Comments on: Myth 1: Ralph Harwood invented porter as a substitute for three-threads

By: zythophile

zythophile — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:57:58 +0000

Mmm, it’s the Meantime Brewery boys - I like their porter a great deal, but I’m not so keen on every aspect of their history - for example

hops of the day… Varieties were unknown, outside those of strict geography

No - there were several named varieties, such as white bine, red bine and grape; and

London brewers could not malt pale malts themselves until coke was introduced, as coal smoke was a problem in the capital”

London brewers got most of their malt from Hertfordshire, which made both brown and white malts, and quite a lot of the rest from Norfolk and Berkshire, so smoke wasn’t an issue.

By: London Porter History « Beer (& More) In Food

London Porter History « Beer (& More) In Food — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:38:06 +0000

[...] There’s a barrel full of fable that surrounds the origins of Porter, some of it disputed by The Zythophile , but to add fat to the fire, London Porter is a very interesting site that also delves into the [...]

By: Bob Skilnik

Bob Skilnik — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:07:48 +0000

Have you seen this site? While very interesting, it seems to fall into some of the Porter/Ralph Harwood fables. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting read, especially the explanation of the move from butts to large-scale vatting for maturation.

http://www.london-porter.com/

By: Jay Brooks

Jay Brooks — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 23:52:27 +0000

Would it be possible for you to contact me offline via e-mail. I’m writing a piece on Porters for my local paper and would like to use the true history of Porters. Thanks, J