The Hobbit - Chapter 01 - An Unexpected Party

[Child of the 7th Age]

Dragging this up again.....

I have a question that I hope someone can answer as it's not the kind of thing that you can "google". I'm curious about Bilbo's "porter" that he served to some of the dwarves.

I had never even heard of porter before and have no idea what it takes like. Is it something like Guiness stout? Do people still drink this at the pubs? And what brands are there, in case I decide I want to try this? Is there something about porter that would make it especially appealing to dwarves?


When I looked it up online, the best I could come up with is this:

porter: (English) London style brew that became practically extinct, but is making a comeback. Originally made to satisfy the demand for a 50/50 mix of ale and stout, porter's dark brown hue comes from roasting the barley before the brewing process begins. A lighter-bodied companion to the stout, it possesses a less pronounced hop flavor than ale, and is a heavier brew than most, with just a hint of sweetness.

[Bêthberry]

Well, I'd better hop to comments on the first chapter if I have any hopes of catching up with TH discussion. I don't have any long dissertations to offer, nor any knowledge about porter--sorry, Child--but simply a few observations about reading the book now.

I'm not much interested in the 'exclude it from the Legendarium' debate because I'm far more interested in just how Tolkien got there, so to speak. And when I read TH now I am intrigued by how much belongs to traditional elements of fairie--dragons, fairy wives, magic. I have the feeling that I can almost see the process of how Tolkien created his own Middle-earth out of his earlier reading (and his children's own reading).

Originally Posted by Bilbo speaking

Not the wandering wizard that gave Old Took a pair of magic diamond studs that fastened themselves and never came undone till ordered? Not the fellow who used to tell such wonderful tales at parties, about dragons and goblins and giants and the rescue of princesss and the unexpected luck of widows' sons?

And I have to say that I love the style of that famous first sentence, the all-important subject pushed back to the very end by double prepositional phrases and the pattern-marker 'there.'

About it's nature as a children's story, I note that it lacks explicit detail, as children's knowledge often does.

After that there were no dwarves left alive inside, and he took all their wealth for himself.

I don't think we've ever had a proper discussion about Tolkien's brand of humour, not just in TH but elsewhere, but certainly I think it would be worth, as we read through TH trying to consider just what comprised Tolkien's funny bone, for he definitely had one. The names in particular depend upon linguistic play, mixing vowels and consonants (which linguists call, I think, 'minimal pairs.') It's all this Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, and Gloin, and etc. This is actually quite a clever way to draw his children's attention to language. And I don't think it simply childish word play. After all, the founding saint of Glasgow is still called affectionately by the denizens of that city, St. Mungo. When I learnt that, Frodo, Bilbo and company seemed so much more interesting linguistically.

And the last observation I have concerns the songs. Even here in a children's story we have Tolkien recognising the role of music in sparking the imagination--something he will draw out in his depiction of Rivendell.

As they sang the hobbit felt the love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving through him, a fierce and jealous love, the desire of the hearts of dwarves. Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick. He looked out the window. The stars were out in the dark sky above the trees. He thought of the jewels of the dwarves shining in the dark caverns. Suddenly in the wood beyond The Water a flame leapt up--probably somebody lighting a wood-fire--and he thought of plundering dragons settlingon his quiet HIll and kinglind it all to flames. He shuddered; and very quickly he was plain Mr Baggins of Bag-End, Under-Hill, again.

It's all there, inchoate, germinal, ready to be gently simmering in the cauldron of story.

[piosenniel]

Child

Porter . . . a delightful brew. And a staple of English pub drinking since @ 1700 (It has since unfortunately, fallen out of favor there. But over on this side of the water we've picked up the taste for it.)

Rich, heavy and dark with the color of roasted "chocolate" malt; smooth on the tongue; a little less alcohol content than stout (Guinness), usually.

It's said that a century ago, this beer was a staple of the delivery men (porters) after whom it was named; if you didn't tip the guy a "porter", you might find some of your luggage damaged on arrival at the local hostelry!

Here are a couple of links to the lovely drink: First pint and Fill 'er up again!

And may I recommend Black Butte Porter from the Deschutes Brewery here in Oregon.

And now to tie this back into The Hobbit:

I've no doubt that any well-stocked Hobbit cellar might have a cask of porter to serve guests. And Dwarves, I think would have loved the brew, including the lovely creamy foam they could suck from their mustaches.