I’m all for large breweries making better beer. Some folks have problems with a beer from Miller-Coors brewing, like Leinenkugels Big Eddy Baltic Porter. To be fair, though, who cares who makes the beer, and what company owns the brewery, as long as it’s good beer? I mean, beer geeks have complained for decades that the big brewers stole good beer from us. I disagree. Companies will sell us what we want to buy, and the growing production of craft beer by the megabrewers is proof of that.
Hence, a Baltic Porter from Leinenkugels. Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin’s Jacob Leinenkugel brewery is technically part of Miller, but they’ve been allowed a generous amount of autonomy since Miller bought them in 1988. Their Big Eddy series of beers have been their most ambitious brews to date. Some, like Leinekugel’s Big Eddy’s Imperial Stout are first-rate and well deserving of the term craft brew.
I think Big Eddy Baltic Porter tries to be just as big and good a beer, though in this case while it is a tasty brew, it’s not an exceptional one. Big Eddy Baltic Porter is made with a slew of malts: rye, crystal, six-row pale, two-row pale, Munich, roasted barley, chocolate, and special B. Hops are Cluster and Mt. Hood; real licorice root is added as well. No mention on the bottle or the website as to whether this is a bottom fermented brew, as a real Baltic porter should be. Alcohol content is 8.5% by volume.
My bottle of Leinenkugels Big Eddy Baltic Porter seemed a bit lighter in color than I expected when I poured it. Really no head formation here, surprisingly. Definitely port in the nose, prune and soy sauce, the latter not helping this beer at all. There is good body, a lot of coffee up front, caramel, definitely some nice licorice, nuts and chocolate. Dark fruits too, but a lot of coffee and toffee. Reminds me of a Toffifay candy, really. Finishes a little roasty, gentle grassy hops at the last and a little alcohol warmth.
Big Eddy Baltic Porter is not a bad beer, but I've had better in this style for sure. The killer is the price: at $12 a 4-pack there are lots of others I not only prefer but can get much cheaper. Leinekugel’s Big Eddy series is proof big brewers can make great beer. It’s also proof they can overprice it just as well as the small brewers do.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft