Garrison Grand Baltic Porter

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Alrighty. Halifax home of Alexander Keith's. Neighbour of Garrison. Well, not quite. Next visit to Hali, I must visit! Very nice pour, dark brown colour. Aromas of chocolate, coffee and hints of vanilla. Almost similar in taste, along with roasted malts and molasses. For 9%er, doesn't feel like it. Deceiving I would say, but in a good way. A little bit bitter aftertaste, but does not diminish overall tastebuds. Yummy!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Nice to see a bunch of new Garrison hitting the LCBO. This baltic porter pours a darker brown colour with lots of red highlights. Not much of a head, disappearing quickly and not leaving any lace. Aromas are mild with raisins, plums, chocolate and something sweet, kind of like grape juice. Nice medium-full bodied. Becomes hazy at last pour and smells a bit more balanced at that point. No burning at all (really, this is 9% ABV ??). Taste is not as sweet as one would think. Nicely blended bitterness with the dark fruits and chocolate coming out in the finish. A nice version of the style (as per the description).

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

½ liter bottle; pours a hazed deep brown color in the snifter like dark roast coffee with ruby highlights. 2 finger sticky off white cap lasts and laces the glass. Soft demure carbonation. Aroma is typical of the style and gets more complex as it warms – dark fruits, toffee, molasses, wet hay, roasted hazel nuts, some licorice. Lighter in body than suits the style but adequate body to give the soft silken mouth feel you expect from a Baltic. Wonderful rich amalgam of flavors assault the palate with the noble hops sitting in the background – dark dried fruits (figs prunes) dark treacle/molasses, toasted sesame halva, licorice, caramel - wonderful complexity indicative of the style – goes to a long rich finish where hops become more apparent – then the Garrison signature bitter ness right at the end – although any bitterness is out of place in this style, the little shot of bittering in the end of this brew is not offensive or piercing as it seems to be from Spalters and is rather pleasant. All in all this is a decent Baltic that compares well with Okocim or Zywiec.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

Quite possibly the finest porter brewed in Canada. It pours a solid black colour with a creamy dark brown cap that lingers until the glass is finished. Aroma consists of roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate. Flavour is rich, chocolatey, and has a great bitter finish.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

500ml bottle
9.0% ABV
I tried this beer on June 3, 2011 at "Bar Volo" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The beer poured a deep black colour with a thin brown head into a tulip glass. The aroma was roasted malt, coffee, and molasses. The mouthfeel was full with mild carbonation. The flavour was more pronounced in the molasses direction with the coffee tones taking a back seat, but still there.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Quite a decent porter, hides the alcohol incredibly well. For the most part its pretty uneventful though, medium to thin body, some burnt grain, roasted barley, some trace bitterness, drinks like san pelligrino in moments. Slight sour note, something like cherrys mixed with suede, but maybe not too. Good. Definately a fruit note