Pawnshop Porter

Know that feeling when you come across a diamond in the rough!? This sessionable gem, with deep chocolate flavors and a touch of caramel, is well worth any trade. You’ll soon be sifting through the couch cushions for spare change and crawling through closets for Great-grandma’s gold chain. An English-Style Brown Porter – it’s soft and remarkably smooth while retaining a rich complexity.

What’s in a Name, Beau?

Porter, as a style, is named for the street and river transport workers of Central London, who called for this very popular style in the early 18th century. But where did ours get its name? When we opened in Allentown, in 2007, our city was just beginning its transformation into the vibrant downtown we now are part of. To inspire folks from outside the city to return and enjoy the downtown as a destination once again, and to show our civic pride in Allentown, we began by naming menu items after elements of the center city landscape – we originally had Monument Pasta (for the Civil War Monument), Adelaide Pork (for the Silk Mill), Daddona Shrimp Pizza (for the former Mayor), etc. Then, after some names like “222 Ribs”, and “145 Meatloaf” (named for the state roads), had Brewmaster Beau Baden rolling his eyes, he snarkily named one of his first brews for what he saw at that time in downtown Allentown…

And there you have it! While our menu has evolved and largely moved away from this arbitrary naming practice, this great beer became a hit with the pioneering diners of those first few years and has remained a popular flagship beer for us. Pawnshop Porter continues to put smiles on people’s faces – with its name and its smooth richness!

Oh, and the shops that inspired it are still doing well too.