Porter beer: types, strength, manufacturer, reviews

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Porter beer is essentially the same London ale, only made from brown m alt and more heady. This drink appeared in the 18th century and became popular among workers. And even got its name from them, because porter in translation from English means “loader”. Most likely, working-class people fell in love with this type of beer for its high calorie content.

Stout beer is also sometimes heard. What it is? Many people think that this is the same as porter. This is not entirely true, since stout is more of a subspecies of porter than a synonym for it. Guinness is the most popular stout.

Taste

The main distinguishing feature of this beer is the m alty shade, in which roasted notes are barely perceptible. Sometimes you can still hear caramel, toffee and walnut. Special hops bring earthy notes and a slight floral note.

How porter beer was born

Practically everything that is known about Porter beer is written in John Felsam's book. She left in 1802. But don't rely too much on this source. Modern researchprove that much of what is written in this book is fiction. The fact is that the author was poorly versed in the production of beer, and therefore interpreted many facts incorrectly. Although the source, or rather, an open letter from the brewer Obadiah Pundaj, was quite well written. Felsam claimed that porter began to be made based on the "Three Threads" style. This statement has nothing to do with reality.

The first mention of porter dates back to 1721. But he appeared even earlier. This type of beer was the first to be aged right at the brewery. Until now, this has not been practiced. Immediately after production, the foamy drink went on sale. It could be aged, but this was done either in warehouses or directly in pubs. Then the fortress of porter reached 6.6%.

At first this beer was made only with brown m alt, the situation changed radically only in 1817. It was then that most brewers began to use other proportions. Porter was now 95% pale m alt and only 5% dark. But this is not a strict rule.

A little trick

Even at the beginning of the 19th century, porter was aged from six months to one and a half years. Huge vats were used for this procedure. But suddenly, one of the brewers discovered that if you mix a one and a half year old porter with a young one, then the taste of this drink will still seem aged.

This little nuance has significantly reduced the cost of brewers, astwo parts fresh beer needed only one aged.

Modern Porter

At the end of the 19th century, this beer became weaker, and there were much fewer hops in it. During the First World War, grain was very scarce, and the British authorities imposed a limit on the strength of beer. It did not affect only Ireland. They continued to brew beer there, as before the war.

This foamy drink was reborn in 1978 when Penrhos craft brewery took over its production. Then other leading manufacturers began to make porter. Now this type of beer is produced by B altika, Yarpivo, Bass, Whitbread and others.

Today there are a lot of types of porter:

• pumpkin;
• honey;
• vanilla;
• plum;
• chocolate etc.

Modern porter is aged in bourbon barrels.

Production technology

Porter is top-fermented only. The classic recipe for this beer uses pale, colored, roasted m alt and granulated cane sugar.

First you need to grind sugar and m alt, mix them with water and leave to ferment for a couple of hours. Next, this resulting wort is mixed with hops and boiled. After this procedure, a second wort is obtained. It undergoes water treatment and re-boiling. Only after that, yeast can be added to the wort and left for a day and a half to ferment.

To get a light porter, use the third wort, but for a strong porteryou need to mix the first and second and stand it well. Such beer is most often exported.

Types of Porter

There are a lot of varieties of this foamy drink, but only a few are especially popular.

Brown is the lightest. For its manufacture, a third must is used. It has a mild taste, which may contain tones of nuts, coffee or caramel. It all depends on what additional ingredients were used. Its fortress should not be higher than 4.5%. The color can be either light brown or bright saturated.

Strong porter. From the name it is clear that the strength of the drink is above average and can reach 9.5%. For its production, the first and second musts are used. This drink has a sharp and rich taste.

B altic porter. The strength of this beer is slightly less - 7-8.5%, and it is always dark. It has a dense, layered m alty flavor and rich dark color.

How Porter differs from other types

Porter beer differs in taste, brewing method and some components. This drink is for the amateur, not everyone likes it. Therefore, reviews of Porter beer are not always positive. But if this drink is already to your taste, then you will not want another foamy one.

1. This beer has a thicker body and is very thick and foamy.
2. The color is most often dark brown, with a burgundy tint.
3. Due to the use of roasted m alt and sugar, the porter has a slightly sweet taste.
4. This type of beer is subject to the mostlong exposure.
5. This drink has a lot of calories, which is why it is sometimes used as an energy drink.
6. Most often the alcohol in this beer is about seven percent.

Stout beer. What is it?

The look of this beer is most often associated with Irish Guinness. But this is far from the only manufacturer of this strong foamy drink. Stout is made from roasted m alt and roasted barley. At different times, this type of beer was referred either to strong varieties of foamy drink, or to porters. But at one point, the stout became a separate type of beer.

Today, this drink is a dense dark ale that has a thick creamy foam. It has a bitter taste, dominated by chocolate and coffee tones. In the XIX-XX centuries, this beer was considered medicinal.

But it is worth remembering that no matter how tasty a foamy drink is and how many useful qualities it has, it is still alcohol. That is why you should not abuse them. And you can't drink beer at all until you're 18.