GOOD ENOUGH TO DRINK FROM THE GUTTER:

Porter revival is picking up steam (Josh Rubin, Beer reporter, 11/07/07, Toronto Star)

On a fall day in 1814 London, a gigantic new tank at the Meaux Horse Shoe Brewery burst, sending more than 10 million pints of beer pouring through the streets.

Nine people died in the ensuing chaos, some because they drowned, some because they got hit by falling debris, and one ambitious fellow because he apparently single-handedly tried to drink the flooding away and got alcohol poisoning as his reward.

In addition to demonstrating the folly of believing bigger is always better, the flood was testament to the popularity of porter, the style of beer that spilled into the streets.

The dark brown ale got its name because it was the drink of choice of the legions of the city's hard-working porters who were 19th-century London's equivalent of bike couriers, FedEx and Purolator trucks and delivery vans, rolled into one.

Porter's popularity waned in England, victim of pale ales and the style that became known as stout (which started out as a stronger, fuller-bodied version of porter).

Over the last decade or two, porter has made a comeback, partly driven by the North American craft brewing movement, which has helped revive several once-moribund kinds of beer.

Why didn't guidance counselors tell us there were jobs out there like Beer Reporter?

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 11, 2007 9:11 AM