Rarely is there a time more appropriate to explore one's roots and pay homage to one's predecessors than around the holiday season. It just so happens I recently identified my neglect to review any English beers, so I have appropriately rounded up one of the best porters on the planet. Consider this my good deed for the year.

With a 99 on RateBeer and an A- on Beer Advocate, Fuller's London Porter is generally regarded as one of the best in class when it comes to the standard of the style. This is a traditional porter, much milder and softer spoken than the Oflabrikken I reviewed previously. Tradition is, for all intents and purposes, sensible in this case, as London is the birthplace of the porter.

Wikipedia provides some background on the style:

'Porter' or sometimes 'London Porter' is a dark-coloured style of beer. The history and development of stout and porter are intertwined. The name was first used in the 18th century from its popularity with the street and river porters of London. It is generally brewed with dark malts. The name "stout" for a dark beer came about because a strong porter may be called "Extra Porter" or "Double Porter" or "Stout Porter". The term "Stout Porter" would later be shortened to just "Stout".

The article goes on to explain that the term "Porter" was used as early as 1721, and the style was the first to be aged by the brewer and sent to the pub for immediate consumption. Prior to this methodology, beers were typically shipped from the brewery young, and aged at the pub or by a dealer. The Fuller's site offers a slightly more in-depth explanation, crediting practices of the early 1800's, "when it was popular to mix two or three beers, usually an old, well-vatted or 'stale' brown ale, with a new brown ale and a pale ale."

It was time consuming for the publican to pull from three casks for one pint, and so brewers in London tested and produced a new beer, known as 'entire', to match the tastes of such mixtures. Using high roasted malts, 'entire' was dark, cloudy and hoppy. It was also easily produced in bulk and ideally suited to the soft well-water of London.

I'll gander the London Porter from Fuller's is derivative of this later incarnation of the style - the "entire", rather than the earliest of examples.

London's Oldest Family Brewery

Fuller's Brewery was founded in 1845 at Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, West London. The Beer Book by Tim Hampson explains that the site, though, was thoroughly seasoned well before this date:

London's last remaining traditional family brewer, Fuller's has been based at the historic Griffin Brewery near the Thames River in Chiswick since 1845. Brewing on site, however, goes back 350 years. Despite its global prominence, Fuller's retains a small company spirit and formidably energetic outlook. Its beers, among the country's most consistent, have received countless awards, notably the Campaign for Real Ale Champion Beer of Britain, which it has won five times. Although firmly at the forefront of British ale production, Fuller's remains resolutely true to traditional brewing techniques.

Some of the Fuller's family of brands

Fuller's advertises a dozen brands on their site, including those acquired through the takeover of George Gale & Co. The brewery is best known for its ESB, 1845 Vintage Ale, and London Pride which continually earn Fuller's most of its attention. Likewise, were the three beers I was able to find consistently throughout the pages of my literature - from Hampson's above-named book, to Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide, and David Kenning's Beers of the World. It is their London Porter, however, that I believe to be the dark horse of the Fuller's brewery - perhaps even (dare I say), the oft overlooked piece de resistance.

Experience

I purchased a six pack of Fuller's London Porter from a bottle shop I recently discovered in Fort Lee, NJ. A fan of the ESB and the London Pride, I found it surprising that I wasn't familiar with the London Porter.

The beer pours extremely dark chocolate brown - almost black - swirling aggressively into a fluffy brown head. The nose hints of roasted malt and toffee, and the palate speaks the same, if also accompanied with a light chocolate backbone. The bitterness that remains from the blend of hops and heavily roasted malt is outstanding and long-lasting. The mouthfeel is creamy and velvety; it coats the mouth with incredible fullness, but the finish reminds me that this beer is not nearly as full or heavy as its skeleton projects.

Final Thoughts

Fuller's London Porter offers no cause for the sort of descriptors I've offered to other porters (i.e. metallic or soy-sauce), rather displays everything I never knew I was looking for in a porter. This is a beer that has opened my eyes to the power and depth of a traditional porter, perhaps something I took for granted.

And so, I offer my sincere thanks and whole-hearted regard to this time-honored classic brew. This is a world-class beverage, and my new benchmark for the style.

England - 5.4 % ABV

Fuller Smith & Turner [website]

Porter