AAB 063: Celebrating and Understanding Baltic Porter

All About Beer

Baltic Porters, a beer famous in Eastern Europe, is a unique brew for sure. Born out of the love and thirst for English porters in the 18th and 19th centuries, Eastern European and Northern European brewers took their own access to local ingredients and made a new style out of the original porter and in this, fundamentally changed the way we think about dark beer. For one, most of the Baltic porters are made with lager yeast, a sharp contrast to other porters in America and England brewed with ale yeast.

Baltic porters can also be higher in ABV, with the famous Polish Baltic porter Żywiec (pronounced “Shoe-Vee-Its”) being a whopping 9.5% ABV. So what is the history behind this beer style and how do modern Polish and American commercial brewers brew it?

We talk to two brewers: one from Poland and one from America to see what approaches they take with this fascinating style.

This Episode is Sponsored by:

RahrBSG
Need ingredients and supplies that deliver consistent, high-quality beer? RahrBSG has you covered. From hops to malt to yeast to unbeatable customer service, we are dedicated to your success. RahrBSG—Ingredients for Greatness.

The Best of Craft Beer Awards

Attention brewers: registration is now open for the 2025 Best of Craft Beer Awards. This is a BJCP sanctioned competition judged by fellow brewers and industry leaders; it uses a unique set of style guidelines that champions harmonious and dynamic beers. Held in beautiful Central Oregon, it’s the third largest professional brewing competition in North America and is an opportunity to have your hard work evaluated and rewarded. In addition to traditional and specialty beer styles, new this year is the Hop Water category.

Register your beers through January 31, 2025 by visiting https://bestofcraftbeerawards.com/. Don’t delay, learn more and get your beers signed up by visiting https://bestofcraftbeerawards.com/

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, where trailblazing runs in the family. From crafting a movement with their iconic Pale Ale, to taking the IPA haze craze nationwide with Hazy Little Thing – it’s an adventurous spirit you can taste in every sip. Find your next favorite beer wherever fine beverages are sold. With new brews for every season, there’s always something to discover. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Still Family-Owned, Operated & Argued Over.

• Hosts: Em Sauter and Don Tise
• Guests: Mikal Kopik and Jenny Pfafflin
• Sponsors: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Best of Craft Beer Awards, RahrBSG, All About Beer
• Tags: Baltic Porter, Lager
• Photos: Mikal Kopik and Jenny Pfafflin

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Awesome Call by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3399-awesome-call
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://incompetech.com

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