Pre-Prohibition Porter
by the numbers
OG: 1.046–1.060
FG:1.010–1.016
SRM:18–30
IBU:20–30
ABV:4.5–6%
The United States has been called the melting pot, but that metaphor was meant to describe cultural assimilation of immigrants not the creation of beer styles. However, I think it also works to talk about taking a popular beer style from England, having it brewed by German immigrants, and incorporating native American ingredients. The beer style is, of course, porter, and there is a historical version with just that story. The 2015 Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines calls this beer pre-Prohibition porter as a way to distinguish it from other porter variants, but it’s a beer that was always simply called porter.
Porter came to the American colonies with English settlers in the colonial days, and was made in the English tradition as a top-fermenting ale. Popular in the mid-Atlantic colonies (and later, states), porter was made using a variety of indigenous (or easily imported) starchy or sugary adjuncts such as corn, molasses, pumpkin, peas, and squash that could supplement (or even replace portions of) the malt bill.
German immigrants in the mid to late 1800s brought their bottom-fermenting lager brewing methods with them, and readily adapted porter to be brewed in this way, along with the other beers made at their breweries. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the traditional center of production, but by the early 1900s the style had spread widely throughout the States.
Prohibition from 1919 to 1933 caused a great number of breweries to go out of business, and also a consolidation and simplification of commercial beer styles. Porter survived in the Northeast United States as a regional style generally made in the lager tradition until the craft beer movement began in the 1970s and porter was rediscovered as a style and further popularized. Yuengling Porter is probably the best-known surviving example of the pre-Prohibition porter style.
Modern porters in the United States are described by the American porter style (BJCP style 20A); these beers tend to be all-malt and are brewed as top-fermenting ales. The pre-Prohibition porter style is part of the historical beer category (BJCP style 27), and specifically describes the beer made after the influence of German brewers and popularized in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
Sensory Profile
Porters are always dark beers, but don’t necessarily have to be black. A medium to dark brown color is sufficient, and is often the case with this style. Modern examples of this style are average strength (5% or so), but strengths could be higher in older times. It shouldn’t be perceived as a stronger, alcoholic beer since it was never produced as a premium product.
The balance between malt and hops is relatively even to slightly malty, and the absolute bitterness level is lower than modern American porters (20 to 30 IBUs). With a moderately dry finish and a moderate strength, the bittering hops aren’t necessary to balance a high residual sweetness or help the beer age. Aroma and flavor hops tend to be fairly low and unobtrusive; the beer should not be perceived as hoppy.
The flavor profile is driven mostly by whatever ingredients make the beer dark. I phrased it this way since there is a wide range of malts or adjuncts that can be used, and that people should keep an open mind about what specific ingredients can be used. Some dark malt character is typical, but it doesn’t normally come across as strongly roasted or burnt. It typically provides a chocolate or lightly burnt flavor, along with dark sugar flavors (licorice, molasses, burnt sugar, caramel) from adjuncts or specialty malts. Light toasted or biscuity notes are acceptable, but are generally in the background if present at all.
Base malts can provide a graininess to the flavor profile, especially if 6-row malt is used. If corn is used as an adjunct, it can give a rounded flavor and an impression of sweetness. But these are background flavors supporting the darker malt flavors. The flavor dimension is usually a bit stronger than the aroma; most aromatic components are medium to low in intensity, with the malt qualities winning out in the balance.
Fermented with a lager yeast and cold-conditioned, the beer should have a clean fermentation profile and a smooth lager character. Low levels of esters are acceptable but aren’t required. While the beer can be made as an ale, it still shouldn’t have a strong yeast character.
While most want to compare this style to other porters, I think the easier comparison to make is with an international dark lager (BJCP style 2C), formerly called dark American lager in older versions of the guidelines. As a lager, this style can have many of the same components, but generally has lower bitterness and roast character than the pre-Prohibition porter. Compared against English porter, the pre-Prohibition porter is cleaner and smoother, with less of a caramel flavor and more of an adjunct quality. Modern American porters tend to have much more flavor and bitterness, and can be quite roasty, hoppy, and/or bitter.
Brewing ingredients and methods
The first choice I would make when putting together a recipe is whether to make it using lager or ale yeast. Lager yeast is more traditional, and I think clean to malty German lager strains work well in this style. Ale yeast can be used, but it should be something relatively clean and attenuative; fermentation temperatures should be restrained to keep esters in check, and cold-conditioning should be considered. I could also see this made using the California common-type lager yeasts that could be used at warmer fermentation temperatures than the traditional lager yeasts. I would avoid yeast strains that produce significant sulfur or diacetyl. Lagering can reduce these as well, but it’s best to start with low levels than count on lagering to fix everything for you.
Six-row brewers malt or pale malt is the traditional base for this beer, but I often use 2-row brewers malt as the base. I know 6-row is more authentic, but I don’t like the grainy flavor as much so I typically use 2-row or a US pale ale malt. I would avoid English base malts as they can have too much of a biscuity or bready flavor, and could make the beer seem more English than American.
Corn is a typical adjunct, and I typically use flaked maize because of its ease of use. You could always conduct a cereal mash with corn grits, but I’m not sure of the point. You can get a stronger corn flavor, but since corn isn’t really meant to be a dominant flavor in the finished beer, I think the flaked corn is the right choice. The amount of corn used can be quite high; historically, they were often in the 20-30% range.
When choosing the darker malts, I avoid using too much of a burnt or roasted flavor. You can choose from chocolate, black, and brown malts, including using the debittered version of black malts. Personally, I wouldn’t use much if any brown malt since that flavor really says London porter to me.
Crystal malts are quite common in this style, but usually as a supporting flavor. The beer shouldn’t come across as overly caramelly or sweet. I think mid-range crystal malts in the 50 to 80 Lovibond range work well. I don’t think the higher Lovibond crystal malts work as well since they can often bring a lot of dark fruit flavors and stronger burnt sugar qualities. A little molasses or brewer’s licorice can be used in this style, but I think I’d try to get the flavors from malts first.
Hops are relatively simple since they don’t stand out in this style. Cluster is a traditional American bittering hop, so it can be used there. I would avoid more modern hops that can leave a strong or aggressive flavor. Cluster can be coarse as a finishing hop, so I would look at German varieties first, or possibly an English hop like Fuggle or even a light use of American Cascade would be interesting.
I don’t think there is anything special about the brewing process; a simple single infusion mash in the moderate range (150 to 152 °F/ 66 to 67 °C) will work, although I typically add my dark grains and crystal malts during the recirculation phase at mashout temperatures (168 °F/76 °C). This assumes an easy-to-convert form of corn is used, like flaked maize. If you have a good international dark lager or dark American lager recipe, try increasing the bitterness to the mid-20 IBUs and increase the percentage of dark malts used as your first approximation in creating a pre-Prohibition porter recipe.
Homebrew Example
As I said, I think Yuengling Porter is a great example of this style. That beer reportedly starts at 1.048 with about 22–24 IBUs, using 6-row, corn grits, 50 °L crystal, and black malt, with Cluster and Cascade hopping. My example is a little bigger and more robust, but still keeping in the stylistic tradition, perhaps invoking something slightly older.
I’m using US 2-row as the base malt and I add some German Munich malt (about 10%) to increase the maltiness without adding sweetness; I use that technique in a lot of my recipes, even if it isn’t traditional. I’m using around 20% corn (flaked maize) in this recipe. I have often used less, but historical recipes convinced me to go higher.
I’m using a debittered black malt for the dark component with a little bit of English black malt (less than 2%) to give it a slight bite. The total amount of dark malts is about 8.5% in this beer, with a little less than 7% Crystal 60. The crystal malt gives it a dark caramel flavor, which I think supports the roasted malts nicely.
The starting gravity is 1.053, and I’m shooting for around a 5.1% beer with a 1.015 finishing gravity. It can finish a bit lower and be fine, since the alcohol level will still be reasonable. The bittering hop addition is Cluster with a very light Cascade addition near the end of the boil. Honestly, the bittering hops could be almost anything as long as they don’t leave a significant flavor. The late hop addition is barely noticeable, so could easily be changed to something like Willamette or Spalt for a variation.
I’m going with a tried-and-true German lager yeast in this recipe, Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager). I’ve also used Wyeast 2206 (Bavarian Lager), and White Labs WLP833 (German Bock) yeast. While I love WLP833, it does make most beer taste like something Ayinger made. It’s very malty and I think this style can go with something a little drier and more neutral-tasting.
Acknowledgements
It’s hard (or at least rude) to write about historical beer styles without acknowledging those who did the basic research or otherwise helped describe the styles. Ben Jankowski contributed the first draft of the style description in the BJCP guidelines. At the National Homebrew Conference this year, Pete Jones and Mike Stein gave a great presentation for BJCP judges on the subject. I’m indebted to all three of these gentlemen for their help in describing the style.
Pre-Pro Porter
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.053 FG = 1.015
IBU = 25 SRM = 35 ABV = 5.1%
I think Yuengling Porter is a great example of this style. My example is a little bigger and more robust, but still keeping in the stylistic tradition, perhaps invoking something slightly older. I’m using around 20% corn (flaked maize) in this recipe — I have often used less, but historical recipes convinced me to go higher. When it comes to hopping, I chose Cluster for my bittering hop addition with a very light Cascade addition near the end of the boil. Honestly, the bittering hops could be almost anything as long as they don’t leave a significant flavor. The late hop addition is barely noticeable, so could easily be changed to something like Willamette or Spalt for a variation.
Ingredients
6 lbs. (2.7 kg) US 2-row malt
1.25 lbs. (567 g) German Munich malt
2.25 lbs. (1 kg) flaked maize
12 oz. (340 g) US crystal malt (60 °L)
12 oz. (340 g) Carafa® II Special malt
4 oz. (113 g) UK black malt
5.6 AAU Cluster hops (60 min.)
(0.75 oz./21 g at 7.5% alpha acids)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Cascade hops (10 min.)
Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) or White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Two or three days before brew day, make a 2-qt. (2-L) yeast starter, aerating the wort thoroughly (preferably with oxygen) before pitching the yeast. On brew day, prepare your ingredients; mill the grain, measure your hops, and prepare your water. This recipe uses reverse osmosis (RO) water. Add 1⁄4 tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons (19 L) of brewing water, or until water measures pH 5.5 at room temperature. Add 1 tsp. calcium chloride (CaCl2) to the mash.
Mash in the 2-row and Munich malts and the flaked maize at 152 °F (67 °C) in 17 qts. (16 L) of water, and hold this temperature for 60 minutes. Raise the temperature by infusion or direct heating to 168 °F (76 °C) to mashout. Add the remaining crystal and dark malts, and recirculate for 20 minutes. Fly sparge with 168 °F (76 °C) water until 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort is collected.
Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding the hops at times indicated in the recipe. After the boil is complete, chill to 50 °F (10 °C).
Oxygenate, then pitch the yeast starter. Ferment at 50 °F (10 °C) until fermentation is complete. Rack the beer and lager at 32 °F (0 °C) for 4–6 weeks. Fine with gelatin if necessary. Prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate to 2.5 volumes.
Pre-Pro Porter
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.053 FG = 1.015
IBU = 25 SRM = 35 ABV = 5.1%
Ingredients
6.2 lbs. (2.8 kg) light liquid malt extract
12 oz. (340 g) US crystal malt (60 °L)
12 oz. (340 g) Carafa® II Special malt
4 oz. (113 g) UK black malt
5.6 AAU Cluster hops (60 min.)
(0.75 oz./21 g at 7.5% alpha acids)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Cascade hops (10 min.)
Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) or White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Two or three days before brew day, make a 2-qt. (2-L) yeast starter, aerating the wort thoroughly (preferably with oxygen) before pitching the yeast. Collect 6 gallons (23 L) of water in the brew kettle; heat to 158 °F (70 °C). Place the dark malts and crystal malt in a mesh bag, and steep in the hot water for 30 minutes. Remove the mesh bag, then turn the heat off. Add the liquid malt extract and stir thoroughly to dissolve the extract completely. You do not want to feel liquid extract at the bottom of the kettle when stirring with your spoon. Once the extract is dissolved, turn the heat back on and bring to a boil. Boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding the hops at the times indicated in the recipe.
After the boil is complete, chill to 50 °F (10 °C). Oxygenate the wort, then pitch the yeast starter. Ferment at 50 °F (10 °C) until fermentation is complete. Rack the beer and lager at 32 °F (0 °C) for 4-6 weeks. Fine with gelatin if necessary. Prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate to 2.5 volumes.