Porter Lager?

[RandallFlag]

Ok, so I was at a gastro/brew pub this weekend in a large-ish city and they only serve their own beer. In perusing their menu I noticed that one of their offerings was a Porter which they described as a lager?

Say what? Sure, (most) all things are possible but is THIS possible?

 

[imasickboy]

Baltic porters are/can be lagers. Commercially, some are, some aren't. I think traditionally they are supposed to be.

 

[RandallFlag]

Baltic porters are/can be lagers. Commercially, some are, some aren't. I think traditionally they are supposed to be.

Interesting. So are they just using lager yeast? Or do they cold ferment as well?

 

[eman_resu]

Baltic Porter is a lager. Around here at least.
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style12.php#1c

 

[eman_resu]

Too late

 

[Hanglow]

Google baltic porters... edit- very late

Back in the day porter/stout brewers were separate from ale brewers in the uk, they had different measurements, different industrial guilds, different maltsers and so on. Then the porter brewers started brewing ale as well, which is why you see so many pubs offering Ales and Porters/Stouts on their brewery signs.

If someone asked me to recommend them an ale or a lager I'd never really consider recommending them a porter or stout

 

[FarmerTed]

There are old style American porters that were lagers. I'm not sure they're made anymore (maybe Yuenglings still does), but it was a thing. Gordon Strong had an article about all the beers called porters a few years ago in either BYO or Zymurgy, if you want to search for it.

 

[RandallFlag]

This was indeed a "Baltic Porter." You learn something new every day.

Thanks good people of the beer forums.

 

[ol-hazza]

This has come as a bit of a shock to me as well.

 

[r2eng]

Rogue's Dirtoir Black Lager is a tasty porter brewed with lager yeast.

As other's have said, try a Baltic Porter.

 

[NTexBrewer]

My father in law loves light lagers. Every time I bottle his light lager I harvest the yeast and make two 2.5 gallon batches. One is usually a normal strength lager and the other is usually a Baltic porter or last time I made a Russian imperial stout.

 

[Siberian]

I think Yuengling Porter is a lager.

 

[RandallFlag]

This has come as a bit of a shock to me as well.

Whew. Glad that I'm not the only one who learned something.

I'm just happy that with my buzz and all that I didn't try to go all "I know about beer" on them and try to "educate" them because I would have gotten skooooled. And it would have been rightly deserved. :rockin:

 

[fredthecat]

you need to drink more beer and visit less "brew pubs"

can anyone even really put money down on where a porter starts and ends?

 

[m00ps]

What makes a traditional "lager" is 2 things:
- a bottom fermenting lager yeast is used
- the finished beer is lagered at low temps to condition before serving

a number of styles (cali common, cream ale, altbier, baltic porter, etc) are hybrids that sometimes do either of the above

an ale can be lagered, but that doesnt necessarily make it a lager if you used ale yeast and fermented at ale temperatures

 

[Gavin C]

Always learning on HBT.

Baltic Porter = Lager.

I would never have known either. News to me.

 

[Yooper]

Always learning on HBT.

Baltic Porter = Lager.

I would never have known either. News to me.

Not always, though!

Some are done as ales, but most are lagers.

 

[JKaranka]

I like Finnish, Polish and Russian porters. Strongish, sweetish, but ultimately drinkable. I like that malty rye-bread type flavour they have rather than the more bitter non-Baltic Baltic porters (like Flying Dog's Gonzo: too strong, too bitter, too roasty).

 

[BrewerBrad82]

Baltic porters can be either. It is generally most common to ferment them with lager yeast, but ale yeast is not out of style.

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style12.php#1c