I really love this style, well drinking it, and want to brew it as authentic as possible. From the history ive read Baltic came along when porters from london where being shipped east. They decided to make their own and use the yeast at hand, Lager! So, in trying to do this im having a hard time finding what malt supplier to use.
Do I go with a german style malt, bohemian malt, briess, muntons, or grambrinus. I know you can mix and match but I really want to get authentic as possible.
I see all the recipes out there that say this and that however, I found and tasted some beers that when your trying to build something thats authentic you need to have grains from them as well.
I haven’t brewed this style myself yet, but I would certainly choose high-quality continental malts (Best, Weyermann, etc.). And you don’t necessarily need a lager strain to be authentic on this style. I know Sinebrychoff uses an ale strain for theirs (allegedly smuggled back from England), and that is one of the best examples of the style, IMO. I’d just stay on the cool side with your fermentation if you go the ale route.
Malts from one country to the next, or one maltster to the next, are as different as any other product from different sources. You need to find which you prefer and run with it.
Pickles are pickles, but a pickle made in Germany is different than a pickle made here. A vlassic kosher pickle is different from a mt olive kosher pickle.
Dark malts can be 100L different in color from on maltster to the next.
For a Baltic Porter I would go with German malt for base and some specialty, and English dark roast malts. I don’t think you will get the same flavors from domestic base malts.
You might also consider some molasses in small quantities, or make your own invert III (recipes for boiling sugar to the right color are on the net).
I can’t remember any molasses flavor in the commercial Baltic Porters I have tried.
I’d go with at least a little pilsner malt as that is a flavor I have often found in them.
Some dark chocolate malt and maybe a little chocolate wheat sounds good to me.
If extract no, RO is just fine. If all grain download bru’n water and input the recipe. I suspect you will need to a) reserve dark malts for the very end of the mash to avoid driving your pH too low or b) use some pickling lime or baking soda to manipulate your mash pH.
Agreed on the malt selection - German Pils/Vienna/Munich and CaraMunich would be the most appropriate choices, along with English Chocolate and/or Black Malt. English pale and crystal malt have a distinct flavor that would really push the beer more towards a London Porter in style.
I like the molasses idea a lot. I might have to take a stab at a BP this fall. Thinking a relatively clean English Ale yeast, WLP013 maybe.
If you want authentic, your base malts should be mostly Munich/Vienna, with some Pilsner. Then add some darker crystal to give a bit of dark fruit character. Like Thirsty_Monk said, keep the roast down. Use lager yeast. My recipe is:
61% Munich
31% Pilsner
5% Special B
2% Chocolate
1% Carafa III
OG 1.088
40 IBUs of noble hops
California Steam yeast at 60°F
I make mine more like a high gravity schwarz bier but with a little chocolate malt. Big Munich malt flavors, keep the crystal malt low (but a little 40l Cara Munich is nice). Lager or very clean fermenting ale yeast - wy1007 is really nice.