by Mark Meli マーク・メリー

Porter is a style of dark brown or black beer that usually is top-fermented, contains 5.0-6.5% alcohol, and has a sweet, chocolate malt flavor balanced by hop bitterness and roasted malts. Traditionally, hops were used for bitterness rather than aroma or flavor, though today that isn’t always the case.

Porter became popular in London in the early 1700s, and is said to be named for the working men who were its greatest fans: the cargo porters who worked the docks around the river Thames. For close to a century it was the most popular type of beer in England, often enjoyed as a mixture of aged, “stale” porter with fresh, sweet, “mild” beer. Its fame spread far and wide, influencing Arthur Guinness’ porters and stouts in Ireland, as well as the stronger, bottom-fermented Baltic porters of northeastern Europe.

Porter and stout are beer styles that are relatively similar, and it is difficult to make a clear historical distinction between them. “Stout porter” once simply meant strong porter of 7% alcohol or more. Nowadays, the major difference lies in the use of unmalted barley, roasted to a pitch black color. This is used in stout, giving it a very burnt, espresso-like flavor that porter lacks. Usually. In addition, porter is generally lighter in body than stout.

Good examples of traditional porters that are available in Japan come from Samuel Smith and Fullers. These are dark brown and quite sweet, roasted without being burnt. Several Japanese craft breweries also make excellent porters. Sankt Gallen’s Brown Porter is a sweet, brown brew that takes one back to old London. Swan Lake Porter is a darker and more fruity interpretation whose reputation extends far beyond Japan. Tokyo Black from Yo-Ho, available either in cans (great value) or on tap as real ale, has evident citrus hop aromas, betraying an American influence. Baird’s Kurofune Porter balances creamy malt sweetness with a coffee-like burnt character. A more “Japanese” version is Zakkoku Kobo’s Sansho Porter, wherein spicy sansho pepper gives a nice citrus balance to sweet chocolate malts.

Porter isn’t so heavy that you can’t drink it in hot weather, but it definitely goes very well with the chill of the crisp autumn air. A stronger porter, served at about room temperature, is perfect while sitting at the kotatsu on a cold winter night. It’s an approachable dark beer, flavorful yet very drinkable.

All Beer Styles articles are written by Mark Meli, author of Craft Beer in Japan.

This article was published in Japan Beer Times # () and is among the limited content available online. Order your copy through our online shop or download the digital version from the iTunes store to access the full contents of this issue.