Porters: why bother?

creating threads like these... why bother?

 

This sort of gets to the point of the op, I think- especially if we take the Porter vs. Stout rabbit hole out of the discussion. I'm reading the question more as "why should I drink something moderately constructed instead of an Intense Flavor Experience?" The answer, naturally, is in how you plan on spending your session of beer drinking; if you are sharing piichers with friends, or a few of the same beer in a row, you would not want something that will give you palate fatigue, but made specifically for that purpose (and a well-made beer of that sort will tend to get better with each successive glass). It just turns out that something labeled as Porter is more likely to suit that purpose.

 

Because their are some "porters" that thoroughly shame many stouts?

Williamsburg Alewerks Bourbon Barrel PORTER doesn't give too much up when compared against BCBS imo.

I'd reach for Flying Dog Gonzo & Smuttynose Baltic Porter before many stouts also.
Uinta Sea Legs, Les Trois Mousquetaires Grand Cuvee Porter Baltique, Arcadia Shipwreck Porter are all exceptional brews.

Maybe you should give imperial/baltic porters a shot.

 

Supposedly these days they're the same thing, there was a long article about it. There was a minor difference when they first originated but over time, with the change of ingredients and such they've meshed into the same thing or some shit. And to be honest, I don't notice that much of a difference between the different kind of stouts either.

 

To Øl Black Ball Porter

 

There are, but the only logical explanation to the OP I could come up with is that he was talking about Imperial Stouts.

Otherwise his argument is completely invalid (not that it had any validity to begin with).

 

Lets see what 3 actual brewers think!!!
http://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com...t-is-the-difference-between-porter-and-stout/

 

I quote from this; "The porter style most likely derived from English brown ales"
As ales and porters were brewed by entirely separate brewers , each with its own guilds and even barrel sizes, this doesn't make any sense.Porter does not derive from the ale family.

Actually, asking a brewer isn't always going to receive a correct answer. One highly regarded homebrewing expert is renowned for his howlers regarding beer styles and background.Being an expert in one field doesn't imply being an expert in an associated one.

 

Mean Gene

 

I may be in the minority but most of the Porters I enjoy (Founders, Edmund Fitzgerald, Black Butte) have flavors that I've don't experience in Stouts. Now, I don't know if that's a function of Chocolate Malt, Black Patent Malt, or less Roasted Barley than Stouts but to me most commercial American Porters and American Stouts are very different in flavor, mouthfeel, and drinkability.

To me the APA/AIPA comparisons are relevant. Bigger isn't always better.

 

oh boy another name for it could be porter with adjuncts. its the same base with all those things added right? maybe? maybe its just the way they make the exact same grain bill.
who knows with out seeing the recipe?

 

I'm from Western NY and we recently got Bell's distributed to our area. I've tried everything of theirs available to us which is just the basics but I thought their porter was better than the kalamazoo stout. Just my 2 cents.

 

Anchor Porter
Eddy Fitz
Founders Porter
Zyweic Porter
Sinebrychoff Porter

 

Sometimes, I just don't want to be hit over the head with a 10+%abv heavyweight, but still want that chocolate/roast/expresso flavor. Porters are the perfect elixir for that with most coming in at < 6%abv

 

I don't like sours but I understand why people bother.

 

Agreed. Good point.

 

Just a reminder, Baltic Porters are Lagers, while the type of Porter OP is referring to are Ales. For the purpose of this discussion, Baltic Porters aren't in the discussion.

 

You are mostly correct but there are some Baltic Porters that are brewed with ale (top fermenting) yeast. One example is Sinebrychoff Porter:

“Sinebrychoff’s Porter is a dark top fermented beer made with strongly flavoured roasted malts and plenty of hops. The top fermentation process adds fruity aromas. Sinebrychoff’s Porter has a malty, roasted flavour with traces of chocolate, coffee and liquorice aromas. Sinebrychoffs Porter is not filtered; the yeast is removed by separation.”

Cheers!

P.S. Sinebrychoff Porter is an extremely tasty Baltic Porter.

 

Someone needs to get Jesskidden up in this bitch so we can have some closure on this subject. Jus sayin.

 

I'd hazard a guess that we're on the same page re: the contemporary usage of the term 'trolling' (and also note the fine line -often blurred- when one chooses to provoke a lively conversation vs. merely provoke, especially as mere trolling is the foundation upon which so many 'epic' modern internet discussions have been built. So even when I guy with 5,000 posts says that they're not trolling, well, what's a hapless guy who fell off the turnip truck on a backroad in Minnesota to really know?)

That's a big difference, indeed! And you'll note that I never suggested the inverse, quoting only the last sentence of your originating post along with your salutatory before spieling-on in my own broad and unspecific manner - my emphasis in bold:

Fella, I'd say that it is impossible (a true "fool's errand", even) to convince someone that they're wrong, whether in real life or on the internets, and even a gang of somewhat like-minded hobbyists can't fetch that pail.

Your intent with this thread has been served quite well, and I'll give you a 'golf clap' -- once my head feels better. These-here back roads can be pretty bumpy.

P.S. And just to bring my rant back into the realm of beer commentary (I'm not zonked on the cheeba, folks, merely a cheap Aldi caffeine fix), I realize that I didn't mention anything about brands I actually enjoy the first time around, so let me add that when I do manage to make it out for a draught --and it's not as often as I would like-- I'll gladly take a Fuller's London Porter, an Anchor Porter, or even the lowly Great Northern Porter over the latest 'stout from further out' or gussied-up Gin barrel-aged and Jasmine flower tea-bagged concoction. But we're increasingly living in the era of beer geekery where bigger and BOLDER flavors ('Brett Sour Stout'? Getouttatown!) have trumped basic, foundational Stouts and Porters. So much so that everywhere I go, even with beer bars pushing upwards of 100 taps in this burg, lately it can be tough to find such a standard porter as the three I listed, which is why often enough I 'settle' for a stout -- and more often an R.I.S.

And that's the other thing: a while back some of the local folks were complaining about the relative strength of R.I.S. and how a 7.5% ABV R.I.S. was somehow 'inadequate', and I just thought to myself: "wow, so much has changed from Samuel Smith's being considered BIG at 7%!" Well, I had myself that very same (and still big to me) Stout the other day --mainly because I was looking for a Porter. Ah well, we takes what we can get (and a P.S. to Joe Sideburns and J.J. Taylor Twin Cities; please bring me a keg of Old# 38 Stout for Christmas!)

Now back to your previously scheduled program...