Flossmoor Station Killer Kowalski Baltic Porter
Our deep, dark, full-bodied lager. A slightly bittersweet chocolate aroma with a malty body that hints at dark fruits. It’s complex and very enjoyable with a touch of roast finish. This may be the best beer we make all year long. The bottled version is called Killer Kapowski.
3.8
218 reviews
Flossmoor, United States
Community reviews
My 2000th rating. A big thank you goes out to all the great bottle shops and beer bars in the DC area who carry a progressive lineup of beer that is always evolving. Thanks to all those proprietors who take pride in stocking the freshest, best beers available both in the United States but also from all across the world. I need to say thank you to everyone here on the best, most informed, most unbiased beer related site on the internet; Ratebeer.com. I have been truly blessed to have found a great number of friends and acquaintances thanks to Ratebeer. I have been significantly more informed as a result of my Ratebeer participation and have had opportunities to attend tastings and events; big and small, formal and informal, which have afforded me the opportunity to try beers from all over the world. Thank you to the other DC/Baltimore Ratebeerians who have attended or hosted all of the great tastings I have had the opportunity to attend. Thank you to all the great Ratebeerian Traders who have been so generous and so kind in trading their beers to me. Thanks to all the great BeerAdvocate traders who have helped me out when a deal couldn’t be worked out on Ratebeer. Thanks to my wife, who graciously puts up with me when I take her to all the out of the way brewpubs just because they have a top rated Kolsch or Brown Ale. What makes Ratebeer truly special and truly unique is that we are the very definition of a community centered upon the advocacy of great craft beer. I am thankful that I can be a part of it and hope that I can give as much to the craft beer community as they have given to me. A little ironic this is the 200th rating of this beer on our site. 22oz bottle I scored via the BA Gang Bang BIF. Pours a translucent deep mahogany brown with one ring of creamy off white head. Nose is sweet, brown sugar, light chocolate, dried fruit, a little cherry, toasted bread. Flavor is awesome, sweet, malty, cherry, toasted bread, light licorice, chocolate, a little cola, light coffee. Medium bodied, dry finish. Very drinkable.
This brew pours a clear dark brown color with a medium light beige head that diminishes steadily. Patchy lacing on the glass. Aroma of roasty malt, anise bread and chocolate. Medium body with flavors of chocolate malt, black licorice, earth and fruit. The finish is peaty malt and chocolate. Pretty unique, above average beer all around.
Bottle. Almost black and opague. malt, coffee and maple syrup in the aroma. Full bodied. Creamy flavor with chocolate, mocha. Sweet. Hints of licorice in the aftertaste, Well balanced. Good.
Date: October 14, 2011 Mode: Bottle Source: Trade with FullObs Appearance: Opaque dark brown with slight amount of head. Aroma: Chocolate, roasted, nutty, and maybe some caramel. Flavor: Consistent with aroma except not a sweet chocolate, full bodied, smooth with a slight bitter and alcohol/dry finish. Other: Liked everything about this until the finish.
not cool to name a beer after a killer, this beer murdered my sister!! .. . Pours a deep brown, medium foam .. . chocolate, light roast, and deep fruit roast .. . decent .. . .
not on our show, skippy!
Bottle shared by phaleslu. Thanks Peter! Pours dark brown with a very thin tan head. Beer seems pretty flat. Aroma is chocolate, molasses, cocoa. Flavor is cocoa, chocolate, coffee and molasses. Medium bodied with little to no carbonation.
22 oz. bottle from TheAlum- thanks, Adam! Killer Kapowski. Should have been wearing my Windy City Rollers shirt when I opened this one. Anyway, I noticed the cap wasn’t on very well so I brought it out sooner than I had planned on opening it. Pours a deep, flat cocoa brown with a minimal beige ring. Aroma of chocolate, soy, cocoa powder, molasses, and some hints of oxidation- thanks, weak cap. Flavor of coffee, cocoa, nuts, tobacco, earth, and molasses. The flavor was roastier than the sweeter nose. Not showing the same oxidation as the nose, but there wasn’t really any carbonation to speak of. Light-medium bodied. Nice, and probably better fresh and on tap.
Old bottle (2009?) from a trade a long time ago. Pours with a near black body with a small tan head that lasts decently well. Aromas of dark fruits, fig, molasses, tar, light oxidation. Chocolate, subtle fruit notes, bready. Flavors are chewy, fudge, currant, figs and tar. A bit of bready malt. Light oxidation and a hint of a metal flavor. Medium to light bubbles with a fuller body. Smooth, lightly warming.
Aroma is roast, coffee, some malt sweetness, chocolate. Pours black, tan head with average retention. Chocolate and roasty flavor, creamy and smooth, sweet caramel notes. Medium-full body, smooth and silky, medium carbonation.
Bottle from bauermj. Pours dark brown, some amber highlights sneaking through, with a thin head on top. The aroma at first is incredibly chocolaty. It’s like opening up a box of fresh assorted chocolates. A toasty nutty scent with dark fruit follows. This drinks very smooth and creamy with some ashy notes in the finish. Getting plenty of the chocolate here too but it’s maybe not quite as strong as the aroma. Graham cracker, prune, and a dash of a coffee liquor note gives this some depth. Slightly roasty but it’s far more on the creamy side. This is really solid stuff. Love the drinkability, wish I had more.
Bottle shared with RB/BA folk... Poured dark brown, near black with an off-white head. Really wonderful, some roast and vanilla, and a decent sweetness. Nice, light body and great yeast character with dark fruits, cherries, cocoa, dark malts, and a clean finish.
(22oz bottle) rich dark brown pour, nice film of wispy offwhite bubbles. Nose of a bit of oxidation, leather, molasses, mildly vegetal and chocolaty. Taste of toasty cracker, bit of dry unsweet chocolate, tiny bit salty, alcohol kick and some nutty elements. Crisp but soft carbonation.
Bottle. Pours a clear dark brown with a grayish brown head that dissipates slowly and completely. Aroma has notes of bittersweet chocolate with a light roasted malt note and a bit of underlying dark fruits. Flavor is similar with chocolate in the start that is joined by some roasted malts that grow through the finish.
66cl Bottle kindly shared by Rciesla and Vtafro at Beer Temple, cheers guys! Deep dark brown to black colour, light beige head. Aroma of sweet rye, some chocolate, dark fruits, roasted malts, a bit bock-like. Flavour is sweet, malty, rye, chocolate, roasted malts, light coffee taste, light bitter malty finish. Light to medium bodied. Nice.
Bottle. Dark brown pour with a small white head. Aroma is chocolate and roasted coffee. Taste is sweeter with a slightly boozy finish. Chocolate, roast malt, slight coffee. Overall just a bit sweeter that I was expecting. Almost like a sweet stout. Meh.
Bomber. Pours a deep cola brown with some jet black highlights and a tiny off white head after an aggressive pour. A lot of the smokiness comes through on the nose with a woody, chocolate backbone, but not so much smoke in the taste. The smoke is definitely more along the lines of subtle peat, and not necessarily campfire. Sweet chocolate dominates the palate along with coffee, dried prunes, and roasted malt. Full bodied and rather sweet for a baltic porter, yet drinks like a sweet stout.
22oz bottle from sleestak
Appearance: Pours clear dark brown with a medium beige head and some lacing
Aroma: Sour dark malts and chocolate
Taste: Tart, woody and toasted malts
Nice, easy drinking
Bomber thanks to Craig. Pours a totally opaque black color with a medium beige head. The aroma is caramel and chocolates. The flavor is a smooth easygoing brew; chocolates, light bitterness. caramel, sugars, sweetness throughout. Nice.
Bottle pours dark brown with tan head. Aroma a little sour with malts and roast. Taste sweet malts, roast, caramel, chocolate, a little coffee. full mouthfeel with a lot of carbonation. Finish caramel and roast. Alcohol slightly apparent. This seems little on the milder side for a Baltic porter but overall it’s good.
Deep brown pour. The aroma is rich and chewy. Soft milk chocolate and a soft chewy sweetness. Lightly vegetal as it warms up - which is unfortunate. Meh.
650ml bottle poured into my Bruery tulip, latest batch... Pours with a very dark brown body, a faint hint of amber deep in the center. A light tan head only raises to leave a thing ring. Poor lacing... The aroma is very sweet, tons of milk chocolate, little too sweet for me. A little roasted grain too, smells like a porter, but a little simple... Taste packs much more of a punch. More smoke and bitter coffee notes, gets ride of the sweetness, I’m a fan of that. Chocolate pokes its head out on the finish but so does a touch of alcohol. The front is successful but then a little down hill... The mouthfeel is nice, very full and chewy for a porter.
Slightly above average porter. Drinkable for 8% though.
Bottle that I took Max and Jess’s place (since we never got around to opening it post EBF). Pours a deep dark black with a thin beige head. Roast and chocolate, cocoa. Tons of roast, dark fruit, but very faint. Fuzzy dark fruit notes, warm roast and malt, and some chewy tannins on the finish.
Bottle generously shared at Max’s FF winnings tasting. The name is awesome. Good looking black pour with persistent lacing. Aroma is odd of grass, feet, and caramel. The flavor ismuch better: caramel, pine needles, and coffee grounds. Earthy finish with plenty of wet coffee grounds. I liked it overall but would have had no clue this was a baltic porter.
Bottle at Max’s tasting. Pours near black with a beige head. Roasted malty aroma, with floral hops, a touch of coffee, and chocolate. The flavor has roasted malts, a light sweetness, and floral hops. Nice.
Bottle at Max’s tasting. Pours black. Tan head. Nose of vanilla and chocolate malt. Taste of coffee, roast chocolate malt, vanilla and dry chocolate finish.
I’m pretty sure this bottle is form 2011 and not 2009 since I just recently saw it at my local liquor store.
650ml bottle.
It pours a thick dark brownish black with a foamy light tan head. It leaves some decent lacing as it recedes.
The smell is interesting, it smells like an equal parts mix of plain Perrier, Czech pilsener, and coffee. Weird.
The flavor is the same way oddly enough, a bit roastier though. It has this mineral water quality to it that I don’t mind but it just seems odd. It gets better with progressive drinks, and it also gets sweeter.
A bit of an oddity, it is a decent porter.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 02-02-2011 04:52:10
Bottle from the brewery at Hi-Fi release. Not sure what this ’Kowalski’ alias is about, but delicious all the same! Poured brown black with a thin white head. Smell is coffee and chocolate with sweet roasted malts, very rich. Taste is just as rich, smooth and delicious as hoped. Chocolate and roasted malts. Lovin it.
Dark brown pour with a foamy head. Aroma is chocolate, roasted malt, and coffee. Flavor is chocolate, dark fruit, coffee, caramel, and roasted malt. A good all around porter.
From notes. Tasted from a bottle purchased at Lush Roscoe. Pours an opaque dark amber with a thick tan head that displays excellent retention. The nose is sweet roasted malt with chocolate, bitter coffee, and a bit of vanilla. The flavor is somewhat sweet with dark roast, some smokiness, nuts, coffee, chocolate, and light vanilla. The body is full and sticky with light carbonation and a long roasty and vanilla finish.
Getting some molasses and raisin aroma. Nice smooth full bodied flavor with a bit of milk chocolate malt and creaminess. A decent sweetness adding an extra bit of body.