11 Beers to Drink and Enjoy for the Brewski Newbie

Germany Berlin Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf) – German beer Lausitzer Porter at the Gruene Woche, Exhibition for the Food Industry, Agriculture and Horticulture (Photo by Martin Sachse/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

6.) Porters

Now we’re getting heavy! Porters are a dark style of beer originally brewed in London. The name was first recorded in the 18th century, though we suspect that the porter style has been around for longer. Supposedly, it was extra popular with street and river porters, urban workers who would have enjoyed a good, strong beer after a long day working in the bustling city.
Unlike some of the other beers on this list, historic porters were often stronger than their modern counterparts, and could easily pass 7% ABV. Nowadays, you can find porters as low as 4% ABV, though, naturally, some breweries are more than happy to take it up to 7% and beyond.

IBUs are frankly all over the place here, with some porters clocking in at only 20 and others hiking all the way up to 60 IBUs. Definitely take a second to check the label on the porter you’re about to drink down.

When drinking a porter, you might detect flavors like coffee, chocolate, and a roasted, smoky note. Smoky beers, known as “rauchbiers” are a German style, but were virtually unknown in the U.S. until the 1980s. Of course, the artistic interpretation of the individual brewer leaves a lot of room for more adventurous brews. Americans especially have taken this style to new levels, with the addition of ingredients like corn and molasses.

Porters to try:

• Great Lakes Brewing Company, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
• Alaskan Brewing Company, Smoked Porter
• Funky Buddha, Last Snow Coconut Coffee Porter