Timothy Taylor's is one of the UK's best known and most esteemed independent breweries. Family owned since its beginnings in 1858, the Yorkshire brewery has won so many awards for its beers over the years that it's hardly a surprise whenever they pick up another!
Their most famous beer is Landlord, perhaps my favourite of all cask beers. A 4.3% ABV pale ale with much more complexity and flavour than many beers of higher strength, it doesn't need to be called a 'session beer', as anyone who's tasted it will know how sessionable it is … and I speak from experience! Among its many medals, Landlord has won CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain four times, more than any other beer. Other award-winning brews, like Boltmaker, share an easy drinkability without sacrificing on flavour.
A few years ago, I recommended Timothy Taylor's Cook Lane IPA, an aromatic, tropical fruit and citrus-toned elegant IPA that would be great for enjoying on its own or with Asian fish dishes in particular. This month, I'm going for a different style of beer, more usually associated with winter evenings!
Porters originated in London in the 1700s, morphing from the brown ales that were common at the time. They were one of the first beer styles to be aged by breweries, rather than by publicans. The name comes from the beer style's popularity with the street and river porters, labourers who worked on the London docks and in the City of London. Eventually, black malt replaced brown malt and the London Porter is thought to have become the first beer to be exported worldwide.
Stout and porter are closely related. While stout (originally meaning strong, as in 'stout porter', a stronger version of porter) is usually black in colour and characterised primarily by roasted malt notes, porter is often dark brown and a little sweeter with more hoppy and fruity notes.
Timothy Taylor's Poulter's Porter (4.8% ABV) is a homage to Private Arthur Poulter, who had previously worked at the brewery's maltings carrying heavy sacks of barley. A stretcher-bearer during World War I, he was a awarded a Victoria Cross for heroically rescuing and bandaging wounded soldiers while under heavy enemy fire.
The beer has won several awards, including Gold at the prestigious International Brewing and Cider Awards 2021 in the Dark Beer - Class 3 (ABV range 4.8%-5.7%) category.
Timothy Taylor's Poulter's Porter is part of the brewery's small-batch, special edition 'Taylor Made' bottled beer range, which currently also includes Cook Lane and Hopical Storm. With a British spring upon us, we know that some nights are going to be on the cooler side. So, it would be a shame to ditch the darker, 'warming' beers - I'm certainly not ready for that!
Timothy Taylor's Poulter's Porter is available in 330ml bottles from the company's webshop for £33 (case of 12) or £56 (case of 24). You can also buy it on Ocado for £2.10 per bottle.
