Harpoon Leviathan Baltic Porter
Dark fruit and bittersweet chocolate notes meld into a spicy finish of this hearty beer made with de-husked roasted malts and a lager yeast. 23.5°, 38IBUs
3.6
203 reviews
Boston, United States
Community reviews
12oz bottle, late 2012 Vintage. Served at around 50F.
Pours thin dark brown with red highlights and a two finger light brown head that leaves a little lacing and recedes to a wispy, foamy cap.
Aroma is grainy, earthy, dusty, underlying notes of cocoa powder and hints of dark fruit. Good to very good strength (but not that enjoyable).
Flavor is dark fruits, cherries, figs, dates, raisins, molasses, some chocolate, a tinge tart, pretty sweet, some alcohol but not bad for 9.5%. Much bigger and better flavor than aroma.
Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, very sticky, moderate carbonation.
Well, I love Baltic Porters and I’ve been looking for this one for years. Very excited to see it come in my store last month. Pretty good, but still a little disappointing, particularly the odd grainy aroma that doesn’t match the flavor at all.
Bottle. Pours dark brown, with a light brown head. Aroma is chocolate, roasted malt, and. coffee. Flavor is big on chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, and lesser amounts of hops and alcohol. Medium body, fairly long finish.
Bottle. Pours opaque black with a medium, frothy light tan head, short retention with light lacing. Aroma is nutty, chocolate and roast malt with earthy hops and prune esters. Flavor is malt dominant with light hops and bitterness, dark fruity esters and a sweet finish. Full body and medium carbonation.
Bottle. Pours deep, dark brown with thin, creamy off-white head; short retention and minimal lacing. Aroma is roast malt, plums, chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, woody notes, and light vanilla. Flavor is roast malt forward with dark fruit esters, light chocolate, light earthy hops, and sugar; dry finish. Medium body and carbonation.
12 ounce bottle from Grape & Gourmet, VA Beach. Pours a clear dark ruby color with a large frothy tan head. Decent head retention. Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate and the faintest hint of raisin. The taste is big chocolate notes, roasted malts, herbal hop finish. Medium bodied. Nice beer.
Pours a very dark brown (almost black) with a medium-sized head. Rich and flavorful, with coffee, fruit, and spice notes. Medium bitterness.
bottle. deep brown with a small beige head. nose is subdued roasted malt. the lager yeast smooths out the palate of this full bodied beer. flavors are kind of bitter roast with some buttery notes and burnt malt. faint fruity esters in the finish. the 9.5 is un-noticeable but the vivid roasty notes are not as robust with this yeast. it’s strange, different, but definitely drinkable.
Probably the best baltic porter I’ve had. A bit more hops than usual, and nice roasted and chocolate malt flavors. Takes the edge off the alcohol burn which is usually very prominent in this style. Almost tastes like an imperial stout.
Pours black with a nice tan head with some lacing. Sweet plum and raisan aroma with roasted malts. Medium sweet with some sharp bitterness on the edges with the first few drinks. Up front alcohol aroma on the palate. Sweet lingering finish.
Pours dark brown with a small tan head. Smells of chocolate, bread, earthy, raisin. Taste is sweet and mildly bitter, roast malt chocolate, hint of plums, bit of licorice, raisin.
Pretty delicious stuff and lots of alcohol to boot. Pours a jet black with little head. Extremely malty. Yumm.
A nice blend of floral hops and coffee aromas. Rich whole grain flavors with earthy dark fruit flavors and a bitter piney finish. Rich, well developed body.
Pours black with a one finger tan head. Aromas of roasted coffee, dark fruit, and banana bread. Creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Tastes of dark fruit, particularly raisins and figs, bittersweet chocolate, and tobacco. Finishes a touch bitter and the carbonation lingers nicely on the tongue.
Bottle. Black pour with a short, foamy tan head. Aroma is strong roasted malt, burnt caramel, and dark chocolate notes. Taste is roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate, alcohol notes, dark ripe fruits and caramel. Body is medium-full with a strong, bubbly carbonation. Chocolate covered raisins, coffee, roasted malt, burnt caramel, toasted dark bread, and dark fruit during the finish.
Cask
Brewery
Deep dark brown on the pour. Black throughout. 3 finger head leathery.
Smell is sort of campfire like with some brown sugar and yeah just a lot of smokiness
Taste very sweet up front, followed by a very mellow and smooth toasty character like almonds and pistachios. Semi sweet with a small presence of chocolate Malts. Finish is molasses
Very low carbonation being a cask. Heavy body.
Roasty chocolate aromas. Roasty chocolate flavors. Lighter in color than expected but overall very tasty.
On tap at Frisco Grill and Taproom.
Opaque, near black brown with creamy light brown head and excellent lacing.
Aroma of dark chocolate, dark roasted malt and dark fruit.
Taste of dark roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate, molasses and peat.
Medium body and light carbonation.
12 oz. bottle 2009 vintage:
Pours black-reddish with virtually no head.
Scent is chocolate, dark wine and booze.
Taste is molasses, very darkly fruited....
Extremely sweet with a hint of alcohol bitter....
Smooth, but powerful.
A sipper.
Marvelous stuff....very good.
12 oz. bottle. 2009 vintage. Pours a deep, dark brown with a mahogany tint and a small beige head. Aroma of chocolate, nuts, figs, molasses, banana bread. Flavor of molasses, cola, dark fruits (raisins, figs, plums), chocolate, and nuts. Hint of spice in both nose and flavor. Medium-bodied, with a sweet, smooth mouthfel and moderate carbonation. Good, strong Baltic porter.
Originally reviewed: 5/30/09. Pours a deep dark cola color with about an inch’s worth of head on top. No retention at all, and very little lacing. Smells of roasted coffee, cocoa, nuts, and bread.
Mouthfeel was crisp, yet creamy. This was very smooth. I dig it. Flavor was big time cocoa and coffee all melding and jiving together. Great roasty aftertaste. Finishes slightly bitter. Great Baltic Porter! I kept gulping and the ABV hit me a bit. Be careful. Recommend.
Bottle @ Olde Amish Inn, Ronks, Pennsylvania, USA. Clear dark brown to black with a medium off white head. Sweet Aroma of moderate toasted malt and brown sugar and a bit of chocolate. The taste is sweet and slightly bitter after hard roasted malt.
Dark brown in color with a short lived off-white head. Nice nose on this. Dark chocolate and fruit give a pleasant balanced sweetness. A bit of roasted malt and a touch of spice. The flavor offers a nice chocolate character and a touch of roast. Dark fruits, especially raisins and plums, and a touch of spice. Just a touch of roast to give some bitterness.
Pours black with slight ruby highlights and a creamy off-white head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, and dark fruit. Creamy mouthfeel. Roasted malt, tobacco, dark fruit, and hint of chocolate. Very nice beer!
Bottle. Pours dark brown with a medium light tan head. The aroma is sweet roasted malt, tobacco, chocolate and dark fruit. The flavour is cocoa, tobacco, chocolate and roasted malt. Pleasant and soft mouthfeel. Long sweet roasted finish.
Bottled. A red-brown beer with a thin tan head - not really the look of a Baltic Porter. The aroma has notes of sweet and roasted malt as well as well some caramel. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt, caramel, and alcohol, the latter burning lightly on the tongue.
Cellar aged selection bottled 11-13-09. Appearance is reddish brown with little head but good retention and nice lacing. Aroma is mild chocolate, nuts, dried fruits, toast, and cereal. Taste is coffee, nuts, raisins, and bittersweet chocolate. Medium body, creamy, active carb with a lush chocolatey finish. Overall, I’m glad I’ve had the patience to sit on this one as long as I did, and it’s drinking really nicely right now!
A - Pours a very dark black color with just a tiny hint of brown around the edges and a half-finger of tan head. The head fades down to a ring around the glass leaving behind some touches of lace.
S - Aroma is full of chocolate malt and coffee aromas. Some nice oak and deep roasted aromas also pouring out of the glass. Touch of vanilla.
T - Starts out very roasty with lots of roasted chocolate malt flavor. Through the middle some nice coffee flavors and oak comes out very nicely. The finish is full of roasted flavors with some good oak and vanilla flavors coming out that linger nicely.
M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth and a touch creamy. Finish is nice and strong and has some elements of alcohol warming.
D - Very drinkable. The flavors are a bit strong so a bit of a sipping beer, but every sip is really enjoyable. The oak flavors are present and really nice on top of the porter elements.
Reviewed from notes.
Served in a tulip glass. Pours a very, very dark brown that is almost entirely opaque unless it’s held up to the light. Pretty good tan head with a tiny bit of lacing. The nose is roasted malt, dark chocolate, coffee, and some small amount of dark fruits. The taste is roast and chocolate for the most part with some light caramel and date flavors. Good, full body. Not the best baltic porter I’ve had, but quite nice.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 11-13-2010
The beer is black with a light tan 2 finger high head that is gone in about a minute leaving only head around the rim of the glass. The lacing is pretty decent.
The aroma is strong and mostly you get a roastiness from it. Its roasted coffee with some dark fruits.
The taste is a huge disappointment. The biggest thing you get is all 9.5% of that alcohol just bursting at the seems. You also get some coffee but it is just drowned out.
The feel is way to light for a bp.
Overall, this is a pretty poor effort. Its way to much alcohol and water in the feel. Very sad.
Bottle from the brewery in VT: pours a dark chocolate brown with a brief tannish head that recedes to a thin ring. A little bit of lacing. Raisins, dark fruit, rye bread yeast, cooking chocolate on the nose. Roasted malts, chocolate, subtle mocha coffee, caramel sweetness. Medium to heavy carbonation that brings a kick off the back of your throat. A bit of a dry finish. Quite good and one of the best from Harpoon.