Your actual Baltic

We are joined once again by Mr Engelman and one of his handsome full-pint cans. I'm not sure I've ever had a Lithuanian Baltic porter before, which is a shame, what with it being on the Baltic and all.

Volfas Engelman Baltic Porter, then, is 6% ABV and the can tells us it's in "limited supply". Also that it's 25 IBU, which strikes me as a little low, even if the scale is largely meaningless. Nevertheless, it pours a handsome dark brown with a modest and mangeable off-white head. The aroma gives gentle caramel and the promise of some herbal liquorice hops. Everything is in order there, then. A lager-clean texture follows, and there's a surprise in the flavour. It's not very bitter -- the IBUs don't lie, for once -- and there's a strong chocolate sweetness. But there's the liquorice too, loads of it, and a flourish of milky coffee on the end.

Getting all the aniseed without an accompanying bitter tang is a bit confusing, but I enjoyed the flex. It does run the risk of turning overly sweet, which would be a disaster for any Baltic porter, though it manages to avoid going that far. All told, it's a satisfying pint, warming and nutritious-tasting: ideal winter drinking without going overboard on the alcohol. Thanks Volfie!