Shipments Begin January 9!!!
It's finally Baltic Porter time. Sure, it's a few months late, but this was the best we could do with a surprisingly busy production schedule. How busy? Here are a few numbers for you. With the same amount of tank space as in 2010, we sold and shipped 37,556 barrels of Smuttynose beer this year, which reflects 28.6% growth from last year. This figure includes both our FX Matt production (4500 barrels total), as well as the two or so weeks we weren't able to bottle beer during the installation of our new-to-us bottle filler.
In fact, the difficulties of the filler install were one of the causes of the delay in packaging 2011's Imperial Stout release. The other portion of the Big Beer Series delays were the result of increased demand of year round and seasonal beers preventing us from over-lapping Big Beer production.
Since Baltic Porter and Really Old Brown Dog are two of our best-loved Big Beers, the decision to push them into 2012 was very easy to make. So without further ado, here is some information on the style of beer and this year's release.
Baltic porters came into the world almost exactly
like imperial stouts; 18th Century British brewers found a lucrative
trade selling strong dark beers to states along the Baltic Sea. It didn’t take too long for local
breweries in Sweden, Poland and Finland to learn to make their own versions of
these strong, imported ales.
Following continental Europe’s mid 19th Century explosion in
lager brewing, Baltic brewers sought to streamline their production and began
using these new, in-vogue yeasts in their dark beers as well and a new style
was born!
We’ve
brewed Smuttynose Baltic Porter in a nod to the more recent versions utilizing
the same lager yeast that we’ve always used. One taste of its smooth roastiness and you’ll see why this
black beauty is one of our best-loved Big Beers.
Food Pairings: While Baltic porters, like many dark ales, don’t offer the pairing
versatility of other beer styles, pairings that do work well are pretty spot
on. Write your shopping list to
include oysters, ham, aged cheddar cheese and any sort of creamy dessert from
your favorite vanilla ice cream to crème brulee or tiramisu. You might even add a small pour to a molé sauce.
Stat Box
9.24% abv
35 IBU
Starting Extract: 20.8°
Plato Finishing Extract: 4.9°
Plato
Malts: North American
2-Row, Munich 10L, Caramunich, Carahell, Carafa II DH
Hops: Sterling
Yeast: White Labs
WLP-920 Old Bavarian Lager
Production size: 150
barrels (4650 gallons)
Just remember that your local wholesaler may not have the Baltic Porter during the week of January 9, since we simply include their allocation on their next order.
Next up, Really Old Brown Dog in March!
