Robust Porter

Robust Porter is part of a family of beer, Porters, for which I have a personal bias. My son is named Porter. But it’s also a favorite style because I love the chocolate and sometime coffee notes that are usually smoother and less harsh than stouts. Deschutes Black Butte Porter was probably the one that really helped me love the style, but Anchor Porter and St. Bridget’s Porter from Great Divide are also early favorites.

What follows is information about robust porter, collected from a variety of sources. If you know of any additional resources about this type of beer, please let me know.

History

A stronger, more aggressive version of pre-prohibition porters and/or English porters developed in the modern craft beer era. Historical versions existed, particularly on the US East Coast, some of which are still being produced. This style describes the modern craft version. Note: This is the history for “American Porter,” which in 2015 replaced “Robust Porter.” (BJCP1)

Origin:

A Comparison of Style Ranges

Source	SRM	ABV	O.G.	F.G.	IBU
BJCP1 (20A) American	22-40	5-6.5%	Varies	1.008-1.016	25-50
Brewery DB	20-30	6.3-7.5%	Varies	1.018-1.024	25-40
GABF2 (83) Robust	20-35	4.4-6%	1.045-1.060	1.008-1.016	25-40
Periodic Table7 (48)	30-40	4.8-6%	1.050-1.065	1.012-1.016	25-45
WBC6 (75) Robust	30+	5.1-6.6%	1.045-1.1060	1.008-1.016	25-40

Yeast

Ale	Hybrid	Lager	Belgian
Brettanomyces	Lactobacillus	Pediococcus	Other

BJCP Description: 20A. American Porter¹

Overall Impression: A substantial, malty dark beer with a complex and flavorful dark malt character.

Aroma: Medium-light to medium-strong dark malt aroma, often with a lightly burnt character. Optionally may also show some additional malt character in support (grainy, bready, toffee-like, caramelly, chocolate, coffee, rich, and/or sweet). Hop aroma low to high, often with a resiny, earthy, or floral character. May be dry-hopped. Fruity esters are moderate to none.

Color Range

Appearance: Medium brown to very dark brown, often with ruby- or garnet-like highlights. Can approach black in color. Clarity may be difficult to discern in such a dark beer, but when not opaque will be clear (particularly when held up to the light). Full, tan-colored head with moderately good head retention.

Flavor: Moderately strong malt flavor usually features a lightly burnt malt character (and sometimes chocolate and/or coffee flavors) with a bit of grainy, dark malt dryness in the finish. Overall flavor may finish from dry to medium-sweet. May have a sharp character from dark roasted grains, but should not be overly acrid, burnt or harsh. Medium to high bitterness, which can be accentuated by the dark malt. Hop flavor can vary from low to high with a resiny, earthy, or floral character, and balances the dark malt flavors. The dark malt and hops should not clash. Dry-hopped versions may have a resiny flavor. Fruity esters moderate to none.

Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-full body. Moderately low to moderately high carbonation. Stronger versions may have a slight alcohol warmth. May have a slight astringency from dark malts, although this character should not be strong.

Comments: Although a rather broad style open to brewer interpretation. Dark malt intensity and flavor can vary significantly. May or may not have a strong hop character, and may or may not have significant fermentation by-products; thus may seem to have an “American” or “British” character.

Characteristic Ingredients: May contain several malts, prominently dark malts, which often include black malt (chocolate malt is also often used). American hops typically used for bittering, but US or UK finishing hops can be used; a clashing citrus quality is generally undesirable. Ale yeast can either be clean US versions or characterful English varieties.

Style Comparison: More bitter and often stronger with more dark malt qualities and dryness than English Porters or Pre-Prohibition Porters. Less strong and assertive than American Stouts.

CraftBeer.com Description

GABF/World Beer Cup Description

75. Robust Porter
Robust Porters are very dark to black. Hop aroma is very low to medium. They have a roast malt flavor, often reminiscent of cocoa, but no roast barley flavor. Caramel and other malty sweetness is in harmony with a sharp bitterness of black malt without a highly burnt/charcoal flavor. Hop flavor is very low to medium. Hop bitterness is medium to high. Diacetyl should not be perceived. Fruity esters should be evident, balanced with all other characters. Body is medium to full.

Online Descriptions

Beer Advocate
Inspired from the now wavering English Porter, the American Porter is the ingenuous creation from that. Thankfully with lots of innovation and originality American brewers have taken this style to a new level. Whether it is highly hopping the brew, using smoked malts, or adding coffee or chocolate to complement the burnt flavor associated with this style. Some are even barrel aged in Bourbon or whiskey barrels. The hop bitterness range is quite wide but most are balanced. Many are just easy drinking session porters as well.
Rate Beer
Black or chocolate malt gives the porter its dark brown color. Porters are often well hopped and somewhat heavily malted. This is a medium-bodied beer and may show some sweetness usually from the light caramel to light molasses range. Hoppiness can range from bitter to mild. Porters, in relation to stouts of the same region, are typically more mild and less aggressively hopped.

Glassware

Pint Glass (or Becker, Nonic, Tumbler), Mug (or Seidel, Stein)³
Nonic Pint⁵

Food Pairing

Cuisine (Barbecue) Cheese (buttery; Brie, Gouda, Havarti, Swiss) General (Chocolate, Dessert) Meat (Beef, Smoked Meat, Grilled Meat)³
Aged Ham (prosciutto, Serrano, Bayonne), Meatloaf, Seared Scallops, Shepherd’s Pie, Soufflé, Steak, Venison, Wild Boar⁴
Roasted or Grilled Meats, Gruyere, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies⁵

Seasonality & Temperature

Season: Winter

Serving: 45-50° F

Storage: 40-45° F*

Beer 101: Porter

Links About Porter

• About.com
• All About Beer’s Profile
• All About Beer’s Stylistically Speaking by K. Florian Klemp
• Beer Advocate
• BJCP 2008 Online (19C)
• Brew Your Own
• Brewery DB
• CraftBeer.com
• GotBeer.com
• Michael Jackson’s Beer Styles
• Rate Beer
• Wikipedia

Further Reading

• Porter (Classic Beer Style) by Terry Foster
• Page 53 of Amber, Gold & Black, by Martyn Cornell
• Page 140 of The Beer Bible, by Jeff Alworth
• Page 111 of The Essentials of Beer Style, by Fred Eckhardt
• No. 48 on The Periodic Table of Beer Styles
• Page 180 of What the Hell am I Drinking?, by Don Russell

Commercial Examples of Robust Porter

Anchor Porter, Boulevard Bully! Porter, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Founders Porter, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Smuttynose Robust Porter, Sierra Nevada Porter¹
Iron Hill Pig Iron Porter, Rock Bottom Moonlight Porter, Deschutes Black Butte Porter⁵

Top 10 Examples

Beer Advocate Funky Buddha Morning Wood Hill Farmstead Everett Porter Perrin No Rules Funky Buddha Maple Bacon Coffee Porter Kane Sunday Brunch Funky Buddha Last Snow Jackie O’s Bourbon Barrel Black Maple Kane Mexican Brunch Hill Farmstead Birth Of Tragedy Ballast Point Victory At Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter Rate Beer Smuttynose Robust Porter Cigar City Puppy’s Breath Robust Porter Greenbush Distorter Robust Porter AleSmith Robust Porter Reuben’s Robust Porter Ballast Point Homework Series Batch #6 – Robust Porter Big Sky Bobo’s Robust Porter Birbant Double Robust Porter Wisconsin #006 Porter Joe Cheshire Valley Robust Porter

Key to Sources

¹ = BJCP 2015
² = GABF 2015
³ = Beer Advocate
⁴ = Garrett Oliver’s Brewmaster’s Table
⁵ = Brewers Association / CraftBeer.com
⁶ = World Beer Cup Guidelines 2016
⁷ = The Periodic Table of Beer Styles 2001
⁸ = GotBeer.com

Key

* = Not recommended for extended aging, unless ABV exceeds average range