The two beer styles that modern craft brewers have taken the most creative liberties with are clearly IPAs and stouts. Imperial stouts in particular have been subjected to every conceivable adjunct addition and aged in every type of spirit barrel you can find. Baltic Porters are kind of like the lager version of an imperial stout, with high ABVs and loads of dark roasted malts, but fewer breweries have experimented with this style. One great local exception is Jack’s Abby, who brews their delicious Framinghammer Baltic porter and then makes a rotating variety of creative off-shoots with different adjuncts and barrel-aging conditions. Now Jack’s Abby has branched out even further with their lagers of the world series, which highlights lagers from different countries around the globe. A recent stop on the world tour was Estonia, a country that is often credited with inventing the Baltic Porter style. For their Destination: Estonia beer Jack’s Abby collaborated with Estonian brewery Pohjala on a Baltic porter brewed with rye and Lubelski Polish hops. Jack’s Abby Destination: Estonia is available on a limited basis on draft and in 16 oz cans.
Jack’s Abby Destination: Estonia pours pitch black with a solid tan head. The aroma features some roasted malt and herbal hops. The flavor is malt-forward, notes of dark chocolate, coffee and rye bread. The hops add balance, hints of herbs and grass along with a touch of later bitterness. Destination: Estonia is medium bodied and very smooth for a beer with 8.4% ABV. The finish is dry and clean with just a touch of lingering malt flavor. This is an excellent beer, loads of flavor and very easy drinking for a big beer. A great addition to the creative Baltic porters from Jack’s Abby! Hoppy Boston score: 4.75/5.
Previous Jack’s Abby Reviews:
Jack’s Abby Pride and Parquet, Jack’s Abby Dry-Hopped Post Shift, Jack’s Abby Galaxy Brau, Jack’s Abby Private Rye, Jack’s Abby Cordon Rogue Framinghammer, Jack’s Abby Sunny Ridge Pilsner, Jack’s Abby House Lager, Jack’s Abby Framinghammer, Jack’s Abby trIPL, Jack’s Abby/Otter Creek Joint Custody, BREWERY OVERVIEW, Jack’s Abby Maibock Hurts Like Helles, Jack’s Abby Hoponius Union, Jack’s Abby Barrel-Aged Framinghammer, Jack’s Abby Bride Maker, Jack’s Abby Brewery/Hopstitution BAM, Jack’s Abby Copper Legend, Jack’s Abby Session Rye IPL, Jack’s Abby Mass Rising, Jack’s Abby/Evil Twin Jack’s Evil Brew, Jack’s Abby Wet Hop Lager, Jack’s Abby Pro-Am Pilsner
