By Chris Macomber, the Head Brewer at Libushi Bashamichi (part of Anglo-Japanese Brewing) in Yokohama.
Growing up in Oregon was great for a number of reasons–lots of good people, easy access to a wide variety of outdoor activities, and a strong sense of community are just a few. As I got older all the great beer produced in Oregon was another aspect that has greatly influenced me throughout my life, inspiring me to become a professional brewer myself.
By the time I turned 21 I had moved to Portland from my hometown of Salem, Oregon. Even in the mid-1990s we had several great breweries in the city and throughout the state. Among my favorites at the time were Portland Brewing, Bridgeport Brewing, Full Sail Brewing, and Deschutes Brewery. Early in my craft beer drinking experiences I tried a variety of styles and enjoyed most of them. However, as my palate evolved I found myself gravitating towards the bold, malty character and roasty chocolate flavors of dark beers, and in particular, porters.
Porters are of English origin, can range in color from brown to black and have a complex malty character. There are three recognized subcategories of porter (per official BJCP guidelines): English/brown porter, American/robust porter, and Baltic porter. English porters are lighter in color, usually featuring more caramel and chocolate flavors without much roasty character. American porters, on the other hand, tend to be darker and include some roastiness, with flavors of coffee as well as caramel and chocolate. Baltic porters are usually lighter in color with a hint of roast character, higher in ABV than both English and American porters, and are fermented with lager yeast. Outside of these recognized subcategories, brewers are also making interesting beers such as imperial porters, barrel-aged porters, and porters flavored with adjuncts such as coffee, peanut butter, cocoa, or vanilla.
The backbone of porters is usually a slightly higher kilned pale malt. My go-to base malt is Maris Otter. Next, I like to add a bit of Munich for character and some dextrin malt to add body and sweetness to the beer. Porters usually have a fair amount of caramel malt to balance out the bitterness of the dark malts and add caramel or toffee flavors. I prefer to layer two or three different caramel malts with differing roasts and flavors to provide complexity. Chocolate malt is widely used in porters for both flavor and color, but depending on the flavor profile you’re looking for, other dark malts such as black malt, roasted barley, Carafa special dehusked malt, and black wheat can also be used.
Hops, while playing a key role in balancing out the sweetness of porters, should not be prominent in my opinion. Classic hop varieties with floral, earthy characteristics are best suited for porters. My favorite choices here are East Kent Goldings or Willamette.
In order to showcase the malt character a neutral US or English yeast strain is best suited for porters. Attenuation will usually be medium to high with ABV somewhere in the 5.0 to 6.5 percent range.
Black Butte Porter from Deschutes Brewery was the first porter I fell in love with. It’s well balanced and has the roasty, chocolate, coffee and caramel notes I love in porters. Shallow Grave Porter from Heretic Brewing is another great imported porter. The chocolate flavors and aromas the brewers are able to create from malt alone is remarkable. Brimmer Brewing and Swan Lake Beer produce two of the best domestically brewed porters in my opinion. Outside of the Deschutes Black Butte, the Brimmer porter is probably my favorite in the style. It straddles the line between a brown and robust porter, hitting all the flavors and characteristics I love. Swan Lake’s is a solid example of this style with great balance and drinkability.
Unfortunately we don’t offer a porter as a standard beer at AJB/Libushi Bashamichi. However, I’m looking forward to brewing a fair amount of dark beers (including porters of course!) going forward. Next up on my list is a vanilla porter. I find that vanilla blends well with the chocolate and caramel flavors of a porter making an already great style even better. The next time you try a craft beer, I encourage you to reach for a porter, and if you find yourself in Yokohama, please swing by our spot right at Bashamichi Station and give our lineup of dark beers a try. Cheers!