A London Porter

A London Porter, 5.3% abv

Malt – Maris Otter, Brown, Black, Amber, Crystal

Hops – East Kent Goldings

Yeast – House Ale Yeast

Based on a recipe from Whitbread’s Brewery, dated 1896, that we gleaned from ‘Old Biritsh Beers and How to Make Them’. The archives just have this down as ‘Porter’, nothing more.

We call it A London Porter to differentiate it from its sibling, the racier Export India Porter, where export levels of hops give a fruitier, more flighty beer. In a London Porter things are warm and dark and rich. The feel and texture are nourishing. Dried fruit - raisins, prunes and dates - and chocolate. Then a balanced espresso finish. Hints of leather, tar, tobacco. Lots of coffee and cocoa.

The recipe itself is typical of London, in its use of a large proportion of brown malt, which gives the beer a hint of spice along with some smoke, leather and tar in the flavour, and a dry finish. Also a portion of black malt was added to the boil, which apparently was something only done in London, which increased the roast/coffee character. East Kent Goldings were the hops of choice for the best beers at that time.

We brewed the first version of this beer in Feb 2010 (it was our 10th batch of beer).