On Sunday, I had the opportunity to visit The Rams Head in Annapolis for beer and dinner. While I'm no longer quite a regular visitor there, I've had the regular beers kept on draft enough that when I do go, I always try the seasonal offerings. In general, I find these to be superior to Fordham's other beers, which are generally middle of the road brews (and that's not a bad thing, by the way).
The seasonal on this day (and through November) is a Baltic Porter. I was in luck somewhat, since that morning I had just brewed a robust porter at home. According to the BJCP Style Guide, a Baltic porter(12C) is a bit stronger and has more alcohol heat than the other porter styles. You'll also see it occasionally sold as an "imperial porter."
Fordham's offering was solid, although the beer was served far too cold to be able to truly appreciate it. Color wise (and I regret not taking any pictures), it was dark and fairly opaque; holding it up to the light, the reddish-mahogany color was apparent. There was a slight malty aroma with some roasty notes, but these were very, very subdued. It's a very clean beer, with relatively little estery flavors in the beer. It's reminscent of Sierra Nevada's porter in this regard. But the higher alcohol content is apparent.
From what I can tell, Fordham beers are all served at the same temperature (too cold) and the same carbonation. This carbonation (too high in my opinion) took a bit a way from the beer's flavor: you really had to search for those roast flavors.
Despite this, the Fordham Baltic porter is a good beer, and is a good addition to the brewery's offerings.
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