Beery Advent Calendar #2

December often sees me in a porter-ish mood. Because my local brewpub, the Brunswick, is likely to put on their Railway Porter. And I usually make a couple of trips to Birmingham which tend to involve a pint or three of London Porter at Fuller's northern outpost, Old Joint Stock. And I've just been reading about porter in Martyn Cornell's excellent book on beer styles, Amber Gold and Black.

So a bottle of porter ought to put in an early appearance on the advent calendar. And so it goes. I'd never had a beer from US brewers Founders before - if they're all as good as this, I'm going to become a fanboy. Their Porter doesn't so much tick the boxes as strike through them with a flourish. Enough sweet caramel and vanilla, shots across the mocha roasted malt, plenty of hops swing by to deliver an ever-drying finish.

One of those porters that I've loved out a bottle and would probably go crazy-ape for on tap. Very sessionable, albeit in a messy-pish-talking-session kind of style. Thanks to beermerchants for the bottle; it's available with several others from the Founders range here.

Today's gift: a fantastic piece by Martyn Cornell about porter on his Zythophile website. The beer engine picture is worth following the link for alone.

Today's picture: a salutary lesson to never leave your camera with a Californian at a winter beer festival.