A porter is a good place to start if you want to get into dark ales. Not as roasty and blackened as a stout, it gives the drinker a great feel of darker malts and what wonderful complexity they add to any beer. If you can get Fuller’s London Porter, do yourself a favour and grab a bottle or two. It is a wonderfully rich dance of roasted malt, toffee, coffee and English hops. And then crack on and give this clone recipe a whirl.
Find our other Recipe of the week articles here.
In 1814 one of the huge wooden vats burst at The Horse Shoe Brewery in London, sending a wave of porter through the streets and claiming eight lives in the process. It was reported that after the beer was scooped up by locals another death was attributed to alcohol poisoning as a result of consuming too much of the free beer!
And that, despite the tragedy of the circumstances, would be understandable had Horse Shoe’s version been akin to the famous London Porter from Fuller’s.
Fuller’s brewers’ notes describe it as such: “Brewed to 5.4% ABV, London Porter bears outstanding depth of flavour. The blend of Brown, Crystal and Chocolate malts provide earthy character and creamy delivery, while hints of coffee and chocolate carry through onto the tongue. The range of flavours works well with a wide variety of foods, from rich meat dishes to chocolate puddings”.
Now, in the depths of an Australian Winter, if that doesn’t get you salivating, what does? Pour a glass and get a good strong cheddar out of the fridge with some Branston Pickle and some oatmeal crackers – heavenly (btw, that’s an Irish Porter cheddar in the image above and it would pair perfectly with this).
This recipe is my adaptation of the classic and will get you pretty close. Have a go at it, and cast your mind back to the 1800s in London. If you have the ability to adjust your water, go ahead and aim for London profile. If not, just crack on.
Fuller’s London Porter clone
All grain (expected figures)
OG: 1.053
FG: 1.014
ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 33
Volume: 19 litres
Ingredients
3.75kg Pale malt
650g Brown malt
550g Crystal (medium) malt
100g Chocolate malt
70g Fuggles hops
Whirlfloc tablet (optional)
London yeast of choice – SafAle 04, Wyeast or Whitelabs London yeast
Method
- Hydrate if using dry yeast (warm water only), or smack pack.
- Mash all grains at 66°C for 60 minutes.
- Sparge and transfer to kettle and bring to boil. Adjust sparge liquor to pH 5.4 if possible.
- Once boiling add 50g Fuggles hops for a 60 minute boil.
- With 10 minutes left on the boil, add 20g remaining Fuggles hops (and whirlfloc if using).
- Transfer to the fermenter and cool to 18°C, then pitch yeast.
- Maintain ferment temp at 18 to 20°C.
- Once gravity stabilises, keg or bottle conditioning for 4 weeks minimum.
Extract with specialty grains (expected figures)
OG: 1.053
FG: 1.014
ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 33
Volume: 19 litres
Ingredients
3kg Pale liquid extract
650g Brown malt
550g Crystal (med) malt
100g Chocolate malt
70g Fuggles hop pellets
Whirlfloc tablet (optional)
London yeast of choice – SafAle 04, Wyeast or Whitelabs London yeast
Method
- Steep cracked grains in 2 litres of 67°C water for 60 mins, then drain.
- Slowly dissolve the extract in 8 litres of water along with the 2 litres of wort from
mini mash and bring to the boil. - Once boiling add 50g Fuggles hops for a 60 minute boil.
- With 10 minutes left on the boil, add remaining 20g Fuggles hops (and whirlfloc if using).
- Transfer to the fermenter and top up with fresh cold water to 19 litres.
- When wort is stable at 18°C, pitch yeast.
- Maintain ferment temp at 18 to 20°C.
- Once FG stabilises keg or bottle, conditioning for 4 weeks minimum.
This recipe appeared in a previous issue of Beer & Brewer. To access multiple recipes every issue, from pros and homebrewers alike, subscribe to our magazine here.
