Bayhawk Chocolate Porter (Three Threads)

     When I obtained my degree in history, many people asked me what I was going to do with it. My answer was always the same, "Hang it on the wall of the brewery." They seemed surprised when they to learn I was not going to teach the subject. Why would I want to teach history when running a brewery is about the best job any guy could have? Plus, there are few professions that are so steeped in history. Re-introducing the public to a product gives me the opportunity to educate them while telling a wonderful story. I would wager that there is not a single person involved in the craft beer industry that is not a good story teller, or at the very least, has a few great stories.

     As a fledgling historian, I learned early if you steal from one source, that's plagiarism. If you steal from many, it's research. I'll take this opportunity to acknowledge the major sources from which I've learned: The Beer Drinker's Bible by Gregg Smith and Carrie Getty, Greg Glaser's January 31, 2000 article from Modern Brewery Age, Michael Jackson's; Porter Casts a Long Shadow on Ale History, The Guinness website, and others. As a history major, I reserve the right to present evidence in the manner I believe most plausible.

     All sources agree that Porter has its origin in London during the early 1700s. The drinking trend was for barmen to mix various types of alcoholic beverages. Porter, at this time unnamed, was equal parts of most probably strong ale, brown ale, and 2 Pence*. Pints were drawn from three separate barrels into a single tankard. It sounds like a hefty amount, but one has to remember that water was not generally consumed by itself, especially in the cities where sanitation was suspect at best. People knew if they drank water, they could, and probably would, get sick. If they drank beer, they felt much better (it still works that way today). The blending of thirds or "threads" as it might sound with an East London accent, makes for a mellower drink than consuming large quantities of strong ale. (It's lucky this drink wasn't developed in Brooklyn or it could have been called "Tree Turds").

     The tapped end of the kegs faced the bartenders. The butt ends faced the patrons whom hailed the server to "draw the Entire Butt," or an "Entire." The story of Porter adds the name of Ralph Harwood in 1722. It is believed Harwood brewed the first batches of Entire at the Bell Brewhouse in Shoredith, East London. Harwood, a man of the industrial age, found a more efficient way to get a popular drink to the public. Certainly, pub owners and bartenders found pouring ale from a single barrel simpler than mixing from three.

     There are two schools of thought on were the name Porter was derived. The first is that the drink was popular with the folk of the East End. The primary occupations were in drayage (moving and hauling) and working the docks. The Merrian-Webster Dictionary defines a porter as someone involved in moving and hauling bundles. Some say that the beverage took the name from the occupation for the inhabitants with which it found favor. Another slant on this idea and one that I find a bit more believable is that porters delivered the drink. When the delivery came, someone would inform the management that "the Porter had arrived." Interestingly, the same dictionary defines Porter as "A Dark Heavy Ale, " another myth! According to the brewers at Bayhawk, it does not have to be heavy. We purposely blend our Porter to create a lighter drink.

     Whichever story you believe, Porter has always been associated with the British. If one remembers their American history, we were still subjects of the Crown during the mid-eighteenth century. Porter is hearty and very transportable. It found its way across the Atlantic and became a favorite drink of one of America's most famous home brewers, George Washington. I often mention while giving my brewery tours, if America's most famous failed brewer, Samuel Adams, had been able to make a good Porter, we would probably still all be British, or at the very least drinking good ales instead of Boston Lager. Fortunately, craft brewers in America have revived the art of brewing good Porters.

     British Porters enjoyed their popularity throughout the 1700 and 1800s. This era also saw the rise of another popular style, India Pale Ale. Both Porter and IPA have great durability when being transported un-refrigerated. As the British Empire expanded, so did the availability, and popularity, of Porter. This period gave birth to one the world's greatest brewing dynasties, Guinness. Arthur Guinness & Sons began by brewing Porters and continued doing so until 1974. Porter's popularity began to wane significantly at the turn of the 20th century. Even PorterHouses, where the ale complemented that cut of steak, saw the drinking trend shift. Lagers were gaining public acceptance outside of Bohemia and Bavaria. In Ireland, thanks mostly to Guinness and the political climate, stouts were replacing Porter as the drink of choice. During the First World War, an effort was made in the United Kingdom to conserve energy. To show their support for the war, British malting houses stopped dark roasting grain to save fuel. The Irish still striving to gain their independence from the UK, took the position that if dark roasting helped the Kaiser, they would all drink stout. Being half-Irish myself, I tend to believe this explanation of the Guinness decision to shift its brewing primarily toward stout. Guinness salesmen like to tell the story about a fire at the brewery burning the malt, and Arthur Guinness being too cheap to throw it out. That is a good story and seems credible to those of us who run small breweries. It is a better marketing presentation for the public than admitting the Irish had pro-German sympathies in both World Wars. Whatever the reason, Porter consumption slipped to the smallest portions of the market. Porter production was done only by a handful of breweries, such as Samuel Smith or Anchor, until the late 1970s when, craft brewing in the United States was revived. In the US today, nearly all brewpubs and microbreweries boast of their Porters.

     Now that I have bored you with nearly 300 years of beer history (If you take my brewery tour, it's 7000 years. It will drive you to drink), I'll tell you about Bayhawk Ales' Chocolate Porter. We have returned to the Old London tradition of Three Threads by blending our Amber Ale with Stout, and our version of 2 Pence. We actually have taken a page from the book of Ralph Harwood. He made life simpler for tavern owners by producing an ale that could be served from a single cask, thus eliminating the space taken by three barrels and saved the time of barmen that had to mix the brew. The demand for our products has become so great over the past eighteen months, that we cannot always dedicate the tank space required to produce a large quantity of porter. I'm sure my fellow brewers would agree that in small breweries, time and space is money. We've overcome this challenge by blending our Porter.

     How has our Three Threads, a blended beer, been received? Well, it won the Silver Medal at the North American Brewers' Association Commercial Competition and the Second Place Ribbon at the 2001 California State Fair for Brown Porters.

     How does our Three Threads/Chocolate Porter taste? The word "Chocolate" in the name comes from the chocolate malt that we employ in the brewing of our beers. This deep roasted grain produces a dark ruby red color and coffee like flavor. The taste complements red meat such as "Porter"house Steak or a chocolate dessert. We challenge the skeptical to try this full-flavored drink at cellar temperature (50 degrees) with your favorite cut of meat or dessert and share your thoughts with us at Bayhawkales.com.

     We are making this award winning premium ale available for the holiday season in a Cobalt Blue One-liter Swing-top bottle. It will be produced in a limited supply of 2001 numbered bottles. This could be the best Christmas gift a beer drinker can give to him or herself, over 2 pints of Porter and a collector's bottle. Our suggested retail price is $9.99, plus tax and CRV. Since we believe the demand will be great, place your orders early. Our Cobalt bottles will be in the stores on or before November 1, 2001, but you can enjoy Bayhawk Chocolate Porter anytime in 22oz bottles. Ask for it at your favorite package store.

Cheers,
Karl Zappa
General Manager

BAYHAWK ALES: ORANGE COUNTY'S OLDEST MICROBREWERY
2000 MAIN STREET, SUITE A
IRVINE, CA 92614
PHONE: 949-442-7565 FAX: 949-442-7566
E-MAIL: info@bayhawkales.com