Porter & Ale

Porter & Ale was a beer tasting show featuring George Willard and Stephen White as the title characters, respectively. Starting as an experiment on Slapdash Spazmodic, the concept was to sample six different beers whilst giving a live reaction upon trying it for the first time.

Early episodes on Slapdash Spazmodic were released as one continuous shot that lasted between 30-40 minutes. Eventually, Stephen began doing some edits to shorten the runtime. Before the show’s run ended on Slapdash Spazmodic, some stylistic choices were made to spruce things up. Those ideas carried over and inspired new ones when Porter & Ale began.

The show ran for 27 episodes over the course of three years. It featured numerous beer labels, several guests and even a few specials including one taking place at the Blackstone Brewery in Nashville, TN. The show ended after George Willard unexpectedly stepped away.

Stephen attempted to continue the show with a short form version called A Pint of Ale. This version of the show featured Ale introducing and sampling one new beer then discussing a random topic. This concept only lasted seven episodes before pulling the plug. Stephen knew that it couldn’t work without the co-host chemistry he had with George. This was further enforced by an unreleased 28^th episode featuring a new co-host.

Stephen has stated that producing this show was his absolute favorite thing and wishes it was still ongoing.