Commercial Porters

[johnmcc]

Have been looking at a few Porter recipes, then it hit me. I haven't even tasted a Porter before, I think it's time!

Can anyone help me with a few good commercial examples, figure I'll pick up a mixer sixer at Total Wine this Friday for the weekend.

thx,

 

[Hex23]

Samuel Smith "Taddy Porter" is a great porter example.

 

[bad coffee]

Go into the beer store and check out what they have. Look around, ask someone.

Dechuttes Black Butte is my favorite beer of all time. It's not around here so you'll have to travel for it.

Yuengling is pretty good, you should be able to find it all over.

 

[Chap]

+1 Dechuttes Black Butte

 

[swoof]

Love Deschutes Black Butte. They don't distribute east of Missouri though. Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald is pretty great. Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter is pretty good as is Fuller's for the English style.

 

[Mongrel]

Lot's of love for Black Butte Porter so far, you guys need to try the Black Butte XX at some point.

Had a Pin-Up Porter from SOB tonight, very tasty.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Edmund Fitzgerald is pretty damned tasty.

 

[CrystallineEntity]

Anchor and Sierra Nevada are solid porters.

 

[TheDutchman]

I'll second the recommendations for Black Butte and Fuller's. Both are killer porters, though styled somewhat differently. Black Butte is hoppier; Fuller's is pure silk chocolate/coffee.

 

[johnnybob]

Look for St. Peters Old Style Porter. Delicious.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter, St. Peter's (great call jonnybob!) Deschutes Black Butte, Big Sky's Bobo's Robust Porter, Harvest Moon's Pig's Ass Porter, Bitterroot Brewing's porter (they use a touch of rauchmalt).

Interestingly enough, even though these are all porters, they are all significantly different from each other. You should try them all!
Regards, GF.

 

[hadabar]

Anchors porter and bells porter are both very good in my opinion and both should be pretty available...

 

[SethMasterFlex]

Smuttynose Robust Porter is pretty damned good. Edmund Fitzgerald was one of the first porters I fell in love with back when I first started drinking good beer.

During your search, keep in mind the English Porters will be breadier/fruitier while the American Porters will have more of a clean malt backbone. So even if you can't find a matching clone recipe you can at least narrow your search down.

 

[skibb]

Founder's Porter!!! My fave.

 

[blackdragon82]

Victory Baltic Thunder is one of my favs

http://victorybeer.com/beers/baltic-thunder/

 

[jfowler1]

+1 Dechuttes Black Butte

Deschutes is supposed to be great, but it has no distribution in NJ (or anywhere close for that matter).

The best semi-regional porter I think you will find in NJ is Smuttynose Robust Porter (Portsmouth, NH). It is by far my favorite American Style Robust Porter. Geary's London Porter (Portland, ME) is also really good, but it is much more English in character. Flying Fish (Cherry Hill, NJ) has an Expresso Porter, but even in state, its availibility is really spotty, and may be a seasonal offering. Cricket Hill (Fairfield, NJ) also does a Paymaster's Porter in the winter, but again, won't be available for a while.

Make Smuttynose your target, and settle for the Geary's if you have to. Call around a bit - typically if a store sells one, they will sell the other. I can tell you where to find it in Monmouth, Middlesex, and Somerset county, but you are a little too far north for me to point you in the right direction.

Joe

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Zywiec Porter, a very fine example of Baltic Porter; I really enjoy it.

 

[j1laskey]

Shipyard's Imperial Porter.....there I said!!!

 

[Mogwai]

I second Smuttynose Porter and Ed Fitzgerald, can't go wrong with them.

 

[rgontasz]

Founders makes a great ported, but if you want a porter really true to the style try to find Sinebrychoff Porter.

 

[jfowler1]

Shipyard's Imperial Porter.....there I said!!!

I have had the BW, the IIPA, the Imperial Pumpkin, and the Porter from the Pugsley series, and they are all 10/10.

It actually made me a little sad. I drink some Shipyard every summer when we vacation in Maine, and each summer, Shipyard gets worse. The Pugsley series just goes to show how good a beer that brewery is capable of making, but for one reason or another, their standard line just does not measure up. You can drink every one of their beers against Geary's (which Pugsley built and designed the flagship for) and the Geary's offering will blow the Shipyard equivilent out of the water.

Geary's Pale Ale > Shipyard Export
Geary's HSA > Ringwood Old Thumper
Geary's Summer > Shipyard Summer
Geary's Garden Hose Water > Shipyard Pumpkin Head
Geary's London Porter = Shipyard Longfellow Porter (but I don't believe Longfellow is in production any longer)

However, Shipyard Prelude (winter seasonal) is incredible, but as good as it is, it does not excuse the rest of the lackluster offerings.

You don't have to apologize for suggesting the Imperial Porter, but if you had suggested the Pumpkinhead - then we would be having a different conversation. You want to talk about worst commercial beers...Pumpkinhead needs to be in the conversation.

Joe

 

[j1laskey]

Pumpkinhead was once a great beer.

 

[JonM]

Founder's Porter!!! My fave.

Another vote for Founder's Porter. Love that stuff. Edmund Fitzgerald is very good too.

 

[bad coffee]

Lot's of love for Black Butte Porter so far, you guys need to try the Black Butte XX at some point.

I have one in my kegerator, waiting for a VERY special occasion.

B

 

[the_trout]

Edmund Fitzgerald is pretty damned tasty.

+1 this is my favorite porter.

 

[Stoutman82]

Ragnarok from 3 floyds is awesome