Baltic porter is the biggest, blackest, and boldest of all the Porters. Considered to be a bit of an evolved version of a traditional English Brown Porter, they started to rear their heads in the late 1700s from the countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Much like the origin of India Pale Ale, these beers were brewed with a higher alcohol content to survive their boat ride across the North Sea or beyond. Additionally, their dark brown color covered up some cloudiness, and numerous malt varieties were used to cover up imperfections. It may come as a surprise, but the majority of them are actually brewed with a bottom fermenting lager yeast as opposed to a top fermenting ale yeast.
