395: For Marcin Chmielarz, Baltic Porter Day is Every Day

What this episode covers

Mark it down: Baltic Porter Day this year is January 18, always the third Saturday of this month. This year’s will be the 10th edition of a commemoration that began in 2016 in Poland, where rich, hefty, cool-fermented porters reign supreme. Marcin Chmielarz has worn many hats in the industry—bar manager, brewer, video blogger—but one of his most notable achievements is helping to draw Poland’s attention to its own distinctive porters. In this episode, Chmielarz digs into the history of the style from the Polish perspective, while also highlighting the ingredients and techniques behind it—featuring great malt complexity but smooth character, high gravities, and patient fermentation with lager yeast. He also discusses modern iterations, including those that are dry-hopped, barrel-aged, or flavored with ingredients such as Polish smoked plums. Along the way, the conversation also hits upon: Baltic porter as a worthy technical challenge for brewers the origins of porter in Poland and the Baltic region why brewers in the region shifted to using lager yeast the importance of both balance and richness in the malt bill brewing Baltic porter with smoked malt the challenges of barrel-aging Baltic porter what happens on Baltic Porter Day, in Poland and beyond And more. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): G&D Chiller’s Elite 290 series chiller uses propane as a natural refrigerant with extremely low global warming potential. This natural, highly efficient refrigerant with near zero GWP will help lower your facility’s energy costs and impact on the environment. Visit gdchillers.com to learn more! Berkeley Yeast (https://berkeleyyeast.com). Superbloom strains make classic hops flavor; Fresh strains keep diacetyl low even with large hop additions; Tropics strains make a tropical bouquet reminiscent of the finest southern hemisphere hops. Mention this podcast for 20% off your first order. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer Indie Hops (https://indiehops.com) breeds new hop varieties to help brewers captivate beer lovers. Brewers worldwide trust Indie’s unique varieties — Strata, Lórien, Luminosa, Meridian and Audacia — to modernize, brighten and diversify their beer lineup. Visit indiehops.com/podcast to discover what’s new in hop flavors. Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast