Porter was originally an English, specifically London, dark beer style that was the drink of the masses—probably named for the laborers who carried burdens and packages. Porters are red-brown to black, medium- to medium-full-bodied and characterized by a flavor profile that can vary from very subtle dark malts to fully roasted, smoky flavors. Because it is a centuries-old style, there are differences of opinion with regard to what a “true” porter was like, and there can be wide variations from one brewer’s interpretation to the next. Roasted malt should provide the flavoring character, rather than roasted barley, as is used with stouts. Stronger, darker versions (“robust” porter) and lighter more-delicate versions (“brown” porter) are equally valid manifestations of the style. The influence of hops can often be notable in the richer craft-brewed examples of the style. Although porter was the drink of the masses in 1700s London, it fell out of favor and is only now seeing a resurgence, with a few outstanding English examples in production. In the United States, it is enjoying newfound popularity among U.S. craft brewers, and many fine U.S. examples are produced....
By Thomas Sulinski Chicago’s “big shoulders” finally have some snow on them. For the fans of winter, such as myself, the wait for snow’s been a long one—almost too long. The cold months slow the city, pushing everyone indoors seeking warmth and comfort. ...
By Greg Barbera BridgePort Brewing Company has announced the release of two new beers: Cafe Negro and Kingpin....
By Greg Barbera Twisted Pine Brewing announced the release of Northstar Imperial Porter....
By K. Florian Klemp Porter doesn’t have the fame of stout, the thunderous hops of IPA or the quirk of barrel aging, but once upon a time, it boasted all three. Largely relegated to ordinary status, porter was designed as a populist brew in ...
By Chad Wulff I’m really not much of a gambler and, no, I’m not talking about schwarzbiers. Porters and stouts are the topic in this piece, friend. OK, porters aren’t as black as stouts and still show some hints of deep ruby, but ...
By Lew Bryson We all know how craft beer history goes. Beer was great until the 19th century, when mass production of lagers took over the world, and American brewers put corn and rice in their beer to make it cheaper. By 1950, ...
By Randy Mosher It must be something about the Reinheitsgebot. This ancient and hallowed document, scribed onto goatskin, the symbol of all that is Germanic brewing, has intimidated us all into keeping to the straight and narrow—even though it technically doesn’t even apply ...
By K. Florian Klemp The addition of adjunct grains to beer can be a target of both scorn and praise. Macrobrewers’ use of corn or rice, though originally practiced out of necessity, is ridiculed by craft-beer lovers. On the other hand, history has shown ...
By Stephen Beaumont True story: A woman walks into a bar and orders a glass of Connemaragh. Now, this particular bar being an “Irish” pub (albeit one in Toronto rather than Ireland) and Connemaragh being an Irish whiskey, one might well presume that ...
