From the Pit to Your Pint. Meet Pit Pony.

Deep in the coal mines of Northern England, pit ponies spent their working lives in the dark. Hauling cartloads of coal through narrow tunnels, steady and strong, day after day. Some of them never saw daylight.

We thought that deserved a beer.

What Is an English Porter?

Porter is one of the oldest beer styles in the world. It was born in London in the early 1700s, brewed for the city's market porters - the workers who carried loads through the streets for a living. People who wanted a dark, filling, satisfying beer at the end of a long shift.

It was the first beer style to be brewed on a truly industrial scale. At its peak, London's porter breweries were producing millions of barrels a year. Then lager arrived, tastes changed, and porter quietly stepped back.

It never disappeared entirely. And the good ones never stopped being worth drinking.

Pit Pony is our version - dark, honest, and built in that same working spirit.

Dark Crystal and Brown Malt

The character of Pit Pony comes from two malts: dark crystal and brown malt.

Dark crystal malt is kilned at high temperatures until the sugars inside the grain caramelise. The result is richness, depth, and a subtle sweetness - dried fruit, a little toffee, something almost raisin-like underneath. It's what gives Pit Pony its deep amber-brown colour and its body.

Brown malt is older than dark crystal. It was the original malt used in the first porters, roasted over wood fires in the 1700s. Today it's kilned more precisely, but the character is still there.

Together, they do the heavy lifting. Which feels appropriate.

East Kent Goldings

If dark crystal and brown malt are the backbone of Pit Pony, East Kent Goldings are the thing that holds it all together without you noticing.

East Kent Goldings is one of England's oldest hop varieties, grown in the same region of Kent for centuries. Earthy, a little floral, with a soft spice that sits quietly in the background.

The bitterness is present but clean. The finish is smooth. You won't find tropical fruit or citrus punch here - just a quiet, even bitterness that keeps the richness in check.

What It Actually Tastes Like

Pour it into a glass. Watch the colour - deep brown, almost black, with a tan head that settles into something creamy.

Roasted malt on the nose. A little biscuit. Something between dark chocolate and coffee without committing to either.

On the palate it's rich and warming, with a nutty, toasty roast and that hint of burnt fruit. It finishes clean - cleaner than you'd expect - and you reach for another sip before you've thought about it.

5.5%. Rich, dark, and quietly relentless.

How to Drink It

Cold nights. Slow evenings. The kind of day that earns a proper drink at the end of it.

Pit Pony pairs well with food that has some weight - slow-cooked meat, aged cheese, woodfired pizza with something rich on top. Or drink it on its own, somewhere warm, when the weather outside is doing its worst.

Find It at Canyon

Pit Pony is now available online and on tap at the Taproom in Arthurs Point.