A little piece about our: Dark Beers

Preface 

We recommend trying our beers to find out what they taste like: they vary from batch to batch and over time, and the experience also depends on you, and the circumstances of their consumption. And so what follows is not tasting notes but some general information that may help to understand the beers’ flavours and composition and why and how we brew them the way we do.  

Export India Porter, ~5.5% 

Malt: Maris Otter, brown, black, chocolate, crystal 

Hops: varies batch to batch 

Yeast: American ale yeast 

We based our recipe on some of the old porters from Barclay Perkins (1855) and Whitbread (1856) that were sent out to British servicemen in India, and inspired by the Durden Park Beer Circle pamphlet ‘Old British Beers and How To Make Them’. The ingredients and equipment they used then have of course changed, as have our tastes, and so we have made some modifications.  

We’ve tempered the roast character of the original with chocolate and crystal malts in place of some of the black: too much black malt can produce overly acrid, burnt and astringent flavours. Crystal malts bring a sweetness and fullness to the beer, and a bigger texture/mouthfeel.  

The main difference though is that our EIP is hopped in the way we would hop our pale ales and IPAs: lots of late addition hops for flavour, and we then dry hop when the beer is in tank. We mostly use American hops for their intensity and fruity characteristics, but we like to experiment with the different flavours that arise when they’re combined with darker malts. Bramling Cross is our favourite for a more traditional British character, whereas Columbus works very well for a brasher, new world flavour. 

The result is a dark brown beer that promises coffee and cocoa, but then the hops bring lightness, brightness and fruit, and the relatively high carbonation - unusual for a porter - make it surprisingly refreshing.  

Export Stout, London, 1890, ~6-7% 

Malt: Maris Otter, brown, black, chocolate, crystal 

Hops: varies batch to batch 

Yeast: American ale yeast 

This is based on a 19th century recipe from the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, which we’ve adapted and modified. The black malt brings lots of burnt toast, overly roasted coffee flavours, and an assertive acidity. We have started using a little chocolate malt to try and reduce those acrid, burnt flavours, and some crystal malt to bring sweetness to balance the acidity. We made these changes because, although we enjoyed the beer reproduced from the original recipe, we enjoy our current interpretation more.  

The resulting beer is dark, dark black. It has an oily texture, loads of rich dried fruit and alcohol warmth, often with hints of leather, tar, smoke and chocolate, and then a herbal hop bitterness on top.   

Imperial Brown Stout (London 1856),  ~9-10% 

Malt: Maris Otter, amber, brown, black  

Hops: varies 

Yeast: American ale yeast 

Based on a recipe from the Barclay Perkins archive: their Imperial Brown Stouts developed into what became known as Russian Imperial Stout, which continued to be produced until 1992 and as such is the only surviving link to a brewing tradition that was huge in London - and which made the city famous - for over 200 years.  

As per the original recipe we add sugar sugar – Demerara, Light Muscovado, Dark  Muscovado, Molasses, white cane sugar. We find very little hop character gets through and so it doesn't change the beer much to use different hops. The result, despite the high abv., is round, smooth and gentle.  All cream and chocolate after the cocoa aroma, leading to dark fruits, dried fruits, raisin, fig and prune. Sometimes plum and sour berries.  The long finish has herbal bitterness with hints of lightly roasted coffee.  

Dry Stout, ~4-5%  

Malt: Maris Otter, brown, black, chocolate, dark, crystal, carafa, oats 

Hops: varies 

Yeast: American ale yeast 

The equivalent to Table Beer in our range of stouts and porters. Not brewed to 'dry stout'-style, per se, but a stout that is dry. Light-bodied but not thin, with more prominent kettle-hopping and then dry-hopping to add some brightness and contrast to the roasty, biscuity, and savoury character of the dark malts.