Porter

London, 1722

In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, drinkers in and around London had developed a taste for a mixture of ales blended in the glass by the barman.

Sources vary on the mixtures involved, but it was likely to be one or more of the following:

fresh, old and stale ales;
pale, dark and stale ales;
ale (meaning unhopped beer), beer (meaning hopped ale) and twopenny (probably meaning cheap ale).

The blend was often referred to as 'three threads', 'three shreads' or 'three thirds'.

The London brewers were unable to store large quantities of ale for maturation, so country brewers would often take delivery of barrels of fresh ale and charge a fee to mature them on their property.

However in 1722, London brewer Ralph Harwood first brewed a single ale with a character comparable to the blend. He called it 'entire butt', and it proved extremely popular. Its introduction coincided with the new transport methods of steam and canal and it was probably the first English national style.

The name 'porter' is thought to be due to the fact that the beer found great popularity among the working class porters of London's raliway stations, although it has been suggested that there may be a link with the fact that this was the first beer to be transported any great distance.