A porter is a dark ale, rich in malty flavor that is balanced well against its hops and perhaps the pinnacle of ale, which is the true king of beers, no matter what Budweiser foolishly claims. Bud is only one among many mass-produced testimonials to mediocrity. Actually I don’t like lagers that much and the commercial varieties are too light in body and the blend of sweetness and hops comes across as bland and listless, lifeless even.
Ales are fermented at warmer temperatures using a faster processing, top fermenting yeast. The combination of malt and yeast gives ales a sweetness with hints of fruit in the background, but then its balanced with hops, the alpha acids in these leafy cones (related to cannabis, leading to its nickname of the cousin among some home brewers) provide a bitterness that is used to balance the flavor to the brewer’s taste. Personally I prefer close to a 50-50 balance of bitter and sweet, giving you the best of both worlds as it hits the different taste buds.
Hops serve a lot of uses, besides balancing the flavor of ale and beer, they can aid relaxation, help you sleep, can reduce anxiety. They contain flavonids which have been found effective in studies against free radicals which can damage cells. Coincidentally porter, stout and ale all have higher levels of flavonids than lagers or pilsners, aka beer.
Bear in mind that’s an ale or maybe two a day, standard beers, pounding ale or beer for health will get you nowhere but chubby.
But, on to porter, or in the case of my pride and joy, robust porter, it is defined in the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) as follows: (style 12B, Robust porter) “A substantial, malty dark ale with a complex & flavorful roasty character. Stronger, hoppier &/or roastier porter designed as either historical throwback or American interpretation of style. Traditional versions have a more subtle hop character (often English) modern versions may be considerably more aggressive.
The BJCP Guide also lists examples: Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Meantime London Porter, Anchor Porter, Smuttynose Robust Porter, Sierra Nevada Porter, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Boulevard Bully! Porter, Rogue Mocha Porter, Avery New World Porter & Bell’s Porter.
The best I’ve found so far is Deschutes Black Butte Porter, I’d recommend it to anyone!
To brew an extract version (simpler to brew and much less expensive in equipment) here is my grain bill, hops and yeast to produce a 5.5% ale.
Amount |
Item |
Type |
% or IBU |
1.00 lb |
DME Sparkling Amber (Briess) (10.5 SRM) |
Dry Extract |
12.50 % |
6.00 lb |
LME Golden Light (Briess) (4.0 SRM) |
Liquid Extract |
75.00 % |
0.50 lb |
Crystal – 080L Dark (Crisp) – 80L (80.0 SRM) |
Grain |
6.25 % |
0.25 lb |
Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3.13 % |
0.25 lb |
Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3.13 % |
1.00 oz |
Fuggles [4.50 %] (60 min) |
Hops |
15.8 IBU |
0.50 oz |
Tettnang [4.50 %] (60 min) |
Hops |
7.9 IBU |
1.00 oz |
Tettnang [4.50 %] (5 min) |
Hops |
3.1 IBU |
0.50 oz |
Fuggles [4.50 %] (5 min) |
Hops |
1.6 IBU |
1 Pkgs |
Nottingham (Danstar 15g pkt) |
Yeast-Ale |
|
Description: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style12.html#1b
A substantial, malty dark ale with a complex&flavorful roasty character
Stronger, hoppier &/or roastier porter designed as either historical throwback or American interpretation of style.Trad versions have a more subtle hop character(often English)modern versions may be considerably more aggressive.Both types are valid |
Profile: Rather broad style open to interpretation distinguished from Stout as lacking strong roasted barley character.It differs from brown porter in that black patent/roasted grain character is usually present, & it can be stronger in alc.Roast intensity&malt flavors can vary significantly.May/may not have strong hop char,&may/may not have significant ferm.by-products. |
Ingredients: May have several malts,darkroasted malts&grains,often inc. black patent malt(chocolate malt&/or roasted barley may be used).Bittering,flavor&/or aroma hops freq UK/US.H2O w mod – high carbonate hardness typ.Ale yeast either clean US/characterful Eng var. |
Examples: Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Meantime London Porter, Anchor Porter, Smuttynose Robust Porter, Sierra Nevada Porter, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Boulevard Bully! Porter, Rogue Mocha Porter, Avery New World Porter, Bell’s Porter, Great Divide S |
All together you can fill this bill for about $30 and it will give you five gallons of beer (roughly 53, 12 oz bottles), if you go to my brewing page you’ll bet a rough idea of what you’ll need to brew and ferment, it will be a couple of hundred dollars invested in gear, but it’ll pay off in the long run.
As a side notem I don’t brew because I like to drink, I brew because I enjoy the taste of a good beer, so 4-5 beers a week gets me by just fine, which is low compared to many brewers I’ve talked to. Porter is the highest alcohol ale I brew, my other favorite is a Scottish 60/- (60 shilling) which normally comes in between 2.8 and 3%.
As you all know I do suffer from Fibromyalgia and that affects your body’s ability to handle alcohol, so I stick to low alcohol because I don’t like to get drunk, I like to enjoy a damned good pint. The malt soothes my stomach when its upset, helps take the irritable out of the bowels, and helps me sleep a little sounder.
Your mileage may vary, go enjoy a quality brew while I try and think up a real name for this stuff!
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