Jester King Brewery - Pattinson Porter

Our fourth and final Jester King beer of this special offer, Pattinson Porter, is a collaboration with historian Ron Pattinson, who’d visited the brewery in early 2019 to give a talk and work on a collaboration beer. He brought along a rare recipe from the early- to mid-20th century—an East German Porter—heavily toasted, firmly hopped, and refermented by Brettanomyces. Jester King did its own version of this historical porter, using a variety of German specialty malts, Liberty hops, and its own mixed culture (which includes several strains of Brett).

Pattinson Porter pours a deep dark-chocolate color capped by a massive, light-tan foam; this shows exceptional retention and lacing that coats the edges of the glass. Dark specialty malts lead, though without much accompanying sweetness: dark chocolates, cocoa, subtle caramel, and significant amounts of roast throughout. Secondary lemony-tart elements come from the mixed-culture fermentation, reminding us of some of the best vatted porters we’ve tried.

This hides its alcohol nicely, even after it’s warmed up in your glass. The generous hopping comes through much more clearly in the flavor than the aroma, with a firm earthy bitterness that plays out nicely and provides constrast to the immense amount of malt character. That mixed-culture fermentation ensures everything stays pleasantly dry, keeping any sweetness in check, such that you can really dig into those layers of robust maltiness: coffee, roast, dark and milk chocolates, hints of char and dark fruit. Delicious, out-there, historical porter. This proves super easy to get into: a well-balanced big porter that still feels like Jester King.

Probably the most age-worthy of the bunch, but likely most assertive and clearly expressed early on. For pairings, we’d look to heftier fare that can stand up to this beer: grilled ribeye, brisket, or a coffee-rubbed sirloin to work alongside that dark chocolate and roast.