Porter

What is Porter ale?

Porter is a beer style that originated in London England in the early 18th century. At that time, a popular practice was for publicans to blend dark brown ales of different ages prior to serving. Porter was designed to deliver the character of blended ale straight from the cask and eventually the bottle. This ready to drink dark ale was especially popular with the porters of London, hence the ale took on that name. Its popularity grew to such high a demand that it sparked massive growth in the English brewing industry and is regarded as the world’s first mass produced beer style. In the century that followed, the style continued to evolve, customers grew to prefer stouter “stronger” Porters. Eventually these “Stout Porters” became known simply as Stout. By the mid-20th century, Porter had all but disappeared from existence both in England and abroad. Interest in the style was revived by American craft breweries like Anchor, Sierra Nevada, and Great Lakes.

How is Porter brewed?

Caramelized and roasted malts are key to the production of Porter. Historically brown malt was a major component of Porter and brewing sugars were often incorporated into the mash. Originally a malt centric style, traditional Porters featured English hop varieties for a touch of balancing bitterness. Modern examples are more heavily hopped, often with American hop varietals, for more pronounced hop bitterness. Porter is fermented at warm temperatures with ale yeast, with English strains imparting a touch of fruity flavor and aroma. The exception is Baltic Porter, a style which originated in the Baltic Region and remains popular in countries like Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania. Baltic Porters are more akin to Imperial Stouts in color, flavor, and strength - yet can be deceptively easy to drink given they are brewed at cold temperatures with lager yeast.

What does Porter look and taste like?

Poter is dark brown to nearly black in color and often displays ruby or garnet-colored highlights. The mixture of malts used to brew Porter delivers caramel and toffee flavors, along with a pronounced chocolate character. Heavier roasted malts can impart a touch of roasted coffee-like flavors, which is more predominant in American examples. Modern American craft Porters are sometimes billed as “Robust Porters” given they often feature generous additions of American grown hops and additional roasted barley. As such these Porters offer citrusy and piney hop bitterness alongside dark chocolate and coffee-like flavors.

What beer styles is Porter similar to?

Stouts - consider the adage, all Stouts are Porters, but not all Porters are Stouts. Be it appearance, aroma, or flavor, there are numerous similarities between Porter and Stout. Porter is typically not as roasted or bitter as Stout. Porters are typically more brown than black in color and deliver more caramelized malt character than Stouts. Depending on the type of Stout, Stouts are often drier and sometimes more heavily hopped, especially when compared to classic English Porters. While both are made with roasted malts, the percentage of heavily roasted and/or unmalted roasted barley is generally higher in Stouts.

What kind of foods does Porter pair well with?

Porter pairs well with a wide variety of foods especially grilled or roasted meats and veggies. It’s a must try alongside sweet and smokey BBQ. Given the chocolate and coffee character of Porters, it pairs well with desserts, especially ones featuring chocolate.

What are the best and most popular Porter ales?

We carry several delicious examples of Porter, from classic American, to Baltic and British.