Since today is international stout day, I figured it would be a good idea to give a stout tutorial for those who are unfamiliar with stouts, or beer in general. So here it goes....
What is a stout?
A stout is a dark beer famously made with dark roasted malts/barley, water, yeast and minimal hops. The dark malts lead to the standard tastes of coffee, chocolate and burnt toast. Recently, brewers have deviated from the traditional stout and created several different forms of the legendary style.
Where and how did the stout originate?
The stout was first brewed and sold in 1730s London, but was called a porter. The term porter was originally used due to its popularity with street and river porters in London. In the 18th century, a strong porter was called a stout porter. Arthur Guinness of Ireland adopted that term, although Guinness had been brewing porters since the 1780s. The term stout took on the connotation of "strong" in the 14th century, so many other beer styles used the term stout to describe the high strength of the beer (e.i. stout pale ale or stout lager). Eventually, the term stout came to be associated only with porters. In the 18th century, stouts were believed to have many health benefits aimed mainly at athletes and mothers, before and after giving birth. To this day, there is a great debate as to whether stouts should be disassociated with porters and a confusion between the two syles has never been stronger.
What are the different variations of stout?
Irish/Dry Stout
Irish stouts tend to contain higher alcohol percentages than traditional stouts and porters. The higher alcohol levels lead to a drier and more roasted finish. The most famous Irish stout is Guinness, which also happens to be the most famous stout in the world.
Oatmeal Stout
Oatmeal stouts are brewed with oats, in addition to the traditional ingridients. The oats give this type of stout a more nutty and grainy taste, while making the body of the beer appear thicker and fuller. The first brewery to make oatmeal stouts was Samuel Smith of the U.K. My favorite domestic oatmeal stout is brewed by Anderson Valley.
Milk Stout
This variation of stout (also known as a sweet stout and cream stout) is on the sweeter side due to its use of lactose, sugar derived from milk. In addition to making a beer sweeter, lactose adds body since it is an unfermentable sugar.
Imperial Stout
Imperial stouts are extremely strong stouts that were originally brewed in London and exported to the Russian queen in the 18th century. Therefore, it is also known as a "Russian imperial stout." This beer tastes very similar to dry/Irish stouts, but the higher alcohol is usually felt and tasted.
Chocolate Stout
The name says it all. These stouts are known to have stronger dark chocolate characteristics because they are brewed with more chocolate barley than the standard stout.
Coffee Stout
Darker roasted malts, almost black malts, are used is this beer to give it a bitter coffee flavor. To enhance the coffee taste, some brewers will add coffee grounds when brewing.
Oyster Stout
Fresh oysters and a cold stout: the perfect combination right? In the 18th century oysters we so common in taverns that they were often eaten while drinking a stout. As a result of the popular combination, some brewers in New Zealand began brewing stouts with fresh oysters, followed by British brewers.
What does a stout look like?
Stouts are by far the most easily recognizable beer style of them all. Stouts are very dark, almost black, in body and usually (the good ones) have extremely thick, tan foam (known as "head").
In closing, if you haven't had a stout before, today is the perfect time to do so. And if you have had a stout before and enjoy it, then crack one open and appreciate the beer style known as stout with rest of the beer world!
Green Flash Brewing Co.
