Brewery: Stallhagen (Finland)
Beer: Winter Porter (an alias for ‘Baltic Porter’), 7.0% ABV, 500ml bottle
Listed Ingredients: Water, Malted Barley, Hops, Yeast.
Style: Porter
Rating: 3/5
Probably Vegan Friendly

Stallhagen Winter Porter

Appearance
Black, pours a nice head of medium thickness.

Aroma
Roasted malt, caramel, hint of licorice and woodsmoke.

Taste
Medium dry, no nonsense porter. Maltyness hints you in the aftertaste, the beer is actually surprisingly light when you first sip it. A fairly standard porter with an emphasis on roasted malt.

Overall
Porter is perhaps my favourite style of beer, and I’m always keen to try new ones. Having tried so many of them, my criteria is quite strict, so although this could easily be rated 4/5 being a rather nice beer, I’ve dropped one mark because I’ve had so many excellent porters. I feel like this one might be a bit too light if it weren’t for the reasonably high ABV — it supports the characteristics of the beer. The aroma is actually excellent, and I was expecting a very good beer from that. The taste does not disappoint, but it’s not as deep or developed as the aroma might suggest. I’ve recently had another Stallhagen beer, their Julbok, which I reviewed earlier. I prefer the Porter, although they’re both decent.