Beer Style Guide: Get to Know Porter with Em Sauter

One of the most fascinating stories about beer is the story of the porter, the first mass-produced, industrialized beer of the modern brewing age.

History of Porter

England in the 18th century and 19th century was awash in new technology, new ideas and new drinking habits. The rise of the porter, named after the porters (essentially the UPS delivery person of the day) who loved this beer, is a prime example of the industrial revolution. There are myths about porters that we need to dispel—no, it wasn’t invented at one bar in Shoreditch, East London. No, it wasn’t invented by one publican. Porter was an evolution, like all beer styles. In fact, according to Randy Mosher in his excellent book, “Tasting Beer,” the beer existed far before it even had the name “porter.”

Porter’s popularity was akin to today’s light lager sales. London was mad for porters and it was the drink of the people. Porter was shipped all over the world and many styles were created from its popularity, similar to the Czech pilsner’s rise in the mid 19th century. If porters didn’t exist we wouldn’t have stouts, dry Irish stouts, tropical stouts, export stouts, Baltic porters, Russian imperial stouts, I’m sure I’m forgetting something. Porter is hugely important to the evolution of almost all modern dark beer styles.

Styles of Porter

Today there are two varieties of porter (not counting the Baltic Porter, which we already discussed). The English porter is the modern evolution of the original porter. It is made with English ingredients—malts like pale, crystal, and chocolate, English ale yeast, and British-grown hops. Porter went through a lot of style adjustments thanks to technological advancements so the porter of today is a sessionable ale with flavors of toffee, chocolate, caramel, toast, floral bouquet, and biscuit.

The American version of porter rose out of the microbrewery movement of the 1980s. Brewery owners took the English version of the porter and used American ingredients instead: American-grown malts, American ale yeast, and American-grown hops. It’s hoppier, darker and can be higher ABV as well. You’ll get darker, richer flavors of cocoa, dark roast coffee plus perhaps some pine and citrus notes from the American hops.

Porter is an excellent fall and winter beer although to be fair, it’s great year-round. I recommend it with grilled items like a hamburger or steak but also with soups like lentil or butternut squash.

Beers to Try

Fuller’s London Porter

A great English style porter you can find in America, Fuller’s is a consistent brewery that’s one of the UK’s best.

Bell’s Porter

A great year round porter, I always love Bell’s beers as their consistency is top notch. Easy to find in most of the U.S. and tastes great. It’s not as assertive as other American porters, which I think is its draw.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald

Named after the shipwreck, Edmund Fitzgerald is a hearty and tasty year round beer from Ohio and available throughout parts of the Midwest. Worth a search as this is one of the best porters in America.