Local Oak Brewing Co. “Maltster’s Ball”

Style: Baltic Porter
ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 30

Wow, has it really been a few months since our last blog post? After months of having multiple beer review posts each week, it certainly felt strange to have such a hiatus from writing. Granted, we were able to really devote more effort to building our podcast brand – go check out “Secondary Fermentation” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher, or listen right here on our website – and there were some other life obligations during this time (*cough* preparing for a wedding *cough*). We expect to get back on track with regular reviews, as it’s something we enjoy doing, and hopefully all of you reading this enjoy the content as well! Our return to blog posting brings us to a new release from one of the breweries we frequent the most: “Maltster’s Ball” from Local Oak Brewing Company in Winterville, NC.

Joe’s Take

Let’s get malty! As I’ve continued on my beer loving journey, I’ve ebbed and flowed on the level of malt I like in my beer. Starting my craft beer journey with stouts, I relied on the malt to bring me my beer drinking pleasure. This soon transitioned to IPAs, both bitter and hazy, but now I find myself reaching back for the ever-sweet embrace of malty goodness. “Maltster’s Ball” particularly caught my eye as it stood tall, dark, and handsome while posing in a pilsner glass on Local Oak’s instagram page. Nick and I swiftly made the journey there to give it a try and we weren’t disappointed.

“Maltster’s Ball” was visually appealing in the glass and was served as a dark brown beverage capped with a hefty collar of creamy tan foam. Its appearance was reminiscent of dark chocolate and it carried with it a presentiment of full-flavored beverage-based bliss (had to work in some alliteration).

The aroma of the Baltic porter came as no surprise and featured notes of rich chocolate, fresh-brewed coffee, and malty sweetness. The beer presented itself as smooth but promisingly flavorful as it was not overly assertive with roasted or charred dark malts.

That smoothness was reflected in the mouthfeel of “Maltster’s Ball” and featured a lighter than expected body. With dark beers that appear and smell full-flavored, you sometimes go in thinking it is going to be a heavy viscous brew. This was not so, and the beer struck an excellent balance between a full-bodied experience and a pleasantly drinkable mouthfeel.

I especially enjoyed the flavor of “Maltster’s Ball” as it provided me with a beer experience that was flavorful yet constrained. What you end up with is a beer that brings forward chocolate, caramelized sugars, aromatic coffee, and a hint of roast all without being overly sweet or bitter. Coupled with the relatively tame ABV of 5.8%, the flavor experience of this beer makes for a highly drinkable Baltic porter. If you haven’t made your way to give it a try (or one of the numerous beers they have released since then) I suggest you head to the taproom ASAP. This beer is one you don’t want to miss.

Nick’s Take

Local Oak brews a great variety of IPAs and sour beers, but they always keep at least one darker, malt-forward beer on their draft menu. One of the latest to grace their taproom, “Maltster’s Ball,” looked great in a tall pilsner glass, showing a deep, rich brown color. The foamy tan head retained a smooth, thin later atop the beer, and left some sticky lace down the sides as I worked through my glass (not that it was “work” to drink this beer – more on that in a second).

I would’ve been surprised if a beer containing “Maltster” in its name did not have a heavy malt presence in aroma and flavor, but malt aromas can certainly vary quite a bit in porters. On the nose, I was picking up coffee (though not a strong roast), sweet chocolate, and bread or bread dough.

This Baltic porter drinks fairly smoothly throughout, which is true to the style characteristics. It was also intentionally brewed by Local Oak as a lighter version of the Baltic porter .The body was not heavy or too viscous, though a lingering mouthcoat was noticeable on the finish. It was easily washed away by subsequent sips as the carbonation was crisp upfront before mellowing out and softening.

Baltic porters can typically be a hearty, roasty, and bitter version of the porter, often being crisp as a result of the lagering process that separates them from English and American porters that are brewed with ale yeast. There was definitely some of that roasty flavor – light roast coffee and a touch of smoke/char but very subdued – but it was balanced by sweetness in the form of rye bread and chocolate. There was also not a super strong presence of alcohol in the flavor, which was surely a result of this coming in under 6% ABV.

The smoothness of this Baltic porter made it easy to sip, and paired with the lower gravity, I could find myself enjoying a couple of these in the beer garden out back. “Maltster’s Ball” is not too bitter or roasty for sessioning, and the flavor is not lacking. It’s a really nice combination for this style of porter. I’d like to try this again with dinner one night – maybe some barbecue or some smoked meat. Local Oak has released several other new brews in the last week or two, so be sure to stop by and enjoy what they have to offer!