Should Porter Be Sweet?

After attending CAMRA's Revitalisation meeting I needed, er, revitalising.  In the Crown and Kettle I spotted a porter. I was in the mood for dark beer, so ordered a pint. It was very sweet. "Hmm". Later in the Marble Arch I ordered a different porter, again a touch on the sweet side, so I tweeted that.  Beers incidentally were from local brewer, Squawk  and the other from Summer Wine, both great brewers I hasten to add. Nothing wrong with either as such, but just too sweet for me. Another "Hmm". I don't really like beers that are too sweet and wondered if porter should be. Now "should be" is a bit pejorative I suppose and when I tweeted about the sweetness, Squawk Brewing responded by saying "That's just how we brew it". Fair enough (up to a point) and if it sells that way, why not?

But should it be sweet? When you want to know anything about Porter, you really need to consult the oracle. Well in this case the oracle's blog. Here's what Ron Pattinson has to say. Basically if you look at the apparent attenuation of porters when porter really was a thing, it just couldn't have been as sweet as some of the examples around nowadays. Is there a genuine misunderstanding going on here or is it something else, namely the dividing line between what is perceived as fashionable these days - porter - and what isn't fashionable at least by its availability at drinking strength - stout? Of course, nowadays, brewers call it a stout or porter to suit themselves it seems, but the artificial dividing line can often be one that falls between the degree of blackness and the degree of roastiness, though Ron's myriad of tables suggest no such thing. If you do want to know the difference between porter and stout, see Ron.  As far as I can tell there isn't really any, at least in historical terms.

Talking to a new brewer, Ken Lynch from Serious Brewing in Rochdale, he reckons that there is a gap in the market. His first cask beer is a stout at a drinkable 4.5% and a lovely black bitter and roasty drop it is too.  He, like me, likes stout and often can't find one.  His beer - and I have witnessed it happen - flies off the bar.  My two recent collaborations have been dark bitter stouts and they too have sold so well they are repeated. So, not many bitter stouts around, but they are popular when available.

Are brewers missing a trick here?

The only issue in using Ron as a source is that there is information overload, but nowhere that I have found does he suggest that porters are sweet.  I am far too lazy though to read very single article, though I gave it a fair shot until my brain rebelled, all tabled out.

The poorness of modern Guinness also presents an opportunity for stout brewers I would suggest. The photo is a pint of Serious Moonlight Stout.

Cervecería El Vaso de Oro

The harbour in Barcelona isn't perhaps the most attractive in the world, but the adjacent promenade and beach if nothing else, shows to good effect the hardiness of the natives. I felt quite chilly as we strolled along, but the beach was rather busy with Catalan sunbathers. Good for them.  Near the end of this walk is the harbour with many shiny yachts and just around the corner, down a very anonymous side street is perhaps one of the finest of Barcelona's many - and I mean very many - tapas bars, El Vaso De Oro.

Our first attempt to enter was thwarted by the simple fact that it was so full that we couldn't get in.  It was late lunch and the place was so rammed that all we could see was an array of backs accompanied by the very jolly buzz of people having a great time. Disappointing, but it bode well for later. We weren't going to give up that easily. A quick wander round the back streets later and one large glass of Estrella better off, we returned. It was busy but we found four seats at the bar. Game on.

This is a very narrow bar served by two doors, one at the end and one in the middle. The space between the wall and the bar is just wide enough for a row of high backed chairs and enough room for a skinny type to manoeuvre the resulting two feet or so. It can be done as we observed, but only with goodwill and a lot of wriggling from both sides. I wouldn't like to give it a go myself mind.  At each end the bar widens out enough to allow a few tables, but the bar is the prized spot. The waiters are known for their hard work and good humour and their rather ragged singing and whistling, but they are certainly a cheery lot and the atmosphere as they josh with locals and visitors alike is wonderful.  It was a sheer pleasure just to sit there and take it all in. At the bar there is the usual array of Spanish tapas and there is a wider menu available too with the steak and foie gras, a much sought after delicacy, both for its succulence and reasonable prices. 

Apparently they used to brew their own beer here, but now the beer comes from Cerveza Fort and as far as I could tell, was all that was offered.  The waiter happily described the beers to us and we ordered small glasses of porter for me and American Pale Ale for our friends. E had the pilsner which she didn't like much, but actually on reflection, it may have been the Summer Ale. The American Pale was very highly thought of, but it was me that hit pay dirt. The porter was a revelation. It was jet black, toasty and roasty with a gorgeous mouthfeel from the oats. This was a seriously good beer. My next order was for a bigger glass and a portion of Spanish Black pudding which was a perfect match. A couple more rounds ensued as we watched the waiters run up and down and people come and go, shouting banter, calling to the kitchen, serving up plates of tapas and generally enjoying their work.

It was certainly the best establishment that I had a drink in during my trip and  I had to be dragged out. If in Barcelona, go there.

The reason I allowed myself to be dragged out was our appointment at Edge Brewing later that day - See previous post.

 El Vaso can be located at Balboa, 6, Barcelona

Oh Mr Porter

The choice wasn't to any of our liking last night in the Regal Moon.  Nothing seemed to appeal, or was just too strong for midweek supping, even at bargain basement prices.  Seemed some of the Christmas stock was being wheeled out too, with an unlikely looking pumpclip complete with Santa in all his finery.  Talk about the ghost of Christmas Past. So what's a man to do?  While my companions tucked in to Old Hooky, which was judged much better than expected, I chose the dark side.

Acorn Old Moor Porter is an old favourite in the Regal Moon and deservedly so.  Rich and satisfying, with good mouthfeel it was just the job on a wet Rochdale night.  I stuck with it until my last pint when the siren call of pre-bus pint Elland 1872 Porter beckoned.  For those that don't recall, this is the Champion Beer of Britain and for once (controversial) a worthy winner.  At a hefty 6.5% it is my "one for the road" beer here.  A word too about the continual appearance of this beer in the Regal Moon, as this could be considered to be a bit of a coup.  Well Manager Chris has had this beer on for years when it was champion of nothing at all, so he still gets supplies for his support. Rightly so. I won't describe the beer to you, except to say it hides its strength very well as you drink it, but gives you a lovely warm glow as you head for the bus.

So there you have it. Two tip top porter beers to recommend to you. Trust me on this.

Of course to get the full effect, these beers need to be fully conditioned, served at around 12°C and served through a tight sparkler to produce a lovely creamy head. Anyone tells you different, don't believe a word.

Oh Mr Porter (2)

Looking to try this year's version of Fuller's Porter, we called into the Chamberlain Hotel in Mansell Street last night. It is a bit of a posh gaff and had every cask beer Fullers produce more or less. They didn't have any Porter though.

Maybe somewhere today on my travels?