From the Beer Writer: There are magic moments where you take a first sip of a beer and are instantly aware of its flawlessness care of a perfect blend of flavors, aroma, body and balance. I experienced such a moment about a month ago when my wife afforded me a try of the Baltic porter she’d ordered: Bagby Herd of Turtles. The beer is mild and silken with notes of baker’s chocolate augmented by a slight minerality from the slow-fermenting lager yeast that give this brew it’s fun moniker. To be fair, I often feel like I’m drinking technically and culturally perfect beers at Oceanside craft Mecca Bagby Beer Company, but what made this instance extra-special was Herd of Turtles being awarded a silver medal in the Baltic-style Porter category at the Great American Beer Festival a mere two weeks after I was introduced to it. That precious metal in no way makes the porter any better than it already was, but it sure is gratifying to have proof of a decent palate confirmed by the country’s preeminent professional-brewing competition.
From the Brewer: “A true lager beer, the primary fermentation for this beer takes around four weeks. It is then lagered over a period of eight-to-ten weeks. This long process allows the lager yeast to do a lot of work rounding out all of its deep flavors. The lager component allows the beer to be very clean and bright despite its age and complex array of flavors. The dark-malt depth in this beer is huge. It has flavors and aromas of dark fruit, sugar and cocoa. It also has a very slight roast note, and despite its high alcohol percentage, is relatively light-bodied with a crisp finish. We actually had the name for the beer before the beer, itself, thinking what a great image an actual herd of turtles would make. Obviously, it’s named this because of its super slow fermentation and cellaring. Because of that long lead time, this is a beer we make just once a year, and had only made once before the current batch. To us, that made it especially cool that it medaled.”—Jeff Bagby, Owner & Brewmaster, Bagby Beer Company