Porter beer styles

Do you know how Brown, Robust & Baltic Porters differ? Want to find out more about their history? Want some examples on commercial examples of each style to try? Read on to find out…

Previously we examined English Brown Ales, in this article we will cover BJCP Category 12, Porter, which includes the following Beer Styles:

• 12a. Brown Porter
• 12b. Robust Porter
• 12c. Baltic Porter

First we will cover the history of the category, then take a look at the specifications of each style highlighting the similarities and differences. We then sample commercial examples of each style.

History

Brown Porter was the first of the three styles within this category and was originally a blend of beers according to BJCP.org. Porters originated in England and are said to have been favored by porters and laborers.

Robust Porters tend to be brewed in the USA and are hoppier versions of their English counterparts. Some argue that they are throwback versions because originally Porters were stronger than modern versions. Brown Porters were reduced in strength due to increases in taxation that were linked to the alcohol content of beers.

Baltic Porters, as their name suggests, tend to be brewed in countries bordering on the Baltic Sea and are derived from Brown Porters. The richness of this style is believed to have been influenced by Russian Imperial Stouts.

Overview

According to Jamil Zainasheff in his book, Brewing Classic Styles, all three styles of Porter have some level of roasty character, less than a Stout, but usually more than a Brown Ale.

These beers should all be as follows:

• Brown Porter – a fairly substantial English dark ale with restrained roasty characteristics.
• Robust Porter – a substantial, malty dark ale with a complex and flavorful roasty character.
• Baltic Porter – a big, complex, and flavorful malty dark lager or ale with a restrained roasty character.

The following table* shows how the 3 styles of Porter vary:

Characteristic	Brown Porter	Robust Porter	Baltic Porter
Original Gravity:	1.040 – 1.052	1.048 – 1.065	1.060 – 1.090
Final Gravity:	1.008 – 1.014	1.012 – 1.016	1.016 – 1.024
ABV (alcohol %):	4.0 – 5.4	4.8 – 6.5	5.5 – 9.5
IBU’s (bitterness):	18 – 35	25 – 50	20 – 40
SRM (color):	20 – 30	22 – 35	17 – 30

The above table shows the starting gravities, finishing gravities and alcohol contents all rise with a little overlap from Brown Porter, through Robust Porter, to Baltic Porter. Brown and Baltic Porters have similar bitterness with Baltic Porter being slightly higher in general but out of the three Robust Porters tend to be the highest. Color is very similar across the styles with Robust Porter being generally a bit darker than the other two.

In the following sections we will look in more detail at each of the above Beer Styles.

Brown Porter

Commercial examples of this style include Burton Bridge Burton Porter, RCH Old Slug Porter, Nethergate Old Growler Porter, Hambleton Nightmare Porter, Harvey’s Tom Paine Original Old Porter, Salopian Entire Butt English Porter, St. Peters Old-Style Porter, Shepherd Neame Original Porter, Flag Porter, and Wasatch Polygamy Porter. We decided to sample Fuller’s London Porter and Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter.

Fuller’s London Porter has the following characteristic which is at the top of the range for alcohol content:

• ABV = 5.4%

This beer is dark brown in color with a deep red hue. Chocolate aroma and flavor with an average head that goes. Some bitterness in the taste giving way to a malty aftertaste. Moderate carbonation and a medium mouth-feel.

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter has the following characteristics which are both within style for alcohol content and bitterness:

• ABV = 5.0%
• IBU’s = 32

This beer is black in color with an average head that goes. Light chocolate aroma. The flavor is subtle chocolate with roastiness and a clean finish. Low carbonation and a thin mouth-feel.

Typical ingredients used when brewing this style include the following according to the BJCP Style Guidelines:

• English ingredients are most common. May contain several malted barleys, including Chocolate and/or other dark Roasted malts and Caramel-type malts.
• Historical versions would use a significant amount of Brown malted barley.
• Usually does not contain large amounts of Black Patent malt or Roasted barley.
• May contain a moderate amount of adjuncts (sugars, maize, molasses, treacle, etc.).
• English hops are most common, but are usually subdued.
• English or Irish ale yeast, or occasionally lager yeast, is used.
• London or Dublin-type water (moderate carbonate hardness) is traditional.

Robust Porter

Commercial examples of this style include Meantime London Porter, Anchor Porter, Smuttynose Robust Porter, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Boulevard Bully! Porter, Rogue Mocha Porter, Avery New World Porter, Bell’s Porter, and Great Divide Saint Bridget’s Porter. We decided to sample Sierra Nevada Porter and Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter.

Sierra Nevada Porter has the following characteristic which is within style for alcohol content:

• ABV = 5.6%

This beer is red/brown in color with an average head. Slight hop aroma. A hop flavor with some roastiness. There is some bitterness and the hop flavor lingers. Moderate carbonation and mouth-feel.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter has the following characteristics which are within style for both alcohol content and bitterness:

• ABV = 5.8%
• IBU’s = 37

This beer is red/brown in color with an average head. Chocolate and roast aroma. Flavor is of hop bitterness with some chocolate. Moderate carbonation and average mouth-feel.

Typical ingredients used when brewing this style include the following according to the BJCP Style Guidelines:

• May contain several malted barleys, prominently dark Roasted malts and grains, which often include Black Patent malt (Chocolate malt and/or Roasted barley may also be used in some versions).
• Hops are used for bittering, flavor and/or aroma, and are frequently UK or US varieties.
• Ale yeast can either be clean US versions or characterful English varieties.
• Water with moderate to high carbonate hardness is typical.

Baltic Porter

Commercial examples of this style include Sinebrychoff Porter (Finland), Okocim Porter (Poland), Zywiec Porter (Poland), Carnegie Stark Porter (Sweden), Aldaris Porteris (Latvia), Utenos Porter (Lithuania), Stepan Razin Porter (Russia), Neuzeller Kloster-Bräu Neuzeller Porter (Germany), and Southampton Imperial Baltic Porter. We decided to sample Baltika #6 Porter from Russia and Nøgne ø Porter from Norway.

Baltika #6 Porter has the following characteristics which is within style for alcohol content, at the bottom of the range for bitterness and at the top of the range for color:

• ABV = 7.0%
• IBU’s = 20
• SRM = 30

This beer is opaque black in color with an average head that gradually goes. Has a roasty aroma. The flavor is roasty and creamy with low bitterness. Moderate carbonation and a good mouth-feel.

Nøgne ø Porter has the following characteristics which are within style for alcohol content and bitterness:

• ABV = 7.0%
• IBU’s = 29%

This beer is opaque black in color with an average head that gradually goes. Has a chocolate aroma. The flavor is chocolate with hop bitterness at the end and a taste that lasts. Low carbonation and a good mouth-feel.

Typical ingredients used when brewing this style include the following according to the BJCP Style Guidelines:

• Munich or Vienna base malted barley.
• Debittered Chocolate or Black malted barley.
• May contain Crystal malts and/or adjuncts.
• Brown or Amber malt common in historical recipes.
• Continental hops.
• Generally lager yeast (cold fermented if using ale yeast).

What next?

Our next article will look at BJCP Category 13, ‘Stout’, where we will examine the six styles making up this category.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, please do not hesitate to contribute to the discussion below.

* Beer Styles’ data is courtesy of BJCP.org.