Goldfinger #6: Bałtycki by Goldfinger Brewing Co.

As related previously, my tireless search for Goldfinger's Winter Lager led me to their brewery as a blizzard approached Chicagoland. But the great and the good of the western suburbs couldn't care less as they were packed into the tasting room while the beers in the nearby lagering tanks were gleefully awaiting the approaching storm and its attendant drop in temperatures. I was disappointed to find that the sign at the counter didn't list cans of Winter Lager as being available; however it did note that cans of Bałtycki, their Baltic porter, were on offer.

My mind did the hedonistic calculus.

Intensity: At 8.4% A.B.V., likely fairly intense.

Duration: A 4-pack of potent brew? A few hours.

Certainty or uncertainty: It's Goldfinger. It'll certainly be tasty.

Propinquity or remoteness: As soon as I get back to the hotel.

Fecundity: High probability of feelin' good.

Purity: I won't get drunker than a barrel of monkey so the aftermath will be fine.

Extent: The drinking of this beer will affect only me.

Forecast: Blizzard ahead! Beer needed.

Having done Jeremy Bentham proud and it having been determined that buying some Bałtycki would have high utility, I did so.

Like all Baltic porters, Goldfinger's had that Stygian dark brown color that was very hesitant to let any light through lest anyone mistake it for an amber. With the requisite color, I was happy to see that it had that viscous motor oil look to it like Baltika #6 and Żywiec as I poured. My glass was adorned with a big, frothy head of light brown foam. It was like the color of roux when it just turns the corner and you know it's headed for a nice milk chocolate color that will make your gumbo mo' bettah. I really couldn't tell but I am going to assume this stuff was clear as one would expect. The aroma was equally luscious with a prominent roastiness to it along with a stone fruit scent that alternated between plum and cherry in the part of my brain that register beer smells. French roast coffee, a verdant hoppiness, and a wonderfully decocted toastiness rounded things out.

Darkly roasted coffee along with a touch of dark chocolate were the most prominent flavors. The beer's medium-heavy body tasted really smooth underneath generous doses of fizz and hops of a spicy nature. It was a sweet beer but not cloying. The malty sweetness lingered for a spell on the finish but was eventually replaced by a not-insignificant wave of bitterness & astringency. Gotta tame all that malt somehow, I guess. Despite the potency of the acerbity, dryness was rather mild.

Bałtycki was one tasty brew. I was surprised to not get much of a boozy burn despite an A.B.V. of 8.4%. Just as Oceania and Eurasia are locked in perpetual war in 1984, so too are malty sweetness and hops/fizz in the Baltic porter. You want a big, thick roasty malt extravaganza but you also don't want the drinker's tongue bogged down in treacle so you've gotta be generous with the hops and make it fizzy. Goldfinger did a great job here letting my palate enjoy the dark malty goodness yet not drown in a cloying syrupy mess. That bitter finish sure did reset my tongue for the next blast of barley. Without the boozy heat, this stuff went down easily. A bit too easily, if you ask me.

Junk food pairing: Baltic porters not only demand a junk food with complementary flavors but one with a hearty amount of them to get themselves tasted through the big flavors of the beer. Pair Bałtycki with a big bag of Jays Smoky BBQ Ridges potato chips. A thicker chip means more spud goodness and grease while the ridges mean more surface area for the smoky BBQ flava.