Utenos Porter (LT)

From Lithuania, this is, of course, a Baltic Porter. A very tasty one at that. It's fairly light in color -- certainly more brown than black -- and a thin in body (especially for a beer at 6.8%). This last bit takes it out of the style somewhat. It's loaded with caramel sweetness and sports a certain rum raisin quality. Near the finish, Utenos becomes chocolaty, but with only a slight roastiness to it. Not much of a hop presence, if any. Super easy to drink. A dessert beer, though I wonder whether it would match up well with barbecue.

Utenos Porter is one of those beer that thrilled me once, but may not do so again. In a different mood, I might be turned off by it's light body and lack of roastiness. It's a great value at $1.99 for 500 ml, though.