Would it be heresy to name as Beer of the Week during the month of St. Patrick a black ale from England? Perhaps, but let’s do it anyway as a reminder that while Eire may have made the stout style famous, both that black ale and its oft-overlooked brethren, porter, were born in London.
In contrast to the ebony hue of Irish stout, Fuller’s London Porter is closer to mahogany in color, and possessed of an aroma more chocolaty than roasty, more stewed fruit than black licorice. In the body, too, there is stark contrast to its kin from across the Irish Sea, with a light, faintly milk-chocolaty sweetness on the start, a round and substantial flavor holding notes of darker chocolate, dates and toasted walnuts, and a dry, mildly bitter finish bearing but a whisper of smoke.
Come March 17, you and your customers may well opt for the Irish stuff, and properly so, but when it comes time for a Sunday roast beef, a chocolate brownie or even a good cigar, you can be glad to have this gem of a porter at hand.