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Stout and porter
Porter came first, a strong and dark ale in the 18th century, taking its name from the porters who plied their trade in London and drank deeply of their tankards. This was the start of British brewing dynasties such as Whitbread and Courage. Porter began to decline in the 19th century as the fashion for clear golden IPAs took hold and the emerging middle classes wanted to distance themselves from a drink mainly imbibed by the workers. Brewing porter also became uneconomic as it was stored for months in big vats, while lighter, weaker beers such as pale ales and bitters could be sent out to pubs and drunk within a matter of weeks. The decline continued through the 20th century, until British and US microbrewers started brewing a new wave of porters. Contemporary porters deliver aromas and flavours full of malt, fruit, coffee beans, chocolate and even hints of condensed milk.
The strongest porters were called ‘stout’ porters, but it was Irishman Arthur Guinness who produced the distinctive Irish Dry Stout, by adding a portion of roasted barley (which was not malted and hence not taxed by the British authorities) to the mash — hey presto a beer style (and name) which swept the world, with its roasty and tangy bite. Imperial Russian stouts and porters, milk stout, oatmeal stout and sweet stout are variations on the dark theme.
Anchor, San Francisco, USA
Porter, 5.6%
Colour: pitch black with an amber tint; cappuccino-coloured head. Vanilla, cold coffee, mocha, melted milk chocolate and coffee ice cream all present themselves to the palate; the palate is presented with a cold coffee, processed milk, sweet treats nose with a whisper of hop in the background chatter; this is a great big coffee-flavoured, choc ice, cream soda hop-hugged beast of a beer; think roasted coffee beans, chocolate and vanilla essence dropped in cappuccino and delivered into a beer glass.
Cotleigh, Wiveliscombe, UK
Peregrine Porter, 5%
A ravishing porter bursting with roast coffee, smokiness and ripe stone fruits on the nose, with an equally complex palate of mocha, chocolate, toffee, malt, all balanced by soft citrus fruitiness, before a lasting, chewy finish.
Fuller’s, London, UK
London Porter, 5.4%
Dark, near-black modern porter with an elegant, soft and luxuriant nose of smooth creamy toffee. On the palate toffee and roasty notes yield to a smooth, dry and long finish. More burnt and roast notes plus a hint of vanilla also turn up in the finish.
Rogue, Oregon, USA
Imperial Stout, 11%
A stupendous monster of dark beer which first of all states its noble nature with an astonishingly complex nose. Dark, sooty, smoky aromas are supported by hints of leather, tobacco boxes, nougat, boiled sweets, dark malts, chocolate, alcohol. In the glass it has the poise and punch of an espresso with caramelly flecked foam; below it’s impenetrably black. To taste it is a rich, vicous, oily beer, sticky when young. There is fiery alcohol, chocolate, soot, smokiness, fruitm, currants and sultanas, fruit cake, even a hint of almond, all balanced by the hop bitterness. The finish is bitter, and lasts with the iron grasp of a Wagnerian soprano holding a note. Forgo the port, turn town the single malt — this imperial stout is the beer to end all dinners.
Mauldons, Sudbury, UK
Black Adder, 5.3%
Potent bittersweet stout with treacle, licorice, demerara sugar, roast malt on the nose, plus a burnt, estery fruitiness in the background. The palate is rich, smoky, slightly sweet, espresso and a hint of vanilla. The finish is dry, grainy, lasting. Drink or put in the Christmas pudding.
Tomos Watkin, Swansea, UK
Merlin’s Stout, 4.2%,
Welsh stout with a coffee-coloured creamy head. On the nose resiny hop, ground coffee beans, dark fruits (fruitcake?) and burnt toast emerge, while the full-bodied palate has chocolate, rich fruit and roast notes with a slightly sweet smokiness at the back before it leads to a dry, bittersweet finish with more hop character and smokiness.
Lion, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Lion Dark, 8%
Classic Asian stout with a bitter chocolate nose, followed by a soft, rounded mouthfeel with coffee bean and fruity hints which lead to a bitter chocolate finish. It’s an expansive rich tasting stout with an underlying taste that suggests chocolate coffee beans. There’s also a slight sweetness, which replaces the usual roast and dry flavours of stout.
Thornbridge, Ashford In The Water, UK
Saint Petersburg, 7.7%
Dark, impenetrable, unseeable colour, with an espresso coloured head that sinks down after 30 seconds — it wants to be drunk. On the nose the various aromas develop over time: fiery alcohol, fruit gums, soot, mocha, condensed milk, cigar box; it’s a beguiling palate with more mocha and condensed milk, bitter fruit, hops and malty softness coming in, before leading to a long, lasting bitter finish with dark, roasted graininess letting us know that we have definitively had a dark beer. But there is also a seductive smoothness in the finish that dangerously lets the drinker forget that this is 7.7%. An exceptional example of the Imperial Porter style and thoroughly drinkable.
Flying Dog, USA
Gonzo Imperial Porter, 9%
Espresso black with a caramel/crocus-yellow head that lingers. A surge of dark malts, licorice, ripe plum, alcohol, sticky malt, like a good sticky toffee pudding is accompanied by a viscous, oily, resiny hoppiness brought to heel by the treacle-like maltiness and the hop-driven bitterness of the finish. Lots of balance as the hoppiness cracks a whip at the maltiness to keep it in line. Complex stuff with the hoppiness marking it out as an American craft beer. Utterly beguiling.
O’Hanlon’s, Devon, UK
Port Stout, 4.8%
Dark chestnut-brown colour with ruby highlights. The nose has mocha coffee, milk chocolate and a hint of roasted malt (a toasted, burnt-like shadow in the background). Traces of vanilla, soot, chocolate brownie and chocolate milk can also be discerned. The mouth is filled with mocha coffee, bitter chocolate, roasted malt (the great sign of an Irish dry stout), and in the background the sweetness of the port (two bottles go into every 36 gallon cask); there’s also a brief flash mid-palate of hoppy pepperiness and a fruitiness similar to that of currants (vinous), just to make sure all the sweetness doesn’t overwhelm things. Dry, grainy, malty finish with a whisper of mocha and the return of the fruit. A spiky, eminently drinkable stout style, which has its roots in a hangover cure of a glass or port in Guinness, known as a corpse-reviver. Excellent with oysters.
Rogue, Oregon, USA
Shakespeare Stout, 6%
Surely this should be Synge or Yeats Stout, given that the style is famously associated with Ireland. It’s also stronger than the usual Irish Dry Stout and not as bitter, seemingly close to the rich heady fruitiness of an Export Stout, though with a Cascade hop twist. The darkest night in colour, the nose has earthy hop and the sort of vinous fruits found in fruit cake leading the charge, while there’s a whisper of treacle toffee, ginger cake (remember that?) and a wisp of bitter orange chocolate in the background. The rich mouthfeel has a fruity chocolate-orange centre, plus smoke, soot, roast malt and faint hints of marzipan; there is a lengthy bitter finish with dark chocolate lingering.
North Cotswold Brewery, Stretton-on-Fosse, UK
Hung, Drawn & Portered, 5%
A big and beefy treacly, sooty, roasted malt nose, that is saved from being too acrid by a deft sweetness; it’s a nose that says pah! to the luscious fruitiness of golden ales. This is a dark and seductive teasing aroma. Time reveals more. The palate features more dark malts and sour fruits circling each other, looking for the first fall. There are hints of mocha, leather, tobacco, evapourated milk, while the treacle starts to come through in the generous well-proportioned finish. A luscious porter from the well-heeled uplands of the Cotswolds.
Samuel Smith Old Brewery, Tadcaster, UK
Imperial Stout, 7%
Espresso coloured head that lasts. Malt-driven nose with coffee, chocolate and currants joining in the fun. On the palate stone fruit, a lactic sourness, carnation milk, mocha, milk chocolate and alcohol all come together in a loyal toast to the skills of the brewer; think of it almost like a cold and sweet coffee. There’s a long creamy finish bolstered by a gentle bitterness, harking back to the creamy coffee-ness.
Brooklyn Brewery, New York, USA
Black Chocolate Stout, 10.1% (2005/2006)
A rich indulgent nose of chocolate-flavour liqueur and milk chocolate with roasted grain and coffee bean notes halting the slide towards a decadent silkiness. The palate gets a blast of chocolate before coffee beans and treacle toffee join in the fun; there’s more treacle toffee, a hint of choc ice and vanilla in the finish; the hoppiness is restrained. This is a creamy, dreamy, luxurious, warming, mouth-filling, chocoholic’s dream, smoky, sensually hopped beer that is a necessity at the end of a dinner. The skill of the brewer is that no chocolate is used; this is beer as a luxury item and why not?
Ridgeway Brewing, Oxfordshire, UK
Foreign Export Stout, 8%,
Pitch black with crimson edges in the glass, like a late summer’s night with a few rays of the long sunk sun reflected on the horizon. An espresso-coloured collar of foam tops the beer. Leather, alcohol, stone fruit (currants, raisins), almonds (amaretto, Bakewell tart) and the stern unforgiving aroma of an espresso make for an unforgiving yet encouraging nose, a Miss Jean Brodie in her prime. Treacle, toffee and heady gusts of alcohol complete the olfactory picture. The palate is as rich as Croesus, strong and bittersweet, offering cold sweet espresso, soot, a mellowed-out roastiness, luscious raisins, fruit cake and hints of almond even, though it’s a clean and smooth rather than oversweet palate. The finish is bittersweet, fruity and comfortable in the mouth — pass the port. Drink at the end of the night or serve with a ripe Stilton. Exquisite.
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