Dojlidy Porter

• Product Reviewed: Dojlidy Porter
• Brewed By: Dojlidy Brewing Co.; Bialystock, Poland
• Form Reviewed: Bottle
• Style: Baltic Porter
• Originally posted to Usenet: January 13, 2001
• Added to the Tasting Notebook: January 27, 2001

Several of you may recall at this time last year, I began a series of reviews on Baltic porters.  From January through March, I reviewed Saku, Carnegie, Sinebrychoff, Okocim, Zywiec, and Kozlak.  Steve Jackson noted the absence of Dojlidy, and sent me a shipment in May that included two bottles of this Polish porter.  From July through December events conspired to prevent me from completing a review of this beer, and of returning Steve's generosity (which will be taken care of soon). 

This review of Dojlidy closes out my series on Baltic porters, a style that I have grown rather enamored as evidenced by the first six reviews in this series.  The notes below represent two tastings of this beer, in May of 2000, and last night.

Initial Impressions:

Dojlidy pours a deep brown with attractive reddish undertones around the rim of the glass.  The head, tannish red, consists of tight beads and is, overall, modest in size.  Head retention is excellent.

Nose:

Aroma is moderate overall, but noticable enough to provide a pleasant introduction to this beer.  Notes of chocolate and coffee dominate, with a more generic malty background aroma.  Hoppiness is not evident.

Flavor:

Dojlidy opens with that basic maltiness introduced in the aroma.  Chocolate and toffee flavors follow, which slide into a menagerie of an increasing malty presence, a hint of alcohol warmth, and a growing roasty bitterness.

Final Analysis:

While attempting to avoid Kleinian aphorisms, I have to say that this is a silky delight of a beer.  Not as obviously nuanced as the Saku, nor as explosive as the Okocim, the Dojlidy still holds its own as one of the better examples of Baltic porter.  In terms of my impressions, I would rate the Dojlidy at the same level as the Saku and Zywiec, a half-notch below Okocim, and marginally more interesting than Carnegie, Koff, and Kozlak.  Still, all seven of these beers are worth seeking out at any opportunity.

Rating:

   
(Excellent on my 5-star scale)