Yea, really. Though I don't drink them very often since I generally haven't cared for the ones I've tasted. I did buy a 6 of Black Butte a while ago and while I liked it better than most porters I've tried it still had a distinct mud/dirt quality that I don't care for. A lot of people love this style though, so I'm sure it's just something strange with my tastes.
Judging by the recipes posted in this thread, I'd say porter is very different from stout. The main thing that jumps out at me is there's nowhere near enough roast barley to be a stout, but the BU:GU ratio seems to be about half what I'd expect in a stout as well.
My porter brew has been delayed until this coming weekend. I am contemplating some vanilla and/or oak chips (both soaked in bourbon?) in one half of the batch just for fun.
Dan - I would say we are looking at around late March or early April until I will be ready to share...
