What is a Porter?

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History of the Porter

The porter has a very interesting history and a fair amount of disagreement on what it is and should be. Originally, a "porter" was not a single beer at all but a combination of beers mixed together based on customer requests.  The British have a custom of mixing cheaper and lighter beers with heavier more expensive aged beers (i.e. a black and tan). The combining of these beers would create what was called an "entire beer".

What is the Reinheitsgebot (”German Purity Law)

Well, the first step is to learn how to say Reinheitsgebot…. "Rine-Hites-gaBoat" is the best pronunciation I could find.  Of course some native German speaker will probably correct this, but its pretty darn close.  So now that we can pronounce the word, lets get into what its all about. 

The Reinheitsgebot, or "German Purity Law" as many call it, literally translates to "purity law" or "cleanliness law".  An early version of the law was proposed in 1487, but the version most speak of today originated in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt on April 23, 1516.  Introduced by Duke Wilhelm IV, the original intent of the law was three fold:

What does the “33″ mean on the Rolling Rock Label?

This is one of those great beer conversations where everyone has an opinion and there doesn’t seem to be a clear provable conclusion.

There are several different versions of this legend which we have been able to discover.  We have listed these below in reverse order of likelihood (from least likely to most likely) according to our extensive research and our best guess (not quite throwing darts at a list of possibilities, but close).

Rolling Rock “33” Theories

There were exactly 33 steps from the brewmaster’s office to the brewing floor.

What are the main ingredients in beer?

** This question was asked by an individual looking to brew beer at home. Even though it is geared towards brewing, it is still a good description of the main ingredients of beer.

In its most simple form, beer is made of four basic ingredients:  Water, yeast, Malt and hops.

Water

As is the case with the human body, the most abundant ingredient in beer is water. Over 95% of your brew is made up of water. With such a large amount of your final product coming from a single ingredient, you can imagine how important it is to use good water. 

What is that one quote about beer by you know who?

This is a fairly common question.  Instead of having like 120 posts about beer quotes from random people spread throughout the FAQ, we have decided to create an entire page of our favorite quotes about beer.

You can view the entire page at Famous (and not so famous) Beer Quotes.

You can also leave a comment on that page if you feel like we left out your favorite quote about beer.

What is meant by beer styles or beer types?

Understanding beer begins with understanding the idea of “style” (beer style or beer types).  As we shall explore, it is not always as simple and straightforward as one might think.  Some people have compared the wine drinker’s use of grape styles to that of the beer drinker’s use of classifying beer styles.  While this may be a convenient device for the discussion of wine, it is wholly inadequate when discussing beer. 

What is the difference between an ale and a lager?

In the most basic classification scheme, there are two main types of beer.  No, its not “tastes great” / ”less filling”-  they are ales and lagers.  Ales, the oldest beers in the world, have been around thousands of years longer than lagers.  Looking at the history of beer, civilizations as far back as the Sumerians and Egyptians have been brewing and drinking what would be considered ales.  Lagers, on the other hand, may have only been around since the mid-nineteenth century.  However, many have speculated that "lagering" may have been “discovered” as far back as the Dark Ages, when some European brewers may have stored their beer in ice caves for later consumption. What they found was that the beer that was stored and fermented cold had a much clearer and cleaner beer “free from turbidity”.

What is a Stout?

The Stout was traditionally a stronger full-bodied variety of a porter, called a “stout porter” or “stouter”, but soon emerged as its own very popular style.

While the distinction between a stout and porter is still a little confusing, the stout is, generally speaking, a fuller-bodied, stronger, and darker beer with strong coffee or burnt caramel flavors.  Stouts, much like coffee for many folks, is an acquired flavor.  It is a beer to be sipped and savored, not pounded back on a hot summer day.