English Porter

Tier B · BJCP 13C · Ale, fermented warm. A moderate strength dark British beer.

ABV

4.0-5.4%

IBU

18-35

SRM

20-30

Serve

50-55F

Glass

Nonik pint

Dark grain

chocolate, brown malt

Identify

Brown to dark brown, not black. Hold it against a bright light and the edges glow clear red brown, and light often passes straight through. The head is off white to light tan and it holds. The smell is bread, biscuit, toffee and mild chocolate, with no burnt edge. Lighter in the body than the colour suggests. Cocoa and caramel arrive first, then a dry toastiness. The bitterness is modest and turns up late. The finish is fairly dry and clears without leaving any grip on your gums.

Place

London, early 1700s. It grew out of the brown beer the city already drank.

Cause

Every dark beer is dark because a brewer roasted some of the grain. Which grain, and how far, is the decision. An English Porter makes a specific choice, and that choice is why it tastes soft. There is no clean historical line between the two and there never was. Stout began as a word meaning strong.

Confused with

American Porter, which is stronger, more bitter and more roasty. Irish Stout, which is black rather than brown and much sharper. British Brown Ale, which is paler and has almost no roast. Schwarzbier, which is a dark lager and finishes crisp.

Numbers

An English Porter is a moderate strength brown ale made dark with chocolate malt and brown malt. It tastes of cocoa, toffee and toast rather than coffee or ash. That grain choice explains almost everything else about it. Two things, and the second is a sensation rather than a flavour.

Will you like it, Order and Try

Milk chocolate, or cocoa made with hot milk. This is the closest everyday match. The beer gives you that cocoa flavour without the sugar. Buttered toast, or the dark crust on a good loaf. Brown malt is producing almost exactly that. Coffee with milk in it, rather than black coffee. The roast here is padded rather than sharp.

Pair, Judge, Myth and Remember

Delicate white fish, green salads and anything built on fresh citrus. The roast rolls straight over them. Very hot chilli is a poor match too, because roast bitterness and chilli heat sharpen each other rather than balancing. The head is off white to light tan, and it holds rather than collapsing.