Porters: why bother?

I could drink Anchor Porter all day.

 

I would definitely agree while there are definitely some really nice porters I always reach for the stout.

 

Because they are magically delicious?

Seriously there are some great porters mentioned above. Really easy beer to enjoy!

 

again, bigger is assumed to be better...

why drink an oatmeal stout when you can go Imperial?!?

why drink a pale ale when...

 

Anchor Porter, Edmund Fitzgerald...etc...

I think it could be a combination of wordplay here (in my mind stout just screams of bigger beer and porter more of a sessionable beer) and the OP's experiences with the style.

Oh, and Black Butte. Damn I love that stuff when I am out west.

 

Cigar City Jose Marti - Farging delicious.... and I'm not usually a fan of porters.

 

I was expecting the creator of this thread to be a noob but, to my surprise, found a pretty seasoned BA to be the author. Reason being, when I was first really getting into craft, I felt the same way. My girlfriend, who is much younger than me and only likes dark beers and Belgians, also feels the same way. I was going to tell you the same thing I tell her: "Keep trying them and you'll eventually get it" but apparently you've already tried plenty. Instead, I'll just do what others have already done in this thread and point you toward my favorites:

Founders Porter
Evil Twin Lil' B
Ballast Point Victory at Sea
Funky Buddha Maple Bacon Coffee Porter and Last Snow (two of the best beers I've ever had)
Caldera Mogli

Yes, several of these use either vanilla, coffee, chocolate or a combination of the three to make for a flavored porter and, yes, some of these are bordering on stout territory but I guess it's all up to the drinker to decide if the porter they're having counts as a porter or rather a thin stout. Either way, drink any of these five beers and tell me if you still think porters are pointless or if they're just stouts labelled as porters.

 

Well then, you can just send me all your Fremont BBW#2 then. I personally prefer Porters over stouts. I rarely want a heavy, filling, overly roasty (even "burnt") beer. The lighter body and and color of a Porter are more want I look for on that end of the spectrum.

 

I prefer porters to stouts, usually lower in abv on average.

I don't get the appeal of sours but don't start posts in the same mindset. The only ones I don't mind are ones that use sour as a light trait, not the main focus. Flame on.

 

As a porter lover I am finding this conversation typically begins with someone comparing an amazing stout with a mediocre porter. If they aren't making the comparison obvious in the thread, they are doing it as a rationale behind making their "porters suck" proclamation. Sure, when you put KBS next to some rubbish Porter, it could come out looking as if stouts are the better style. But that is a flawed comparison, no different than if I compared Long Trail's Imperial Porter (best non IPA that came out of VT in my opinion, just as a quick aside) to some piece of crap stout.

Take a really great porter and a really great stout, neither of which have been aged in barrels and both of which have similar abv's. Drink them both in a blind taste test and then tell me that one style dominates the other.

 

Funny cuz I say the same thing about stouts, imperial stouts, barrel aged stouts, etc. all just a bunch of sugary messes imo. porters, now that's a drinkable beer style!

 

If it weren't for a name on a label I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a stout and a porter. All I know is they're both good

 

Have a Gonzo......

 

I much rather consume Founder's Porter, Black Butte, Alpha Klaus, Everett, Eddy Fitz, and/or Victory at Sea if my alternative stouts happened to be Rogue Chocolate Stout, DFH Chicory, Bell's Special Double Cream Stout, all of which are some of the most reviewed/consumed brands of each type.

 

I like stouts better than porters because of the choco yeast.

 

3F Alpha Klaus is awesome!

 

Still plenty of BBW#2 on the shelves up here in the sticks, looks like your stuck with it.

 

Because Baltic porters.