What is “porter”?
From: The Guinness Drinking Companion by Leslie Dunkling (1992) Guinness Publishing; ISBN 0-85112-988-9 “In the London Ale-Houses and taverns of the early 18th Century it was common to call for a pint of “Three threads”, meaning a third of a pint each of ale, beer, and twopenny (the strongest beer, costing twopence a quart). A brewer called Harwood had the idea of brewing a beer that united the flavours of all three. He called this beer “Entire”. This was about 1720. Harwood’s Entire was highly hopped, strong, and dark. It was brewed with soft rather than hard water. Within a few years Entire was also being referred to as “Porter” (short for porter’s ale) because the porters of the London street markets were especially fond of it. Porter that was extra strong was known as “Stout Porter”, and eventually “Stout”.
