Porters

Fuller's London Porter
Griffen Brewery. London, England

Several months ago I was perusing the literature on beer at my favorite bookstore. While paging through a book about America’s microbreweries a woman who was desperately trying to look as though she was still in her thirties even though this was obviously not the case noticed what I was reading and remarked, “Oh, so you like beer, do you?” To which every bone in my body replied, “Yes!” I readied myself for a lively discussion of my favorite topic. Instead, her reply was, “Well, you should really try some of the European beers,” she promptly threw her nose up in the air and walked away. Anyone who knows me very well can undoubtedly guess what a few of the expletives that went through my mind were. Well over half of my favorite beers come from the U.S. and Canada, and I would gladly pit them against some of Europe’s finest any day of the week. Somehow (and I’m still not sure how) I managed to control myself. I simply forced a smile and let the ignorant snob go on her merry way.

Nonetheless, I do acknowledge that Europe has some very good beers. My favorite non-North American brew is Fuller’s London Porter. This is as full bodied as a porter gets. It is as if the craftsman who brewed this finally just said, “O.K., that’s as good as it gets, don’t do anything else.” Unlike some other heavy beers, this porter doesn’t taste like coffee, chocolate, oats, or any other foreign substance. It tastes like porter. That’s all it has to taste like to win my favor. It is intensely refined to utter smoothness - black silk if you will, but refined by an expert craftsman instead of a corporate cog.

My favorite time of the day for a Fuller’s London Porter is in the afternoon. Its an ‘I just got done a hard day of work and want to reward myself with a prize that refreshes the body and soothes the soul’ type of beer. Its also one of only two beers that I have ever had hand pumped directly from the keg (the other is Bell’s Porter, see below) without any artificial gadgetry or bottling wizardry. It was well worth the wait to pour the perfect pint. So, O.K. you ignorant snob, I’ll concede this European gem to you.

BlackHook Porter
The Redhook Brewery. Seattle, Washington.

This is the sleeper of the Pacific Northwest. Redhook generally does a good job of marketing their products across the country - their Double Black Stout reached instant fame when they announced their secret ingredient (Starbucks Coffee), and their ESB is frequently available on tap even in some of the greasy spoon dives where some of my friends hang out. Yet, BlackHook Porter is my personal favorite of the Red Hook products. On my basketball team of beers, BlackHook is the small forward. It isn’t a slam dunk showboater, it won’t overwhelm you with power nor will it dazzle you with sparkling brilliance. It very quietly goes about its game, fills its role and is consistently in my starting line up (also known as my refrigerator).

I haven’t spent very much time in Seattle (about 2 hours I think) but from what I know about the city, BlackHook seems to fit its personality beautifully. Its kind of a dreary beer. Yet that dreariness is fertile ground for creativity. It has a little bight to it, but overall it is fairly mellow. It is strong flavored yet not exceptionally rich nor sharp. It tastes like 10:30 on a Wednesday night in early November when there is a light drizzle and about a half moon that you can barely see through the clouds. I bet you never thought about if before, but you secretly love those nights, don’t you?

Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter

Sierra Nevada Porter

Bell's Porter
The Kalamazoo Brewing Company. Kalamazoo, Michigan
I am proud to say that I skipped class for this beer. And, on more than one occasion too. It was the Summer of 1997, and I was attending the ICPSR Summer program in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ashley's Pub (which featured Bell's hand pumped straight from the barrel) was located right across the street from my classroom building. What kind of a choice is that? Almost every day I would head to Ashley's to relax over a Bell's. Some days I just couldn't wait until class was over. The dark setting contrasted to the summer heat outside resonated beautifully with the heavy yet mild porter. Bell's is one of the best smelling beers I have come across, and its taste is so pungently smooth that each sip made me proud to be a beer lover. If any of my students are wondering whether they can skip class for a beer, the answer is yes. But, it must be a Bell's Porter, and you must bring a note from the bartender. Also, you are required to bring me one too.