Long before the stout existed, before craft beer existed, before most beer styles as we know them were invented – there was the porter. Born in 18th-century London, the porter was the working person’s beer, named reportedly for the market porters and labourers who drank it. It is, in many ways, the original dark beer – and it is thoroughly worth rediscovering.
What Is a Porter?
Porters are dark ales brewed with roasted malts that deliver chocolate, coffee, and toffee flavours, but typically with a slightly lighter body and less intense roastiness than a stout. If a stout is a double espresso, a porter is a long black – still dark and roasty, but a touch more approachable, a little smoother, and often with a pleasing sweetness to balance the roast.
The style ranges from robust porters (bigger, boozy, intense) to more sessionable versions that clock in under 5% ABV and are completely suitable for everyday drinking. The line between porter and stout has blurred considerably over time, and many breweries use the terms loosely. As a general rule of thumb: if it’s particularly smooth and chocolatey rather than intensely roasty and bitter, it’s probably a porter.
Porter in the Australian Craft Scene
The porter has had a genuine renaissance in Australian craft brewing, driven in part by the Guinness boom and a broader cultural rediscovery of dark, malt-forward beers. Many local breweries are now producing robust porters that rival the best examples from the UK and North America.
Best Porters to Try in Australia
- Mountain Goat Robust Porter – Melbourne-made, rich and chocolatey with a clean finish
- Fixation Brewing Dark Devotion – Australian dark ale that showcases roasted malt at its best
- Holgate Brewhouse Temptress – Victorian-made chocolate porter; indulgent and complex
- Moo Brew Porter – Tasmanian craft excellence; smooth, dark, and full of character
The Takeaway
The porter is dark beer without the drama. It’s smooth, complex, and one of the most food-friendly styles in this entire series. Pour one alongside a chocolate dessert and prepare to be converted.
Other Articles in this series:
- Lager – The Beer That Built Australia
- Pale Ale – How One Fremantle Brewery Changed Everything
- IPA – The Hop Head’s Handbook
- Wheat Beer – Cloudy, Soft, and Summer-Ready
- Stout – Dark Beer for Bright People
- Pilsner – Lager’s Sophisticated Upgrade
- Sour Beer – Tart, Wild, and Worth It
- Amber & Red Ale – The Best Beer You’re Not Drinking Yet
- Porter – The Original Dark Beer
- Session Beer – Great Taste, Easy Does It