Beer of the Moment Article - London Robust Porter

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	Paul Rigby

Riggers’ “ENTIRE”

History
Originating in London during the 18th century this style has an interesting history; drinking trends of the day were becoming affluent and “yuppified”. A mixed drink comprising equal parts of “ale, beer and two penny” was becoming very popular. (In those times the first runnings from the lauter tun were the highest gravity, darkest colour, most flavour, highest tax payable and generally considered the best. (Often referred to as “Ale” depending on which version of history you believe). The second runnings were of course lower gravity, lower flavour etc etc (Often referred to as “Beer”) and the third runnings even more inferior again. (Often referred to “two penny” which relates to the cost). This concoction was referred to as either “three threads” (purportedly this term was a bastardisation of “three thirds” referring to the three equal parts of the mixture) or more popularly “entire” (Bars of the day usually kept a wooden keg of each of the three main styles - ale, beer and two penny - with the butts being visible to the patrons. An equal measure of each of the “entire” range on display or a “draft of entire butt”, meaning from all three taps)
It was only a matter of time before the tavern keepers tired of the constant mixing of the three different brews to create “entire” and a visionary (or profit hungry if one is cynical) commercial brewer saw an opportunity. In 1722 Ralph Harwood at the Bell Brewery in London developed the first commercially available single brew “entire” clone that had duplicated the characteristics of the traditionally mixed on the spot version.
With the passage of time this particular brew became known as “Porter” probably due to either the popularity of this brew with the porters (delivery people with trolleys similar to those at airports) of the London markets or possibly the porters delivering fresh kegs to the taverns whose arrival would have been eagerly received with exclamations of “Porters!” However most texts lean toward the London market porter scenario.
Further development of the style was facilitated by the never-ending desire of the commercial brewers to “cash in” on a good thing this being the latest fad brew of the 1720’s – Porter. In order to secure a market share “their” brews had to be marketable and the way to do that is to make it unique or at least appear unique from all the others. Thus came the variants - “standard” porter which was a darkish, low alcohol, lightly hopped brew, then came the “robust” porter which was, as one can imagine, bigger in all aspects – darker to the point of being almost black, higher hopping, higher gravity etc (It is said that robust porter was the progenitor of stout or that stout was the next logical progression of the porter style which ever way you want to look at it). Of course the Americans have embraced the style and gone bigger again particularly with hopping (no complaints from me!) to create a U.S. version.

Enhanced Kit Version
London Porter is a style that lends itself very nicely to kit brewing, and is, in my opinion, an opportunity to produce an excellent beer that could rival any full grain version.
I suggest starting out by purchasing a good quality amber/dark ale kit. There are numerous choices of brands and the quality of the kits in this style are generally excellent and the final decision is yours. Ordinarily there really isn't much that can be done to enhance a kit beer but when making these darker, fuller flavoured styles there is more scope for innovation and flexibility. I suggest using malt extracts rather than dextrose or sugar, I recommend using 1kg of light malt extract plus 250gms of amber malt extract, and the secret ingredient of 1 to 2 tablespoons of Molasses (available at health food stores and some supermarkets).
Generally London Porter is not a highly hopped style so the need for hop flavour and aroma, and the associated trouble in acquiring those elusive characters is not required!

Malt Extract & Mini Mash Version
Base Malt – 3.5kg Light Malt Extract (Preferably dry)
500gms Amber Malt Extract (Preferably dry)
Mini mash grains - 400gms Amber Malt
300gms Chocolate Malt
200gms Light Crystal Malt
100gms Roast Malt
Put 2 litres of cold water in a saucepan and add grains and heat up VERY SLOWLY (over a 25 to 30 minute period) until just short of boiling. Strain the liquid into your fermenter, and discard the grain residue.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 28 IBU's using any general purpose hop you like, I generally use Northern Brewer but it really doesn’t matter. Quantity will vary depending on the %AA (alpha acid) of the hops being used. Grain & Grape staff will be happy to do the calculations for you.
Generally London Porter is not a highly hopped style so the need for hop flavour and aroma, and the associated trouble in acquiring those elusive characters is not required!
Total boil time should be 90 minutes with the hops boiled for only 60 minutes.
Yeast - I recommend any of the Wyeast London yeasts i.e. 1028 London, 1275 Thames Valley or 1318 London 3. If you prefer the convenience of dry yeast then try DCL Safale.

Full Grain Version
Grains - 3000gms Ale Malt
300gms Amber Malt
350gms Caramalt
250gms Chocolate Malt
100gms Roast Malt
250gms Wheat Malt
Mashing regimes are many and varied. Most modern malts are very well modified and only need a simple single step infusion mash to obtain very good results, with this in mind a simple mash regime is quite adequate for this style – a single step at 66ºC and mash out at 77ºC. Personally I prefer a more complex mashing regime because I am able to gain more control over the balance of the final brew with respect to mouthfeel etc. My current regime is based on my own experience and experimentation and the recommendations of George Fix in his book Brewing Techniques, which is a rest at 40C for 10 mins, 50C for 15 mins, 60C for 45 mins, 70C for 15 mins and a mash out at 77C for 10 mins.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 28 IBU's using any general purpose hop you like, I generally use Northern Brewer but it really doesn’t matter. I generally advise the use of lower alpha hops for all brewing purposes but particularly bittering (especially for lower to moderate bitterness beers up to about 28 IBU’s) because if your scales are a little inaccurate two or three grams over in a total of twenty or thirty grams of a lower alpha hop will not be noticeable but three grams over in ten or twelve grams using a 12 or 14% AA hop will mean an almost undrinkably bitter beer!
Total boil time should be 90 minutes with the hops boiled for only 60 minutes.
Yeast - I recommend any of the Wyeast London yeasts i.e. 1028 London, 1275 Thames Valley or 1318 London 3. If you prefer the convenience of dry yeast then try DCL Safale.