Porter

Porter is a type of ale which has a malting aroma and hop bitterness. It is generally strong and dark and brewed with soft rather than hard water.

In 18th Century London a beverage consisting of a third of a pint of ale, beer and twopenny (the strongest beer, costing twopence a quart. Harwood, a brewer, brewed a beer called Entire which blended all three in about 1720. It started to be called Porter because the porters of London especially liked it. Extra-strong porter was called Stout-Porter and eventually stout.