The rebirth of Porter

Porter didn’t desert the British Isles for long. It only disappeared for four orfive years, reborn through the rekindled interest in beer ignited by CAMRA. During Real Ale revival of the 1970s, two brewers introduced beers called Porter: Penrhos Court and Timothy Taylor.

The authenticity of Timothy Taylor Porter could be doubted. The recipe was based on a Sweet Stout and it tasted like it. Far too sweet. I can remember being greatly disappointed when I first tried it.

Penrhos Court was closer, but still not quite right. At least it was somewhere near the classic pre-WW I Porter strength of 1050º.

A few other brewers released Porters in the 1980’s, with varying degrees of authenticity.

There were still only a handful of breweries producing Porter. Mostly in tiny quantities. The only established breweries in that list are Timothy Taylor and the Three Tuns. Neither of those was exactly a giant. The others are new micros and brewpubs.

For me, London Porter was reborn when Fullers released theirs. Brewed from the classic combination of pale, brown and black malt, the recipe closely resembles that of their pre-WW I Porter.

Revived Porters 1979 - 1983
Year	Brewer	Beer	OG
1979	Penrhos	Penrhos Porter	1050
1979	Timothy Taylor	Porter	1043
1981	Bragdy'r Defaid Du (Black Sheep Brewery)	Defaid Du	1045
1981	Bruce's (Portobello)	Portobello Porter	1040
1981	Pier Hotel	Pirate's Porter	1035
1981	Ringwood	Blackjack Porter	1036
1981	Three Tuns	Castle Steamer	1045
1983	Burton Bridge	Porter	1045
1983	Dempsey	Porter	1034
1983	Oak	Porter	1050
1983	Royal Tunbridge Wells	Entire	1055
1983	Woodforde	Norfolk Porter	1042
Sources:
Good Beer Guide 1980, 1982 and 1984.

You'll find more information that you'll ever need to know about Porter in my excellent book on the subject: