It’s often said that not all Porters are Stout, but all Stout’s are Porters. Confused? Well most people are, so like all good stories, let’s start at the beginning, and have a look in to some history.
History of Stouts and Porters
- Porters emerged from England in the18th century
- Porter – Mixed drinks – invented by a barman in the pub, made by blending lighter, hoppier beers, with older aged ales
- The name originated due to its popularity with street and river porters. (workers)
- The popularity of porter was significant, and it became the first beer style to be brewed across the world
- During the Industrial Revolution, low-cost brown malt was arriving in London from Hertfordshire and was quickly adopted as the standard malt.
- With the hydrometer, brewmasters at the time discovered that their inexpensive base brown malt was mediocre at best in terms of sugar yield, so they began adding slightly higher priced pale malt into their grist
- The move towards pale malt at the end of the eighteenth century, however, led to a great disparity in beer colour, so brewers began experimenting with the addition of burnt sugar. Not only did this alter the flavour of the beer, it was also considered illegal by the English government due to the perceived evasion to the malt tax. In 1816, the use of caramel colouring was banned by Parliament.
- Brewers started brewing with Increased alcohol content, and thus the stout was born. That’s right, all a stout technically is, is a stronger – or stouter – version of a porter.
- Names developed like “extra porter”, “double porter”, and “stout porter”.
- The stout really took off when a brand named Guinness became a household
- Guinness Extra Stout was originally called “Extra Superior Porter” and was only given the name “Extra Stout” in 1840.
Differences - Porters use malted barley and stouts are primarily made from unmalted roasted barley, which is where the coffee flavour most people associate with stout comes from.
- Guinness is made using roasted barley, flaked barley, and pale malt, but other breweries don’t necessarily use roasted barley; they can use chocolate or other dark and specialty malts.
Style Variations (BJCP 2015)
13C. English Porter – ABV: 4.0 – 5.4%
Simply called “Porter” in Britain, the name “English Porter” is used to differentiate it from other porters described in these guidelines. Overall Impression: A moderate-strength brown beer with a restrained roasty character and bitterness. May have a range of roasted flavours, generally without burnt qualities, and often has a chocolate-caramel-malty profile.
Became a highly-popular, widely-exported style in the 1800s before declining around WWI and disappearing in the 1950s. It was re-introduced in the mid-1970s with the start of the craft beer era.
Differs from an American Porter in that it usually has softer, sweeter and more caramelly flavours, lower gravities, and usually less alcohol; the American Porter will also typically have more of a hop character.
Irish Beers
While now termed Irish Stout, it was originally called Dry Stout and it came about from attempts to dodge the malt tax bill in eighteenth century London. As unmalted barley was not taxed the same as malt, brewers began using more in the grist. Still used in modern recipes, this raw, unmalted barley lends a sharp coffee bitterness and a creamy mouthfeel.
15B. Irish Stout (Or Dry Stout) ABV: 4.0 – 4.5%
Examples – Ohara’s and Guinness Draught
Overall Impression: A black beer with a pronounced roasted flavour, often similar to coffee. The balance can range from fairly even to quite bitter, with the more balanced versions having a little malty sweetness and the bitter versions being quite dry. Draught versions typically are creamy from a nitro pour, but bottled versions will not have this dispense-derived character. The roasted flavour can be dry and coffee-like to somewhat chocolaty. medium-low to no fruitiness, and medium to no hop flavour (often earthy)
Appearance: Jet black to very deep brown with garnet highlights in colour. According to Guinness, “Guinness beer may appear black, but it is actually a very dark shade of ruby.”
15C. Irish Extra Stout ABV: 5.5 – 6.5%
Appearance: Jet black. Opaque. A thick, creamy, tan head is characteristic.
Style Comparison: Midway between an Irish Stout and a Foreign Extra Stout in strength and flavour intensity, although with a similar balance.
DARK BRITISH BEER
16A. Sweet Stout (Milk Stout) – ABV: 4.0 – 6.0%
History: An English style of stout developed in the early 1900s. Historically known as “Milk” or “Cream” stouts, legally this designation is no longer permitted in England (but is acceptable elsewhere). The “milk” name is derived from the use of lactose, or milk sugar, as a sweetener. Originally marketed as a tonic for invalids and nursing mothers.
16B. Oatmeal Stout – ABV: 4.2 – 5.9%
History: A variant of nourishing or invalid stouts of the late 1800s using oatmeal in the grist, similar to the development of sweet stout that used lactose.
Most are like a cross between an Irish Extra Stout and a Sweet Stout with oatmeal added. Several variations exist, with the sweeter versions more like a Sweet Stout with oatmeal instead of lactose, and the drier versions more like a more nutty, flavourful Irish Extra Stout. Both tend to emphasize the body and mouthfeel
16C. Tropical Stout – ABV 5.5 – 8.0%
Overall Impression: A very dark, sweet, fruity, moderately strong ale with smooth roasty flavours without a burnt harshness.
16D Foreign Extra Stout – ABV: 6.3 – 8.0%
Originally, this style was a strong stout and was considered a luxury item. Once copious amounts of Extra Stout began being exported to British territories at high rates, it garnered the name Foreign Stout.
History: Stronger stouts brewed for the export market today, but with a history stretching back to the 18th and 19th centuries when they were more heavily-hopped versions of stronger export stouts.
Style Comparison: Similar in balance to an Irish Extra Stout, but with more alcohol. Not as big or intense as a Russian Imperial Stout. Lacking the strong bitterness and high late hops of American Stouts. Similar gravity as Tropical Stout, but with a drier finish, higher bitterness, and less esters
AMERICAN PORTER AND STOUT
These beers all evolved from their English namesakes to be wholly transformed by American craft brewers. Generally, these styles are bigger, stronger, more roast-forward, and more hop-centric than their Anglo cousins. These styles are grouped together due to a similar shared history and flavour profile.
20A. American Porter ABV: 4.8 – 6.5%
A stronger, more aggressive version of pre-prohibition porters and/or English porters developed in the modern craft beer era.
Style Comparison: More bitter and often stronger with more dark malt qualities and dryness than English Porters or Pre-Prohibition Porters. Less strong and assertive than American Stouts.
20B. American Stout – ABV: 5.0 – 7.0%
Overall Impression: A fairly strong, highly roasted, bitter, hoppy dark stout. Has the body and dark flavours typical of stouts with a more aggressive American hop character and bitterness.
History: A modern craft beer and homebrew style that applied an aggressive American hoping regime to a strong traditional English or Irish stout. The homebrew version was previously known as West Coast Stout, which is a common naming scheme for a more highly-hopped beer.
Style Comparison: Like a hoppy, bitter, strongly roasted Extra or Export Stout. Much more roast and body than a Black IPA. Bigger, stronger versions belong in the Russian Imperial Stout style. Stronger and more assertive, particularly in the dark malt/grain additions and hop character, than American Porte
20C. Imperial Stout – ABV: 8.0 – 12.0%
While stronger than Extra Stout, the term “Imperial” came about in the eighteenth century due to this style’s popularity with the Russian monarchy.
Overall Impression: An intensely-flavoured, big, dark ale with a wide range of flavour balances and regional interpretations. Roasty-burnt malt with deep dark or dried fruit flavours, and a warming, bittersweet finish. Despite the intense flavours, the components need to meld together to create a complex, harmonious beer, not a hot mess.
Flavour: Rich, deep, complex and frequently quite intense, with variable amounts of roasted malt/grains, maltiness, fruity esters, hop bitterness and flavour, and alcohol.
History: A style with a long, although not necessarily continuous, heritage. Traces roots to strong English porters brewed for export in the 1700s, and said to have been popular with the Russian Imperial Court. After the Napoleonic wars interrupted trade, these beers were increasingly sold in England. The style eventually all but died out, until being popularly embraced in the modern craft beer era, both in England as a revival and in the United States as a reinterpretation or re-imagination by extending the style with American characteristics.
Summary
The lines are extremely blurred between these styles, especially due to the variations of the names, mainly the use of the term “Stout Porter” which just refereed to the higher alcohol content.
It appears that most styles are derived from the original English Porter which became the first beer style to be brewed across the world. London-type porters often use brown malt as a characteristic flavour and should create a flavour without burnt qualities.
The Irish adaptions of the Stout display a unique “dry” characteristic, and the iconic Guinness brand creates it’s own version, which breaks the mould of Stouts by using roasted barley, flaked barley, and pale malt, when other breweries don’t commonly use roasted barley in Stouts.
The Sweet (Milk) and Oatmeal stouts have were created to entice people to drinking “healthier” versions, although that health advantages are unlikely, but modern craft brewers use these versions to create a point of difference and attract new drinkers to the style.
The American variations, seem to be just brasher versions of the styles, with more hops and higher ABV’s. Even here the ABV in the guidelines overlap a lot with the American Porter ranging from 4.8 – 6.5% and the American Stout ranging from 5.0-7.0%. The Imperial Stout (or common term RIS) just indicate a higher ABV again, although they tend to have more complex flavours.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what it’s called, a Porter, a Robust Porter, a Stout Porter, and Imperial Stout or a Russian Imperial Stout, they are all just names. What matters is how you enjoy them.
References
BJCP Guidelines
https://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf
https://www.porchdrinking.com/articles/2016/02/29/beerology-the-history-of-stouts/
You can also read more about it from Black Hops here
https://blackhops.com.au/stout-vs-porter/