Our German Porter – I’m Already Here – is back, this time in bottle and it really is an ale with a tale…
So, what is a German Porter? I hear you ask. Well, it is a style whose defining characteristics include deep, espresso-like colour and malt-forward flavour with a low hop bitterness and an underlying sweetness.
Or in other words a very moreish, warming dark beer.
We originally brewed this beer in collaboration with Sean and Ruth of Brid’s Cross brewery (pronounced Breed’s Cross) of Rochdale.
To add to the beer’s authenticity, we use 100% German malts and hops. Usually, this style used Munich malts to a very high percentage of the malt bill – up to 70% to add to a very rich mouthfeel and malt forward body. The espresso colour is achieved by the addition of dark roasted malts but crucially they are de-husked, so you add colour but not any astringency.
As for the hops we are using German grown Perle hops – which although very sparsely used will add a slight hop profile and aroma of spice, cedar, and orange.
However, the final key ingredient is the tale – the ale needs a tale – and one that happens to be German and ideally involve a hare!
Thankfully, The Brothers Grimm obliged with their tale from Saxony about the story of the Hare and The Hedgehog – a fairly dark fable where two hedgehogs conspire to repeatedly beat a hare at a race – shouting from the finish line to the hare after the start of each race “”Ick bün all hier!” – which translates to I’m Already Here. Hence the name of the beer. We will leave you to discover the full tale.
Enjoy