A case of 12 x 500ml bottles of our Export India Porter
Malt: Maris Otter, brown, black, chocolate, crystal
Hops: varies batch to batch
Yeast: American ale yeast
We based our recipe on some of the old porters from Barclay Perkins (1855) and Whitbread (1856) that were sent out to British servicemen in India, and inspired by the Durden Park Beer Circle pamphlet ‘Old British Beers and How To Make Them’. The ingredients and equipment they used then have of course changed, as have our tastes, and so we have made some modifications.
We’ve tempered the roast character of the original with chocolate and crystal malts in place of some of the black: too much black malt can produce overly acrid, burnt and astringent flavours. Crystal malts bring a sweetness and fullness to the beer, and a bigger texture/mouthfeel.
The main difference though is that our Export India Porter is hopped in the way we would hop our Pale Ales and India Pale Ales: lots of late addition hops for flavour, and we then dry hop when the beer is in the tank. We mostly use American hops for their intensity and fruity characteristics, but we like to experiment with the different flavours that arise when they’re combined with darker malts. Bramling Cross is our favourite for a more traditional British character, whereas Columbus works very well for a brasher, new world flavour.
The result is a dark brown beer that promises coffee and cocoa, but then the hops bring lightness, brightness and fruit, and the relatively high carbonation - unusual for a porter - make it surprisingly refreshing.
The hops change with each iteration but will always be around 6% ABV, for more information please email shop@thekernelbrewery.com