Brewing Today

Since my Vanilla Porter didn't turn out the way that I had hoped - it had very little Vanilla flavor, and tasted more like a brown ale than a Porter - I decided to try brewing another Porter today. This time, I went for a Robust style Porter, with lots of roasted and chocolate malt. It's in the fermenter now, with the yeast doing its magic. The Vanilla Porter I brewed a few months ago has improved with age, but just doesn't taste like a Porter. It's drinkable, but not what I was hoping for. Maybe this one will make me proud.

Great Divide Brewing - Saint Bridget's Porter

Today I tried my first beer from Great Divide Brewing In Denver, CO - Saint Bridget's Porter. Saint Bridget is a patron Saint of Ireland, and the story goes that she turned her bathwater to beer in order to provide it to lepers and clerics. The story doesn't say that the beer was a Porter. At any rate, Saint Bridget's Porter is in the Robust style, full of coffee and chocolate goodness. It poured a deep brown - not quite black - with a half-inch tan head. Mouthfeel was decidedly creamy and rich. This was a great introduction to Great Divide's family of beers. I'll be investigating others in the future!

Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

Tonight I tried a beer style I have not tasted before - an Imperial Porter. I'm not sure if Flying Dog invented this style, but their Gonzo Imperial Porter is the first one I have ever tried. I guess the 9.2% abv is what makes it Imperial. It poured an opaque black, with ruby highlights and a finger-tall brown head. The aroma is chocolate, while the flavor is chocolate, coffee, licorice and sweet highly-roasted malt. The finish is chocolate too, with some alcohol warming, and very little hop presence. This is a great beer for the colder months. Chalk up another excellent brew for Flying Dog.

Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter

Today I finished the other half of my Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica - a very spicy, creamy and smoky pasta dish. I had it a couple of nights ago at the restaurant, and the Yuengling Lager I ordered was totally overwhelmed - to the point of being nearly flavorless by the end of the meal. Today I tested my premise that a nice strong-flavored Porter would have been a better choice, had it been available. The only Porter I had in the fridge was Otter Creek's Stovepipe Porter, brewed in Vermont. This is a Porter in the Robust style, full of roasted malt, chocolaty aroma and flavor, and even a little smokiness. This was definitely the correct beer to stand up to my Penne dish. It tasted like a Porter from start to finish, and it complimented the wood-oven smoked flavor of the pasta perfectly. Now, if some of these chain restarants would start offering something other than Bud, Coors, or Miller, I would be happy.

Mad River Steelhead Scotch Porter

Mad River Brewing Co. is located in Blue Lake, CA and they make a number of beers with the "Steelhead" moniker. This is their Scotch Porter, and it's a tasty one. It poured a deep brown with a small tan head, which left lacing down the entire glass. There was a lot of sediment in the glass, so I think it may be bottle-conditioned. This is a roasty Robust Porter, with lots of chocolate flavor, some vanilla, and even some licorice. I also detected the mild smokiness of the peat-smoked barly they used. This is a great Porter - and isn't that a purty label too?

Style Profile - Porter

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that Porter is one of my favorite styles of beer. I even named my dog Porter. The Porter style seems to have come into existence in the late 1600's or early 1700's in London. The story goes that it was named after the customers who preferred this dark style of ale - the porters at London's Victoria Station. It was originally brewed using brown malt, which was kilned over wood, giving the resulting ale a smokey flavor. Porter is now brewed with a lot of different grains, adjuncts and flavorings, but it is still basically a dark ale. It is a top-fermented beer, so it's a true ale. There are 3 basic forms of Porter - Brown, Robust and Baltic.

Brown Porter is the lightest of the three varieties, and generally has an alcohol content of 4-6%. Brown Porter is still more popular in England than in the US. It is light brown to dark brown in color and has almost no hop character. It will be light to medium in body. It may have a very light roastiness to it, possibly accompanied by some biscuit or chocolate notes. Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter is a good example of this style.

Robust Porter is a later development, and is Brown Porter's bigger, stronger brother. It's more popular in the US than in England. American brewers are always pushing the limits, and their Robust Porter varieties are a good example. We use everything from Maple syrup to Vanilla to flavor our Robust Porters. A Robust Porter usually is stronger than the brown variety, with an alcohol level of 5-7%. It is also darker, and roastier than it's little brother, with more hop presence. It is usually dark brown to almost black. Black patent malt is one of the ingredients common in this version of Porter. Anchor Brewing makes a good example of a Robust Porter.

The final version of Porter that I will mention is Baltic Porter. A Baltic Porter generally comes from one of the countries bordering the Baltic sea, such as Poland, Latvia, or Lithuania. Of course, there are some American brewers who are copying this version of Porter as well. Baltic Porters seem to have been influenced by Imperial Stouts, since they are bigger and sweeter than Brown or Robust Porters. A Baltic Porter may have a wine-like character, due to its higher alcohol levels - up to 10%. It will have very little hop flavor, and may be heavy in chocolate and sweet malt character. Like the Robust Porter, it is also very dark in color, possibly black with ruby highlights. Zywiec Porter, from Poland, is one of the better known Baltic Porters. Utenos and Aldaris are two other Baltic Porters.

Finally, here is a gratuitous picture of my Dachshund, Porter who hasn't got a clue about the origin of his name.

Sea Dog Riverdriver Hazelnut Porter

Portland Maine is the home of Pugsley Brewing, which creates the Sea Dog family of beers. Mr. Pugsley is also the brewmaster at Shipyard. Sea Dog Riverdriver Hazelnut Porter is the first non-wheat beer that I have tried from Sea Dog. As you can see in the photo, it poured a very dark brown with a tan head. The head lasted longer than most of my recent beers. The hazelnut was not overpowering, and the chocolate malt shined through. In an earlier post, I mentioned one of my homebrews that went astray, and it was a hazelnut brown ale. The hazelnut in my brew was overly strong, and gave the beer an unpleasant bitter edge. Now I know what a hazelnut ale should taste like.

Samuel Adams Honey Porter

Finally, a beer with a great big creamy head! In fact, I had to stop pouring to keep it from overflowing the glass. This is another fine beer from Boston Beer Co. - Samuel Adams Honey Porter. This is in the style of a Robust Porter - deep brown, and real roasty. It had a faint scent of honey, but most of the flavor was roasted and chocolate malt. I have never been disappointed by a Samuel Adams brew, and this just continues the trend of great, flavorful beers. This bottle came from a Brewmaster's assortment 6 pack, along with two other varieties.

Rogue Mocha Porter

I'm a big fan of Porters. I even named my dog Porter. Today's review is Oregon Brewing's Rogue Mocha Porter. This is a dark rich Porter in the Robust style. It has a big roasty malt flavor, with chocolate and coffee accents. Although neither of these ingredients are actually used to make this beer, the malt selection creates these flavors in a big way. Hence the Mocha in the name. It poured a deep brown with a small tan head. The mouthfeel was as rich as the flavor. The hops nicely balanced out the brew. Oregon Brewing is another of my favorite microbreweries, and this just added to my favorable opinion.

A Robust Porter from Anchor Brewing

I'm familiar with Anchor Steam beer, but this is the first time I have tried their Porter. This is in the robust style, and is very roasty - nearly a Stout. It poured almost black, with a thick, caramel colored head. When viewed in the light, it is a rich mahogany color. I am very impressed with Anchor's Porter - one of the best I have ever had. This might even warrant a six-pack one day! If you're a Porter aficionado, this one is definitely worth trying.