We know that porter was first brewed and sold in London at some point in the early 1700s. Beyond that, details get a little murky. There are two popular origin myths about the dark, malty style of ale now known as "porter." The first is that, back in the day, a respectable English publican would have three types of ale on tap: light, dark, and strong. Laborers in London (who were then known as "porters") would come into the pub at the end of a long day and request a pint containing 1/3 of each kind of ale. An enterprising brewer decided to capitalize on the popularity of this trend by brewing a beer that blended all three types into one finished package. He named his new style "Porter" after its target audience. This "three threads" theory was first advanced by an English writer in the early 1800s...and is almost certainly wrong.
Today, most people who care about this stuff subscribe to the second theory of the origin of porter. Before the 1700s, professional brewers would brew their ale, put it in a cask, and ship it off immediately to local pubs. The publicans would then store this "young" ale in cellars until they judged it ready to be served. By the 1720s, London brewers realized that they could get better results by letting their dark ale age at the brewery, then shipping it to pubs ready to drink. This procedure guaranteed a higher level of quality and consistency, and allowed individual breweries to build their own followings.
The porter breweries of London were among the first brewing operations to enjoy great financial success. At the time, traditional English brewers were skilled artisans who, if successful, could expect a comfortable life and local notoriety. Porter brewers, on the other hand, began building large international fortunes. They were also the first to use modern equipment like thermometers and hydrometers while brewing beer. By producing beer on a large scale, testing their products with scientific accuracy, and treating brewing as a lucrative commercial venture, the porter brewers of 18th-century London were the forerunners of modern breweries.
This golden age of porter lasted for about a century. By the mid-19th century, tastes had shifted towards lighter ales and lagers. While dark, heavy beers were certainly still around, they did not have the same commercial appeal that brought them fame and fortune in earlier times. None of the truly authentic London porters of the 1700s and 1800s survived into the present age. However, in the last couple decades of the 20th century English brewers began recreating some of the classic ales of olden days...including the once-famous London porter. Which brings me to Fuller's London Porter.
One of the first posts on this blog featured another Fuller's brew called Fuller's ESB. I normally don't like to double up on beers from the same brewery - I'd rather highlight a new brand. However, for this post I wanted to pick a beer that (1) best exemplifies the classic London porter style, and (2) is readily available in the U.S.A. Fuller's London Porter certainly fits both of these descriptions.
Fuller's Brewery is located on the site of the historic Griffin Brewery in a suburb of west London called Chiswick. Griffin was founded sometime in mid-to-late 1600s, and supposedly brewed an authentic London Porter during the late 1700s and early 1800s. A consortium of brewers led by John Bird Fuller bought the old Griffin Brewery in 1845 and began making lighter cask ales (the descendant of these ales is now Fuller's flagship product - London Pride). In the 1990s, as porter was making its way back onto the beer scene, Fuller's revived the porter style that put Griffin on the map so many years ago.
London Porter pretty much tastes like it looks. It's rich and malty with a hint of toasty caramel flavor. There is a certain amount of bitter earthiness from the English hops used to brew it, but overall there is much less hop flavor and bitterness in this old London-style porter than you'll find in the microbrewed American porters of today. It is dark brown in color and very clear. In theory, porter shouldn't need any extra additives to make it dark. Instead, the dark color should come from dark type of malt called "black patent." Black patent malt is kilned to the point of carbonization, giving it a nearly black color and a bitter, ashy flavor. When used in relatively small quantities, black patent adds both color and character to porter.
There are certainly other English porters on the market that imitate the old London style of yesteryear. Some specialty brews even use recipes from the 1800s. There is also a whole range of dark old-world ales from eastern Europe called "Baltic porter," which is really a unique style in and of itself (and which I'll certainly cover in later posts). If you want to take a trip through beer history, down the gas-lit streets of foggy London-town, you can't do better than Fuller's London Porter.
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