Dublin: the lighter side of porter.

Name: Dublin Porter.
Brewery: Guinness, St. James's Gate, Dublin.
ABV: 3.8%
Style: Porter.

Availability: Widely available in most supermarkets.

What I paid for mine: £1.79 (Tesco).

Try if you like: Coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, stout, porter, dark ale.

When I'm about to drink a porter, there is a volume of expectation with a bar set extremely high by both Fuller's London Porter and the similarly syrupy Anchor Porter: I want a porter to be rich, dark, smokey and bittersweetly indulgent which both of these aforementioned ales most certainly are. Guinness have made a porter which brings forth some of these things but also foregoes and in their place are some surprises - ones that were a welcome change and a fresh interpretation of something I deeply adore: the porter.

Guinness have been 'upping their game' of late no doubt thanks to all the microbrewery shenanigans that have been dominating the brewing headlines for the past five years and anyone who has been reading this blog for a wee while will know what I think of their recent Hop House 13 lager, released as part of the 'Brewer's Project' range. Dublin porter also hails from this recent mega-engagement that the empirical St. James's Gate brewery has been making with the modern market. I'm very pleased to say that those lads and ladies in Dublin have made a porter definitely worth spending time with. At 3.8%, nobody is going to need a stomach pump before they operate heavy machinery post-Dublin consumption and you don't feel that in the head at all. What surprised me the most was that nor do you feel it in the stomach: this is a light porter. You could session this boy. That's right: session. It's that light.

However, this 'lightness' come with a compromise on indulgence: where some porters are essentially smoked-treacle-sumptuousness, Dublin forgoes the real smack of full body and as a result, has a slightly more measured flavour than you might expect from this type of beer. I feel that I must interject myself here, though, and state that this is not a negative for the brew in any way, shape or form: it simply is just lighter. I dare say it is also more refreshing than any other porter I have tried and this is what surprised me the most: it was fresh both on the nose and the tongue.

The characteristic porter treacle-brown is definitely presented in the pour and on the palette but, as I mentioned before, it is measured in favour with more a vanilla tone as opposed to the traditional dark chocolate smoke and I mean it when I say vanilla: it is most certainly there more so than the caramel the bottle cites. These smokey flavours are definitely there but they come in the echo of the finish and the memory of baking biscuit will waft from the back of your throat as you finish your drop. 

You keep going back for sip after sip awaiting the weight of the beer to come in yet it never does. You do get coffee and you do get toasted malt but a reserved delivery is the overall experience. I can really see this doing well as a beer to enjoy when watching outdoor sport in Autumn and winter and its lighter percentage will mean you can actually engage in critical analysis of the action with your comrades without needing to concentrate like a neurosurgeon. Guinness have made a good porter hear and if you do find some porters a little too sickly or indeed, find Guinness draught too thick and disappointing, this is a fantastic antidote. 

Review: Fullers London Porter.

Name: London Porter.
Brewery: Fullers, London.
ABV: 5.4%
Style: Porter.
Season: Winter.

Availability: Can be found in supermarkets around late Autumn/Winter. 

Try if you like: Guiness original, Hobgoblin, Old Peculier, Anchor Porter.

A beer style from the Industrial Age that died out after the impact of wartime restrictions but today, very much alive and well and enjoying a massive and well-deserved resurgence (and aren't I grateful for it!) - the Porter is a very dark brew with a bittersweet chocolate-coffee appreciation. Fullers Lonond Porter is a classic expression of the breed: brown, crystal and chocolate malts give it a distinct treacle brown, reminiscent of dark chocolate and a flavour encompassing coffee, dark demerara with the background notes of vanilla. You would also be forgiven for thinking that someone from the brewery went out and captured essence of logfire too as there is a delightful, subtle smokiness within this is festive draw. After having one myself yesterday (after seeing the delightful new Star Wars film with a good friend at the IMAX Empire) I certainly felt my yearnings for the dark side of brewery and the joy of this pint is that it is surprisingly light for its punch and complexity, bringing balance to the force (please forgive me). I dare say, at 5.4%, I certainly felt its influence but not in the stomach meaning that this would sit very nicely as an after-supper pint to be sipped and savoured - good lord, in front of a roaring fire if we could all arrange a Dickensian evening. This is a smashing tipple and perfect for this time of year when preserved fruits, chutneys, rich puddings and logfires abound. A drink that manages to capture that smokey stillness of a Winter's day. Sublime and indulgent but won't induce a post-roast dinner coma! Tis the season to be Porter! No festive beer appreciator should allow themselves to miss one of these this Winter-time. For me, it is more traditional than that monstrous steamed pudding or chestnuts roasting on a fire. If you could shove a sprig of holly in it without causing a health and safety disaster, I'd say it was more Christmassy than Santa's jingling bells!