Porter

Cross a Stout with a Brown Ale and you get Porter, a delightfully dark treat. Roasted malts tower high over a hint of hops, the hardly-colored head your first heads-up; most ales, including porters, wear a whiter foam fedora whereas stouts sport a tanner top). Usually brewed with less alcohol than other English ales, Porter adds a perfect accent to any occasion.

Chris Riphenburg, Ale Asylum brew man, recounted to me his favorite Porter story. Two women at a beer event wanted to know the Porter but were put off by the dark color. "Oh, it'll be too bitter." "It's so dark; it'll too big...too much." In unison they reasoned, 'We won't like it.'

Decanting two tasters Chris felt fantasy might be the spell, the incantation, which would unlock for them the mysteries of the Porter. "Close your eyes. Envision a glass full...for no one but you. Imagine chocolate robed in satin and velvet. Now drink. I know you will love it in the end."

They took a taste and were hooked on the deep sweet chocolate malts; they may never go back to their latter-day lagers.

Get It

On tap, Three Floyd's Red Tendon Ale is brewed superbly to style. Mickey Finn's makes the Little Fort Porter, served on a nitrogen tap so it's rich and creamy..

Serve It

In a pint glass a porter is as dark and delicious as the moment with your lover just prior to moonrise during the fourth hour past midnight. A sturdy stein hides the porter's color but cuddles the cold and preserves her integrity throughout the night.

Entertain with it

Pass the time away with passels of porters, warmers to while the worst of the times and temps. Porter is very versatile, especially helpful in weathering cabin fever's colder conditions. Cook a hearty stew with porter as your prime companion. Serve it with game or give it a go as a gravy base for your meatless meatloaf. And not being just for dinner anymore, substitute porter for the water in your prime pancake recipe to add a chocolate flair to your breakfast fare.

Beer Notes

Brewers use many tricks of the trade to make their unique mark on the malt world.