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New Jersey: The Porter State!

By Keith Olsen

Originally published in the January/February 2006 issue of “The Gotham Imbiber”

and the January 2006 newsletter of the Malted Barley Appreciation Society

Winter has settled in here in the Northeast, and a beer that warms the insides is just what one might hope for this time of year. Barleywines with their high alcohol content can be quite warming, and the roasted aromas of a Stout bring to mind coffee, fireplaces and other sources of winter warmth. But neither style typically works well as a session beer (i.e. the kind of beer you can drink all evening long, and never tire of). This is why I find the mysterious Porter the perfect brew this time of year.

Porters originated as the first truly “engineered” beer. In English pubs in the early 1700’s, you could not simply pour a porter from a single tap. Porters started as a blend of beers much like a “Black & Tan” that is common today. They were initially called “Three Threads” (Threads meaning Thirds) or “Entires” (having the entire range of beers in a single pint), where one third would be an old soured ale, another third a new brown ale, and the last a weak or mild ale. The resulting beer would be a bit sour, a bit sweet, a bit roasted and bitter, and a bit mellow and smooth. While the combination of complex flavors made patrons happy, you could imagine pouring such blends all day would drive a barkeep a bit mad.

In 1722, the entrepreneurial brewer Ralph Harwood of London came up with the ingenious idea of creating a single beer that could mimic this popular blend, calling the resulting brew “Harwood’s Entire”. His beer then influenced many other brewers both in England and beyond. Ireland’s Guinness Brewery initially brewed porters, eventually brewing a strong, robust or “stout” version of their porter that became known more simply as Stout, the father of all such stouts brewed today. Across the pond in America, our founding fathers were extremely enamored by porter, being the favorite drink of George Washington who encouraged its brewing in the colonies so he would no longer rely on England for his supply of beer. Thomas Jefferson took matters into his own hands and brewed and sold his own porter.

Porters fell out of favor with the advent of the relatively “pale” ales coming to market in the mid 1800’s, and became even scarcer with the widespread popularity of clear golden lagers in the early 1900’s. Dark beers were being relegated to the dark ages, and it took a revolution to bring them back. The revolution occurred in the 1970’s and 80’s when microbreweries began to sprout in America. Brewers yearned for something different, and searched far and wide for recipes long lost and forgotten. Along with IPA’s, Bitters and Barleywines, Porters were a source of newfound inspiration. And just as each brewer seeks to make their unique identity in a sea of mass-market lagers, the porters they brew are as unique as they are.

One State, One Style, Three Unique Takes

With a complexity of flavor inherent to the porter style, each rendition can bring something quite different to the table. To illustrate the variety possible within this single style of porter, three very different porters from the state of New Jersey (that sometimes foreign land just across the Hudson from New York City) are described below:

Produced in Cherry Hill, NJ, Flying Fish Porter is a bottle-conditioned rendition of the porter style. Of the three examples here, this one is the least rich, but in that respect, may be the most suitable as a session beer. It pours a deep medium brown with a very foamy off-white head. The flavors are well balanced, an initial caramel sweetness, with some plum and fig flavors in the middle, followed by a roasted, slightly burnt finish. I suggest letting this one sit for a little while after pouring, both to settle the carbonation that is a bit too high, and to allow the more subtle flavors come through as it warms. On rare occasions, this one is available on-cask.

While most chain restaurants are the same wherever you go, there is only one Pizzeria Uno in the country with its own brewery on premises, and it happens to be in Metuchen, NJ. They offer six house beers on tap, which includes one rotating seasonal variety. Among the five year-round selections is Gust ‘n Gale Porter, a rich chocolatey brew, sweet and creamy, this could simply be described as a “dessert Porter”. There are some roasted notes and a mild lingering bitterness to balance the sweetness, but overall this is very smooth on the palate. While the specialty of the house is pizza, I highly recommend drinking this one on its own rather than trying what could be a disastrous pairing. Unfortunately, this one isn’t available in bottles, but bring along your growler when you visit so you can enjoy more at home.

Heavyweight Brewing of Ocean Township, NJ doesn’t make just a porter (or just a stout, brown or pale ale for that matter). They create unique hybrids, recreate rarely found styles, and invent some beers that are totally new. In the case of their Perkuno's Hammer, this brew is a Baltic Porter, a strong, dark and rich brew that was historically developed to survive the long sea voyage from British breweries to their Baltic customers. While such strength isn’t required to survive the trip across the Hudson River (even with heavy traffic in the tunnel), the revival of this style is greatly appreciated.

This porter starts smooth, with initial slight malty sweetness, then the full flavors of bittersweet chocolate and dark roasted coffee come through, all followed by a peppery finish. The mouthfeel is smooth as well: slick, thick and rich. The tiny bubbles of carbonation were a refreshing contrast to the thickness and richness of the brew. Other flavors come forward as you drink more… raisins and caramel are just two of many that come forward out of this complex brew. Altogether, a hearty and enjoyable beer that has no harsh bitterness, no burnt finish, and none of the alcohol taste that one might expect considering the alcohol content. Still, at 8% ABV (alcohol by volume) this may not be the ideal porter for drinking all night long.

While these are just three examples, there are literally hundreds of porters to choose from around the world, with dozens available in the New York area. There are smoked porters, mocha porters, vanilla porters and chocolate porters, organic porters and more. Whatever your taste, there’s probably a porter out there just for you.

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