Victory

Baltic Thunder

     Review Date   8/9/2008

It’s not often that Victory Brewing surprises me in a negative way, especially when they do it with a really good beer. But that’s exactly what they did with Baltic Thunder, Victory’s version of a Baltic/Imperial Porter. Not that I don’t enjoy the beer, I do, and very much so. But my problem here is that it seems to me a bit off the mark for the style it purports to represent.

That style, of course, is Baltic porter, aka Imperial porter. Although these beers are called porters, they’re really bottom fermented like lagers, which is a departure from the classic English porter style. Classic porters are ales, which means they are made with top-fermenting yeast, resulting in a fruitier palate in the final product. Baltic porters also generally have much in common with the hearty, potent English Imperial Stouts that likely influenced them when they passed through the Baltic region on their way to the Czar’s court in Moscow over a century ago.

But enough of all that, let’s dive into this one and I can better explain.

Victory Baltic Thunder pours to a very dark mahogany, but not black, color, and if you hold it up to the light you’ll see a tinge of ruby as the light passes through. When I poured it into my glass, the cola colored liquid isn’t as thick as I expect from a Baltic porter, either. A small tan head forms atop the liquid, and the nose is nutty and slightly sweet malty.

Taking a sip is again surprising, mostly because Baltic Thunder immediately reminds me a lot more of a German-styled doppelbock than it does a Baltic porter. The Munich malt is readily apparent, imparting a thick toasty-nutty flavor that really gets my attention. Some dark fruity notes of prune and roasty chocolate are here too, but what I’m missing is the oily dark stout-like flavors, and although I get some licorice here, there’s not as much as I might expect.

This is a bit different from what I want in a Baltic porter. I’m reminded of the sadly departed and much lamented version from Dogwood Brewing, Youngblood Imperial Porter and the classic, and fortunately still available, Okocim Porter from Poland as closer to the mark.

Baltic Thunder is not for the timid all the same, and at a mighty 8.5% alcohol by volume a 22-ounce bomber might just hit you like a bolt form the clouds. Victory uses a recipe first employed by the now defunct Heavyweight Brewing Company, specialists in big and bold beers. Their Perkuno’s Hammer Baltic porter had an almost legendary appeal, and I recall polishing off a couple of pints of the stuff with great relish at the Grey Lodge Pub in Philadelphia years ago. It seemed to hit me (you’ll pardon the pun) a bit more positively than Baltic Thunder.

And now that I’ve said that, that doesn’t make this a bad beer at all. Because it’s quite delicious, and I would certainly buy it again. One can judge a beer hedonistically as well as stylistically, after all. Nobody ever said being a beer enthusiast was going to be easy, after all.