Beer keg: What is it?

Julio Cerezo - Beer Sommelier
Director of Sabeer Beer Academy

We’ve all read or heard about that what goes around comes around, basically that things always come back into fashion, and what was once the rage among our grandparents, is now the new craze among today’s youngsters. In this coming and going of wide or narrow collars, tight or bell-bottom trousers, rolling tobacco and of course the “porrón”, they come back when we have almost forgotten all about them.

Until not long ago the “porrón” had become just as extinct as rotary dial telephones in the home, but in recent years it appears to have made a comeback, particularly for beer, whether for the popular lager beers or special craft ales.

So let’s take a quick look at the origins of this contraption: the “porrón” originates from the so-called rhyton, a receptacle made from different materials in the shape of a horn that the Romans commonly used to serve wine, particularly during festive events. These horn receptacles could be used use to drink from using the wider edge, or allowing the liquid to flow through the hole at the narrow end, which then had to be stoppered after drinking using our fingers between sips.

The rhyton evolved over several centuries giving rise to the “porrón” as we know it today, a pitcher type receptacle that can be made from earthenware or glass in more recent times. With a flat base allowing it to stand on the table, a wide neck for filling and holding it, and a narrow spout for drinking from. “Porróns” were popular in taverns and homes when drinking wine in the company of others.

But just as we can drink wine from it, we can also drink wine mixed with carbonated water, cider or beer. This is because “porróns” were never designed to actually improve the organoleptic perception of specific drinks, but were rather a functional utensil for sharing drinks hygienically without the need for glasses.

As mentioned above, in recent years we have witnessed a certain resurgence of the use of “porróns” with craft ale and beer, particularly at fairs and other festive events, but also some reputed brewers in the industry have been using them in public to promote their virtues when tasting certain styles of beer, such as Lambic beer.

Among the possible advantages of this are the enhanced oxygenation of the beer as it enters the mouth and intensified bouquet and flavour of the liquid as the temperature increases more than when we sip it, owing to the difference in volumes that actually enter the mouth depending on how we drink it.

Regardless of people's preferences, which should always be respected when drinking beer, in our opinion a beer “porrón” is always a fun choice on certain festive occasions, as is drinking from a traditional Viking horn, which we can still see at some events.

A “porrón” full of cold beer without being in any way pretentious, can be fun to share with friends and family, always being the source of laughter depending on the skill of the drinkers. It is also a lot more hygienic than drinking from a shared bottle, and more environmentally friendly than using disposable cups.

In view of the advantages of the “porrón”, whether a personal decision or not, it involves a journey into the past, just as fashion does, or bringing out a cassette player or eighties style shoulder pads.

Cheers!