Everybody knows why dinosaurs didn't make the evolutionary cut: too much armour, not enough brains. Yet few people know the story behind the demise of porter. Arguably once the most popular style of beer on earth, this black beverage built—and broke—fortunes and empires. It even drowned a neighbourhood when a bazillion gallon tank of it burst in one of the worst beer related industrial accidents ever. And yet porter quietly went its way, lost in the headlong rush of the 20th century.

On the face of it, porter looks like Stout's long-lost uncle (the one who drank too much and pawned his coat, and never got invited to Thanksgiving dinners after that morals arrest). Nothing could be farther from the truth; Porter has a long history as a beer style in its own right. It evolved from the dark-roasted barley that was common in England before the industrial revolution. The acidity that the brown malt combined well with London's slightly alkaline water, producing delicious dark beers. Roastier and less black than today's stouts, porter highlights subtle hoppiness and fruity yeast qualities—no other black beer does this quite as well.

Ingredients for 23 litres:
1 Brew House Cream Ale kit
225 grams 10°L crystal malt
225 grams chocolate malt
14 grams Hallertau hops
Wyeast 1028 London Ale
 

1. Crack your grains and place them in a grain bag.
2. Add grain bag to 8 litres of cold water in a 12 litre (or larger) pot. Place over medium heat. Bring temperature to 75°C (170°F) and hold for 20 minutes, stirring the grain bag occasionally.
3. Remove and discard grain. Boil the liquid for 10 minutes, then add Hallertau hops and boil for 10 more minutes (20 minutes in all).
4. Remove from heat, cool, and use the liquid to make up the 23 litre volume of the kit. Do not forget to add the pH adjustment package.
5. Pitch your yeast culture, and ferment at 15–18°C (60–70°F)

From this point, follow the Brew House kit instructions for secondary fermentation, bottling, etc.

Variations on a theme:

The recipe above makes a style of porter categorised as 'Ruby.' There are several more styles, including Robust, Prosperity, Pennsylvania, and Original London porter. There is also West Coast porter typified by Anchor Brewing and Sierra Nevada; its unique aroma and flavour come from a twist of piney, citric American hops. In addition to simple stylistic differences, porter previously attracted the use of all sorts of adjuncts—some aromatic, some flavourful, and some downright toxic. Capsicum pepper, grains of paradise (an obsolete spice), quassia (an ersatz cinnamon substitute), molasses, spruce, juniper, ginger, etc. etc. have all been recommended as porter flavouring from time to time. Let your imagination be your guide, but be moderate to begin with: we can still remember the batch of porter we put two litres of molasses in . . . .

• For a Robust porter, use the above recipe but include 75 grams of black patent malt. For your 8 litres of grain-steeping liquid, use 4 litres of water and 4 litres of wort from the Pale Ale kit. This should yield 19 litres with a starting gravity of approximately 1.060.
• For a smoked porter use the basic recipe and add 225 grams of any one of the following crushed grains: distiller's (peated) malt, German rauch malt, or home-smoked pale malt. Smoked porters take a little getting used to, but they have an elusive, delicious quality that makes them 'more-ish.' You can add more smoked malt, but remember that the smoky quality should complement the roast grains, not overwhelm them. (If you don't like smoked foods, you had best skip this variation)