American Porter

Historical Development

(For our post on porter vs. stout, see the American Stout page on our blog…this post will focus on the history of porter since the end of prohibition.)

Following the all-too-common trend of American brewers taking something from European beer culture, adding more hops, and boosting its alcohol content, the American Porter is inspired by its English ancestors from the early eighteenth century. After the American Revolution, our founding mothers and fathers mirrored the model they learned through the feudal estates in England. Brewing was typically done on a small scale for personal consumption…a far cry from the industrial machine that would shortly follow. We'll delve a little deeper into that period when we talk about the Pre-Prohibition Porter, but it's worth mentioning here that one of the driving forces behind the establishment of our brewing culture during the nineteenth century was a strong desire to produce the beer we drank rather than buying it from the British. Notice that we didn't dump the beer into Boston Harbor with the tea. Moral equivalency can be hard…especially after a cask or two.

After prohibition ended, American beer was strongly impacted by the ensuing war and its impact on literally every aspect of daily life. After learning some hard lessons about the frivolity of forced abstinence during the Civil War, the war-time government mandated that brewers reserve a full 15% of their product for soldiers overseas. They also created standards for the beer they bought to send. The result? 3.2% lager…here we are, 80 years down the line, still suffering through the consequences of that.

The relatively mild porter that predated prohibition and the second world war continued its hiatus from popularity after the war. Thankfully, it never fully disappeared completely from the brewing scene–Yuengling and Stegmaier both continued producing a porter until the craft movement began in the 1980s. When craft brewers began their endeavor toward more flavorful beer, one of the obvious outlets was the porter, a style once extremely popular in the US, and also one that was different in every imaginable way from the lagers of the day.

As we discussed in our post on American Stout, the lines aren't just blurry between those two designators…they often don't really exist. Since the beginning of the craft movement–and especially during the past decade–porters have become a laboratory for everything from massive imperial beers, to light sessionable malt showcases, to dessert-inspired pastry style beers. While these are all wonderful, one of our favorites here at Black Flannel is our coffee porter. It's a classic take on porter. Light enough to be drinkable all year round, but with a full enough malt backbone when you're in the mood for something darker.

Modern Evolution

A stronger, more aggressive version of pre-prohibition porters and/or English porters developed in the modern craft beer era. Historical versions existed, particularly on the US East Coast, some of which are still being produced (see the Historical Beer, Pre-Prohibition Porter). This style describes the modern craft version.