Junkyard Estonia 10/30 Smoked Baltic Porter

Junkyard Estonia 10/30 Smoked Baltic Porter.
10.5 % ABV. 80 IBU. Barrel Aged.
Junkyard Brewing, Moorhead, MN.

Here's a crowler I did not purchase locally and did not buy at the brewery (which I haven't returned to since 2016, alas, not for lack of desire). No, it was a little ol' inter-familial trade. Nephew Pat who lives in Fargo brought two crowlers to our family Thanksgiving dinner, and I brought an Oliphant crowler we didn't open. Why not swap? And so we did, and now I get to review this one. Away we go....

Deep and dark, just about black, with a tight brown ring of foam encircling above.

In the nose: Malt explosion. Incredible aromatics. Packed with smoke, chocolate, coffee, char, caramel, ...richness upon richness.

In the mouth: Thick, viscous, and damned delicious. Everything encountered in the nose is visited doubly upon the palate. Massive malt. Chocolate intertwines with smoke. More richness, more deliciousness. Increasing alcohol. Wonderfully warming. Luxurious and lovely.

Wow. This is so good. One of my favorite Junkyard brews of all time. Please make more, Junkyard crew!

Baltic Porter originate in the Baltic region when brewers started to combine aspects of British porters with those of Russian Imperial Stouts. Our version of this style is brewed with lager yeast and smoked malt for a lot of smoky complexity that helps to dry out the rich malty finish in this big beer.