable porter. Dark coloured, fizzy disappearing head. Middling mouthfeel. Lots of chocolate.
An extra in a trade, I think Beerenberger.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 04:24:16 | More by northyorksammy

EgadBananas

Louisiana

3.04/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2.75

Pours a dark, dark, blood red. A yellowish finger of head forms, no lace, dissipates to nothing.

Smells of sherry and port, raisins, plums, hints of roast, and a tinge of fusel alcohol.

Tastes more of dark fruits and a dark sweet port, with a hint of cocoa, roast and toffee.

Creamy, full bodied. Somewhat rich and slick. Overall though, this is quite a bit off kilter for a Baltic Porter, which makes it hard to enjoy it as such.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2013 21:40:35 | More by EgadBananas

Rons35

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

03-28-2013 19:00:30 | More by Rons35

BradleyR

Oklahoma

4.5/5  rDev +22%

03-26-2013 21:18:06 | More by BradleyR

tectactoe

Michigan

3.36/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

First beer that I will have had from Leinenkugel's "Big Eddy" line-up... I've heard pretty mixed things about this series of beers, so let's see how this one goes. The Baltic Porter pours a deep brown color topped with a dark-beige, somewhat creamy head. Once the head fades, the beer shows decent clarity from the top down.

The nose on this one is much lighter than I wanted it to be, but it still packs a little bit of heat. Boozy cocoa, mild toffee notes, and a helping of molasses are all kind of thrown into the pot. Along with those, you'll find a light nuttiness and a touch of dark-fruit sweetness; some raisins and dates. There's nothing wrong with any of these aromas - not at all. The problem I have is that they don't seem blended well in this case. They all seem so segregated and combating rather than molded together to form a nice, complex profile.

Though not quite as heavy in the aroma, the dark fruits are the first thing to hit my palate after taking a sip. Very mild vinous and wine-like feel to it; boozy grapes, raisins, plums, and almost-tart dates. There's a good sweetness that follows the fruits and mellows out the booze a little bit. About halfway through, the cocoa comes out - as does a slight astringency. Not really sure where that's coming from. I'm getting more and more deep prunes as this one opens up some. Light molasses and licorice in the finish. Medium mouth feel, medium carbonation, lightly slick on the palate.

I can definitely say this is one of the better offerings from Leinenkugel, although I'm not completely sold, and certainly not at the going rate. There's still that "something" that's just missing. Not really standout-ish in any form, and so what are you really missing?

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2013 11:36:30 | More by tectactoe

weonfire

Kentucky

3.83/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A - Dark brown but when held up to the light looks a burgundy hue. slightly opaque, zero head, zero lacing, tiny-tiny carbonation rising- like 5 bubbles worth.

S - mild chocolate, carmel malt. maybe a touch of honey.

T - initial: mild sweet carmel/chocolate/vanilla and aged fruit- maybe figs. finish has some roast and a touch of booze and low level of hops. but for 8.5ABVs- its hidden well.

M - Frothy, creamy malt- but a touch thin.

O - Honestly I like this. But, nothing is bursting through. Nose is underwhelming. Taste is pleasant but you keep hoping for more- specifically aged fruit- gotta bring that out more. Big Eddy are Leinenkugels' best brews but they seem to always fall just a step short of that 'excellent' level. this falls into another brew that is good, but I wouldn't brag about.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 22:32:54 | More by weonfire

Lemke10

Wisconsin

4.14/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

This pours a dark brown color with a slight light brown head. The aroma gives it that scent like it’s been aged in a sherry barrel with a mild fruitiness of plums. The texture is smooth and creamy. There are lots of complex roasted and smoky flavors. Finishes ever so crisp. Not too bad but there’s also room for improvement.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2013 05:26:20 | More by Lemke10

ChrisMon02

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -11.9%

03-17-2013 16:21:46 | More by ChrisMon02

scaliasux

Wisconsin

2.98/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Dark reddish brown. Appears opaque. Medium tall tan head, somewhat persistent.

Smell -Rich medium-roasted malt. Nutty toffee aroma. Raisins. Maybe a little alcohol.

Taste - Dark roasted malt. Tastes burnt - more bitter than sweet. Coffee with some sweet toffee or caramel.

Mouthfeel - Full.

Overall - A heck of a lot more interesting than most Leinenkugel brews, but the taste is not quite right.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 03:56:26 | More by scaliasux

Zachtheporter

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +8.4%

03-13-2013 05:20:07 | More by Zachtheporter

Thomas_Picton

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +1.6%

03-12-2013 23:54:12 | More by Thomas_Picton

spycow

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +1.6%

03-10-2013 23:45:34 | More by spycow

StoutHunter

Michigan

3.08/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

I picked up a bottle of Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Baltic Porter a couple weeks ago for $2.79 at The Lager Mill. I have tried the Big Eddy Wee heavy and Imperial Stout and thought they were both ok, but nothing special and i'm interested to see how this one turns out, so lets see how it goes. The bottling date was smudged by I could still make out that it was a 2013 Vintage, so it's fairly fresh. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a snifter.

A- I like the label it has a nice homemade and rustic feel to it that makes the label look pretty simple and nice. It poured a deep dark brown color that took on a real dark ruby hue when held to the light with a half a fingers worth of tan head that quickly died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and didn't really leave any lacing behind. This beer looked pretty average, I wish the color was darker and that there was a little more head, it's not that appealing to the eye.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of sweetness that had a slight brown sugar aroma to it followed by lots of malts that impart lots of brown bread, toffee, and caramel like aromas along with a real light roasted aroma and a strong dark fruit aroma with figs seeming to stick out the most making for an aroma that reminds me of a Fig Newton. I don't really pick any hops, instead there's just a medium boozy aroma. The aroma was nice, but I prefer my Baltic Porters to be more balanced and have more of a roasted malt component.

T- The taste seems to be fairly similar to the aroma, it start off with a slightly higher medium amount of sweetness that had a slight candied sugar like flavor to it followed by loads of malts that impart some sweet bread, bread crust, toffee, and caramel flavors along with a pretty large amount of dark fruits with no single fruit sticking out more than the others. Towards the end I get a lighter amount of medium alcohol that was slightly warming and it was followed by a fairly light amount of bitterness with just a little more candied sugar sweetness. This beer didn't taste bad, but it didn't taste true to style, it had more of a wee heavy flavor than a Baltic Porter flavor with no roasted malts coming through to balance the flavor out, it was barely average.

M- Fairly smooth, a little chewy, slightly creamy, a little fizzy, on the lighter side of being full bodied with a higher amount of medium carbonation that was a little prickly. The mouthfeel was a slightly above average, it was going in the right direction, but the carbonation was just too lively for the style.

Overall I wasn't impressed with this beer and I thought it was an average at best example of a Baltic Porter, it just seemed much more like a Wee Heavy since it really didn't have any of those nice roasted flavors and aromas that I look for in the style. This beer had decent drinkability, it was fairly smooth and even though the flavors weren't true to style they still held my attention, but I think one would be enough for me, I don't feel the need to crack open another one. What I liked the most about this beer was the aroma, it was actually nice, it just wasn't true to style and it lacked the roasted aromas that I was looking for. What I liked the least about this beer was that it tasted much more like a wee heavy than a Baltic Porter, where did all the roasted malts go? I wouldn't buy this beer again, I would much rather have a Thirsty Trout Porter from Dark Horse, it's a little cheaper and it's much truer to style and tastier, I wouldn't recommend this as a good Baltic Porter. All in all i was let down with this beer, it didn't taste bad, but it wasn't what I expect from the style and it was really missing the roasted malts as a key component of this beer. So far I haven't been impressed with any of this beers from the Big Eddy series and this one is no different, I'm starting to lose hope with the series, but I hope the DIPA is better than the rest, better luck next time guys.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 04:54:42 | More by StoutHunter

dbossman

Nebraska

3.89/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Dark mahogany brown with a reddish tint and a 2-inch steady light brown head and fantastic retention; decent lacing

S: Lots of dark fruits, molasses, raisins, cocoa, anise, at first I thought the aroma was fairly subdued but man, it's actually intense and complex and pretty awesome smelling

T: Some of the same flavors from the aromas: cocoa, molasses, vanilla, raisins, with some subtle anise; so much roasted malts and molasses

F: Medium to thick texture; viscous and creamy and chewy

O: Such a rich, chewy porter; a touch of an alcohol burn on the finish though it's pretty well masked; another nice offering from the Big Eddy series

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2013 03:07:07 | More by dbossman

Beer21

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +1.6%

03-07-2013 02:47:30 | More by Beer21