What do you do when you’re sad? I hope you don’t drink to hard? I am also don’t drink – I listen the music. Today was just such a day – I felt a strange melancholy in the morning. It didn’t seem like there was any reason for it. The weather was sunny, everything was going according to plan at work. On the way home I listened my favorite Bach, but he did not help. I had to go to the “library”, to my friends…

A library is what I call the shelves in my home with interesting beers that I regularly buy. Today, my eye fell on the wonderful English beer Fuller’s London Porter. This Porter is not only a truly royal beer, but also a loyal friend who will always help in a difficult time. That’s what happened this time, but first, a few words about the brewery.

Fuller’s is one of London’s last family breweries with a rich history. It was formed at the end of the 16th century by the merger of two small breweries. During 150 years of its existence the brewery has changed owners many times and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Only in 1845 John Bird Fuller Jr. became the sole owner.  In addition to beer production Fuller’s has been systematically building a network of pubs all over the country for many years, which strengthens its financial stability.

At the beginning of the XX century Fuller’s produced several famous beer brands. Thus in 1930 Chiswick Bitter appeared, in the 1950s one of the best English ales – London Pride burst onto the scene, and in 1971 the no less famous ESB was brewed. Approximately every twenty years the company produced another beer that won gold medals at the prestigious beer championships. Thus in 1996 the magical London Porter was brewed for the first time according to old recipes. With this Porter, Fuller’s brought back to us the beer enjoyed by more than one generation of Englishmen.

This beautiful dark brown beer glows with a burgundy fire from within and invites you. The brown foam consists of large cells and resembles a crown, which, however, soon falls apart. What remains is a beautiful dark beer with a thin layer of foam. I still associate it with the king, who, in the company of friends, took off his crown and left only a light mantle. Even in spite of the friendly conversation he remains a king and this is confirmed by the truly royal aroma of chocolate, prunes, dried apricots and walnuts. It pairs perfectly with the smooth body of this beer and some restrained malt richness on the palate. The sweetness of chocolate, light coffee bitterness and delicate acidity of dried fruits are linked with the aroma in an inseparable chain, they go hand in hand and complement each other, leaving a long pleasant aftertaste, with a hint of ripe red berries.

The beer ran out and left behind only a gentle sadness, dissolving all my melancholy…