Porter beer is essentially the same London ale, only made from brown malt and more hoppy. This drink appeared in the XVIII century and became popular among workers. And even got its name from them, because porter in translation from English is “loader”. Most likely, people from the working class fell in love with this type of beer because of its high calorie content.
Still sometimes a stout beer appears on the ear . What it is? Many people think that this is the same as a porter. This is not entirely true, since the stout is more likely a subspecies of the porter than its synonym. Guinness is the most popular stout.
Taste qualities
The main distinguishing feature of this beer is the malt shade, in which the fried notes are barely perceptible. Sometimes caramel, toffee and walnut are still heard. Thanks to the special hops, earthy notes and a light floral shade appear.
How was born beer porter
Almost everything that is known about Porter beer is written in a book by John Felsam. She came out in 1802. But you should not rely especially on this source. Modern research proves that much of what is written in this book is fiction. The fact is that the author was poorly versed in beer production, and therefore he interpreted many facts incorrectly. Although the source, or rather, the open letter from brewer Obadia Pundazha, was written correctly enough. Felsam claimed that the porter began to produce, taking as a basis the style of "Three threads". This statement has nothing to do with reality.
The first mention of the porter dates back to 1721. But he appeared even earlier. This type of beer was first introduced directly to the brewery. Until this moment, this has not been practiced. Immediately after production, the foamy drink went on sale. They could withstand it, but this was done either in warehouses or directly in pubs. Then the fortress of the porter reached 6.6%.
At first, this beer was made only with brown malt; the situation changed radically only in 1817. It was then that most of the brewers began to apply other proportions. Now Porter beer was 95% light malt and only 5% dark. But this is not a strict rule.
Little trick
As early as the beginning of the 19th century, the 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 found that if you mix a one and a half year old porter with a young one, then to taste this drink will still seem aged.
This small nuance significantly reduced the cost of the brewers, since two parts of fresh beer needed only one aged.
Modern porter
At the end of the 19th century, this beer became weaker, and there was much less hop in it. In World War I, grain was scarce, and the British authorities imposed a restriction on the strength of beer. It did not concern only Ireland. They continued to brew beer there, as before the war.
This frothy drink was revived in 1978 when the Penrhos craft brewery took over its production. Then the other leading manufacturers began to manufacture the porter. Now this type of beer is produced by Baltika, Yarpivo, Bass, Whitbread and others.
Today, there are a lot of types of porter:
- pumpkin;
- honey;
- vanilla;
- plum;
- chocolate etc.
A modern porter is kept in bourbon barrels.
Production technology
Porter is prepared only by top fermentation. According to the classic recipe, light, colored, burnt malt and cane granulated sugar are used to make this beer.
First you need to grind sugar and malt, mix them with water and leave for a couple of hours to ferment. Further, the resulting wort is mixed with hops and boiled. After this procedure, the second wort is obtained. It undergoes water treatment and re-boiling. Only then can yeast be added to the wort and left for a day and a half for fermentation.
In order to get a light porter, use the third wort, but for a strong porter you need to mix the first and second and withstand it well. Such beer is most often exported.
Porter Views
There are a lot of varieties of this foamy drink, but only a few are very popular.
Brown is the lightest. For its manufacture, a third wort is used. It has a mild taste in which tones of walnut, coffee or caramel may be present. It all depends on what additional ingredients were used. Its strength should not be higher than 4.5%. Color can be either light brown or bright saturated.
Stout. From the name it is clear that the strength of the drink is above average and can reach 9.5%. For its production using the first and second wort. This drink has a sharp and intense taste.
Baltic Porter. The strength of this beer is slightly less - 7-8.5%, and it is always dark. It has a dense multi-layer malt flavor and a rich dark color.
How is the porter different from other types
Porter beer is different in taste, preparation method and some components. This drink is for an amateur, not everyone likes it. Therefore, reviews of Porter beer are not always positive. But if this drink was to your taste, then you won’t want another foam anymore.
- This beer has a thicker consistency, it is very dense and foam very much.
- His color is most often dark brown, with a burgundy tint.
- Porter has a sweetish taste due to the use of burnt malt and sugar.
- This type of beer is subject to the longest aging.
- This drink has a lot of calories, which is why it is sometimes used as an energy drink.
- Most often, alcohol in this beer is about seven percent.
Beer stout. What it is?
The appearance of this beer is most often associated with the Irish Guinness. But this is far from the only producer of this strong foamy drink. For the manufacture of stout, they use burnt malt and roasted barley. At different times, this type of beer was attributed either to strong varieties of a 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, which is 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 the frothy drink is and how many useful qualities it has, it is still alcohol. That is why you should not abuse it. And before age 18, you should not drink beer at all.