I don’t know if I’d like porter, but this video sure makes me want one. In all likelihood, none of us has had the real thing. I’m sure some of the jillions of craft breweries out there offer a porter, but is anyone drawing it from separate kegs like in this video? Apparently it became a lost art in the early 70’s. Sad.
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I was in no way prepared for that song. As someone who is 40% Irish By Volume,
I have no excuse.
Looks like the pour became a lost art when Guinness wanted to export, and the high pressure / low pressure barrel system was too complicated. A mathematician-brewer (hail nerd!) kept tinkering until he hit upon a nitrogen-CO2 mixture that seemed to work.
The snob “not a real porter” angle is somehow still fitting in the age of pretentious microbrews. I will be happy to join you in a porter, and we can discuss black malt vs amber malt vs Munich-style malts, not to mention Fuggles vs East Kent Goldings vs Chinook hops, and clean American yeasts vs traditional English yeasts. I have no idea what I just said.
Ha! But can your local barkeep draw a shamrock in the head? That’s talent.
I’ll be glad to join you for a porter next time I’m near the plateau (whenever that is), but you’ll be disappointed if you want informed beer discussion. I’m an ignoramus to the point that I don’t know if your hops and yeast terms present reality or parody. I rely on Makerbot to tell me which beers to order at our local breweries. The varieties and descriptions make my head swim even more than the alcohol. All I know is that I like IPA’s and sometimes a pilsner or lager. I dislike hefeweizen and anyting else sweet. If I want “fruity,” I’ll eat a fucking apple. I like some dark beers, but I can’t tolerate stout, which to me tastes like carbonated soy sauce. I gather that porter is something like stout toned down for people like me, so I may like it. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve tried stout in over thirty years. My taste has changed in various ways, so it might be time to sample again.
As annoying as microbrew pretension can be, I appreciate deliverance from the Bud-Miller-Heineken tyranny of my youth. There seems to be good beer at all of them. That said, self-consciously whimsical beer nomenclature should cease immediately.
As for Irish shipwrights drinking porter for lunch, well, the Titanic was built in Belfast.