Stout beer
beer made using roasted malts and is a variant of porter beer. Porter was first recorded as being made and sold in London in the 1730's. It became very popular across Britain and Ireland. The first use of the word Stout was the Stout-Porter brewed by Guinness of Ireland in 1820, although Guiness had been brewing porters since 1759.
Stout differs from porter in being darker and richer through the use of more roasted malt. As such the two beers are considered distinct.
There are several kinds of stout:
- Irish stout or dry stout is the original product
- Imperial stout was originally brewed in England for import to the court of the Tsar of Russia. It has a very high alcohol content--nine or ten percent is not uncommon--intended to preserve it during long trips and to provide a more bracing drink against cold climates.
- Milk stout or 'sweet stout', which despite the name has never had milk added to it. The significant residual sweetness which is present in a milk stout is due to addition of lactose (a by-product of the cheese making process) before fermentation. Yeast cannot ferment lactose, so the beer retains a fuller body. The name 'cream stout' often denotes very smooth, thick-textured stouts with a distinctive flavour.
- Oatmeal stout, similarly, had oats added to it.
Examples of stouts are:
