The famous true story about London drowning in Porter.

Well, a small part of London at least.

This story bears repeating every few years. It's about the Great Porter Flood of 1814, and it testifies to the scale of Porter's popularity at the time.

Too Much of a Good Thing, by Dan Piepenbring (The Paris Review)

 ... I guess I can tell you a little about it: how it began at the Meux and Company Brewery on Tottenham Court Road, where an enormous vat ruptured, unleashing more than a hundred thousand imperial gallons of beer ...

Earlier tonight, I enjoyed a Bob's Old 15-B Porter from NABC, the first one I'd consumed in a while. It was delicious, and reminded me of how much I enjoy the style. 20 years ago, we drank plenty of Porter.

When Michael "Beer Hunter" Jackson came to the Public House in 1994, the only full pint he drank was one filled with Sierra Nevada Porter, which we cherished at the time.

I'm on a quest to return to basics, and rediscover fundamentals that while not entirely lost, surely are undervalued in today's beer market.

As the weather cools, I'll be drinking more Porter.

When NABC's Porter become "old," but not as a result of aging.

Label art by the inimitable Tony Beard.

Ten years ago this July 17, I explained a delicate issue about Porter. 

First, let's review the origins of Bob’s Old 15-B.

When NABC first brewed Bob Capshew's competition-winning homebrewed Robust Brown Porter back in 2003, the reaction was so favorable that we decided to continue. Later, when the Beer Judge Certification Program unexpectedly altered its numbering system for style categories and subcategories, Bob's became prefixed "old" rather than be renumbered – but don’t be fooled, because the flavor is forever young.

Here is what I wrote at the time. Note that Publicanista! has long since been abandoned, but the ale lives on. 

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New Albanian Brewing's porter to become "old," but not as a result of aging.

Every other week, and sometimes more often if there’s time, I write Publicanista!, the official newsletter of Rich O’s Public House, the New Albanian Brewing Company and Sportstime Pizza.

You can subscribe to this on-line newsletter by going to www.newalbanian.com and following the directions in the box to the bottom right of the page.

Here’s an excerpt from last week.

NABC brewer Jesse Williams has a batch of Bob’s 15 B porter on the way, and therein a problem has arisen. Evidently, the official numbering scheme for style and sub-style definitions has changed, and according to the Beer Judge Certification Program, 15 B now refers to German Dunkel Weizen.

I’m inclined to leave the name unchanged for the sake of tradition, and to observe the vital dictates of remaining contrarian at all times with respect to style, but your thoughts are appreciated. Next Friday (July 22) we’ll have a cask-conditioned firkin of Bob’s 15 B pouring from the beer engine.

Both my business partner Amy and longtime FOSSILS club stalwart Ed Tash wrote to suggest that we change the name of the beer to Old 15 B, and Ed included this rationale:

I've been giving some thought to your dilemma, caused by the BJCP changing robust porter from 15 B to 12 B. I suggest you call your Porter "Bob's Old 15 B.”

Here's why. There is book about Jack Daniels whisky published about a year ago that attempts to explain the origin of Jack Daniels Old Number 7.

According to the author, the number 7 was the license number of the Jack Daniels distillery. The borders of the county the distillery was located in changed, and the distillery changed counties (without moving), which caused the distillery to be given a new license number. Jack Daniels had established “7” as a brand name and didn't want to start over with a new name, so he put "Old Number 7" on the barrels, bottles, etc.

I have not read the book, but I heard the author interviewed on WFPL-FM 89.3 when the book came out.

Now you know more about Jack Daniels than you ever wanted to know, but bottom line is that I think you should keep 15 B in the name; your customers already know the name and what to expect from the beer.

Besides, only a handful of geeks know that Robust Porter is now 12 B.

Ed makes a strong case, and Amy agrees -- so it will be.

The forthcoming batch of Bob’s Old 15 B will be the first to bear the qualifier … but not the last.

Cheers.

Community Dark and Bob's Old 15-B take Brewers' Cup medals at the Indiana State Fair.

NABC took home two medals at the 2011 Indiana State Fair Brewers' Cup Competition. The winners were announced in Indianapolis on Saturday, July 9.

NABC Community Dark, our English-style Dark Mild, received a Gold medal for Category 11 (English Brown Ale), while Bob's Old 15-B scored a Bronze in Category 12 (Porter).

Seeing as we entered only four beers, a 50% success rate seems reasonable enough. A complete list of the categories and winners can be found here.


It is instructive to note that in 2010, we entered a completely different lineup into the competition, selecting heavier hitters like Elector, Solidarity and Hoptimus, with barren results. This year, we decided to flip the wisdom, and chose the ones (for us, the few) beers corresponding to style definitions. Arguably, Community Dark and Bob's Old 15-B are the two most center-of-the-target beers we do, which would seem to be certified by the results on Saturday.

To me, this means (a) the judges were spot on, and (b) I still prefer we not brew with an eye toward winning medals, even if both our winning beers are quite good. What good's a rule unless you can break it with impunity?

NABC Bob's Old 15-B Porter at Ribberfest in Madison, this weekend.

I'm told that again this year, there'll be NABC on tap for Ribberfest in Madison, Indiana. Ribberfest, a celebration of BBQ, blues and balloons, runs Friday and Saturday, August 20 and 21.

On Friday, Richard will be delivering kegs of Bob's Old 15-B, and while a medium-bodied Porter might strike some as a tad much for summertime, it speaks to two important considerations.

First, for as long as we've been taking beer to Madison for special events like Ribberfest, Bob's Old 15-B always has been a steady seller irrespective of the weather. Craft aficionados in Madison enjoy a rich, solid dark ale.

Second, Porter is a fine match with barbecue, so long as the beer has the brawn to stand up to the meat and sauce. My favorite taste sensation in this vein comes when smoked pork (sans sauce) and a robust (unsmoked) Porter meet. The Porter becomes smoked, and the meat becomes sauced. A deep concept, but enjoyable for gluttons like me.

As always, we thank the folks in Madison and are delighted to provide beer for the weekend.

Bank Street brewed, NABC Bob's Old 15-B hits the taps today.

Later this afternoon (Thursday, August 20), the first batch of Bob’s Old 15-B to be brewed at NABC’s new Bank Street Brewhouse will go on tap at BSB.

By this evening or perhaps tomorrow, it should be pouring at the Public House and Pizzeria, too. As an added bonus, we recently were asked to provide beer for one tap at Madison's Ribberfest celebration this weekend, and you'll find Bob's on tap both by the river in Madison on Friday and Saturday, and at the Kentuckiana Celtic Fest concert in New Albany on Saturday.


The development of this beer goes back to the beginnings of NABC’s original garage brewery off Grant Line Road, and I thought it appropriate for a history lesson as we prepare to enjoy 15-B's new era.

In 2003, it was agreed that NABC would brew a 4-barrel batch of the winning entry in the annual Homebrewed Porter competition sponsored by the Fermenters of Special Southern Indiana Libations Society (FOSSILS).

The first time out, NABC’s founding brewer Michael Borchers rendered David and Beth Howard’s victorious recipe into The Black Hand, which remains one of my favorite of all NABC beer names, and one we might well revive in the future.

The Black Foot, anyone?

After winning the 2004 contest, Bob Capshew’s Robust Porter was brewed in the garage brewhouse, also by Borchers, and it was a hit from the start, so much so that we decided to brew it all the time. The inspiration for the recipe came from a Porter made by longtime Louisville Area Grain and Extract Research Society (LAGERS) member and beer researcher member Conrad Selle, and was named 15-B after the AHA’s Robust Porter style category/subcategory (15 B).

At the time, this numbering decision reflected a compromise after Bob rejected my suggestion that we call his creation Bob Capshew's Craic (pronounced "crack") House Porter, from the Irish Gaelic term that signifies convivial ambience. I thought it was a natural, but sometimes not everyone sees it that way, and the final choice was 15-B.

A year passed, and in 2005 the official numbering scheme for style and sub-style categories changed. When the dust settled, 15-B referred to German Dunkel Weizen (dark wheat), about as far removed from English/American Porter as can be imagined without resorting to wild yeast and aging in a used Sake barrel.

We decided to leave the name unchanged, both as a nod to our own NABC tradition, and to observe the vital dictates of remaining contrarian at all times with respect to style.

Another FOSSILS stalwart, Ed Tash, wrote at the time with a solid rationale for leaving the name alone, but prefacing it with a modifier:

I've been giving some thought to your dilemma, caused by the BJCP changing robust porter from 15 B to 12 B. I suggest you call your Porter "Bob's Old 15 B.”

Here's why. There is book about Jack Daniels whisky published about a year ago that attempts to explain the origin of Jack Daniels Old Number 7. According to the author, the number 7 was the license number of the Jack Daniels distillery. The borders of the county the distillery was located in changed, and the distillery changed counties (without moving), which caused the distillery to be given a new license number. Jack Daniels had established “7” as a brand name and didn't want to start over with a new name, so he put "Old Number 7" on the barrels, bottles, etc.

I have not read the book, but I heard the author interviewed on WFPL-FM 89.3 when the book came out.

Now you know more about Jack Daniels than you ever wanted to know, but bottom line is that I think you should keep 15 B in the name; your customers already know the name and what to expect from the beer.

Besides, only a handful of geeks know that Robust Porter is now 12 B.

Solid reasoning all around, and the issue largely having been decided, I once again approached Bob Capshew with a suggestion: How about “Old Bob’s 15-B
For some reason, he wasn’t happy with this one, either.

Old 15-B it was, and Old 15-B it remains. I try as often as possible to preface it with an explanation of Bob’s Capshew’s identity as an outstanding brewer (and mead and cider maker), so we give pride of place to the originator, even if the crack house idea never flew.

Here are the specs, as brewed in the current time by the NABC brew crew of Jesse Williams, Jared Williamson and David Pierce:

Malts: Special Pale, Simpsons Medium and dark Crystal, Simpsons Chocolate and Black, Castle Aromatic, and Briess CaraPils

Hops: Double hopped with Northern Brewer pellets, finished through hop-back with whole cone East Kent Goldings

Yeast: House London

OG: 1.061 or 15.25 degree Plato

ABV: 5.5%

IBU: 35

Color: 34.2 degree Lovibond SRM