Whitbread’s London Porter (1850) – All Grain Home Brew Beer Kit

Brew a piece of history with The Malt Miller

Rediscover one of London’s most iconic beers with this all-grain home brew kit, faithfully recreating Whitbread’s London Porter from 1850. Developed from the Durden Park Beer Circle archives, this kit allows modern home brewers to experience authentic 19th-century brewing using traditional British ingredients and methods.

Porter was the beer that built London’s brewing reputation. First brewed in the early 18th century, it became the everyday drink of the city’s working men — the porters, market traders and craftsmen who gave the style its name. By the mid-1800s, breweries like Whitebread were producing vast quantities of this rich, dark ale, known for its depth, balance, and nourishing character.

This was beer brewed for strength, flavour, and longevity, often aged in great wooden vats to develop its smooth complexity. Brewing this 1850 recipe lets today’s home brewer connect directly with that history — recreating the flavours that defined an era and helped shape Britain’s brewing heritage.

Crafted with premium malts from some of the UK’s finest maltsters

• Simpsons Black Malt adding deep roasted character and colour

• Thomas Fawcett Brown Malt  – bringing nutty, toasty depth

• Warminster Floor Malted Maris Otter Pale Ale  – the rich, biscuity base that defines great British ales

Classic Fuggle whole leaf hops complete the recipe, lending a gentle bitterness and earthy, floral aroma that perfectly complements the rich malt profile.

Inspired by a beer that Rob enjoyed when he was part of the Oxford Brewers home brew club, it was an experimental brew first created over a decade ago by Graham Coates of the Durden Park Beer Circle, this recipe is part history, part nostalgia, and pure brewing craft. At The Malt Miller, we’ve recreated this porter as an experiment to see whether traditional methods – including a three-hour mash and a ninety-minute boil – can unlock the depth of flavour found in Victorian brewhouses.

Designed as a special Christmas 2025 brew, this is a beer to savour slowly by the fire, surrounded by family and friends. Expect a full-bodied, chocolatey, and gently smoky porter with layers of malt complexity and a smooth, warming finish.

This all-grain home brewing kit not only offers a rewarding hands-on brew day but also connects you to a lineage of British brewers who shaped the world’s beer heritage.

We used WLP002 English Ale Yeast from White Labs on our brew, due to it’s heritage and the resulting beer was stunning, with lots of body and malt sweetness left in the beer –  but we have made the yeast choice optional so you can pick the option that suits you’re budget or preference. The only thing we would suggest is that you use two packets of yeast or create an appropriate starter as this beer has a higher starting gravity and is complex, so viable and healthy yeast, pitched in a suitable volume is a must. If using a dry option, we recommend an ale yeast that is full of fruity esters such as WHC Saturated or LalBrew Verdant, both of which herald form London Ale Yeasts and bring yeast driven esters that compliment the malt profile of this beer.

🎥 Watch the full brew day and history behind this recipe on our YouTube channel: The Malt Miller – bringing home brewing history to life.

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Ingredients Included

Simpsons Malt – Black Malt
Thomas Fawcett – Brown Malt
Warminster Floor Malted Maris Otter Pale Ale
Fuggles Whole Hops 100g (2 packs)
ProMix – Kettle Finings and Yeast Nutrient Mix (1 pack)

Optional Yeast

White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast x 2 or Starter from 1 Pack

White Labs WLP013 London Ale Yeast x 2 or Starter from 1 Pack

WHC Saturated x 2

LalBrew Verdant x 2

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Method

Beer Style (main): British Ales
Beer Style (sub): Brown Porter
Batch Size: 23
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV %: 6
IBU: 37
Mash efficiency: 80

THE MASH
Temperature °C (Step 1): 67
Length (mins) (Step 1): 150
Temperature °C (Step 2): 75
Length (mins) (Step 2): 30

Mash notes: This recipe calls for a 3 hour mash, which woudl have been done historically due to the less efficient malts being used when compared to modern malts. You might wish to opt for a more standardised 60min mash and you would have no significant issues with conversion, but for authenticity we suggest going for the full three hours as it will make every sip more satisfying knowing that you have tried a piece of history. 

THE BOIL
Boil time (mins): 90

Hop / kettle additions and timing:

110g Fuggle @ 90min
10g Fuggle @ 10min

Secondary additions:

Add Promix at 10min

Yeast: WLP002 x 2 packets (Optional)
Fermentation temperature/steps: 20c until FG reached and stable, allow for a few days and up to a week sat on the yeast to ensure any diacetyl has been cleaned up and then move to a package of your choice. For us, this beer is suited to ether bottle conditioning or cask style serve. We packaged into a keg and left for 3 weeks before a subtle carbonation of around 1vol and then tried through a beer engine.

The guidance from the original recipe is that the beer benefits from a longer maturation of a few months, but after three weeks it was tasting delicious so consider this in your brew and maybe pack some for a longer maturation but also try some after a shorter time so you can compare the different flavours that present over time.