Ahh February, the most difficult month to spell. Love is in the air, golden retrievers will soon be descending upon Golden en masse, and barrels upon barrels of stout will be filling the taprooms. What’s that? You didn’t know? Yes! February is Stout Month in Colorado which means we’ll be exploring the dark and brooding world of stouts and why they're special.
First off, what even is a stout? Well believe it or not, stouts actually started as porters. You had your porters, a dark beer popular with the English working class (specifically those who worked at ports - hence the name). Eventually some brewers decided to make something a little stronger (a little more stout one could say) and along came stout porters. Stout porters were essentially porters with a higher ABV which is one reason why there is debate, even today, on whether or not stouts and porters are the same thing. In my opinion, the two have become pretty drastically different over time. Aside from the difference in ABV, the two styles have developed distinct flavor profiles, though with an admittedly large amount of overlap between them. Stouts are typically roastier with a dryness that accentuates their bitterness. Whereas porters are often smoother, choosing to showcase the sweeter, maltier flavors of dark malt. Many commercial porter examples feature an addition of vanilla bean to compliment that sweetness. But there are also oatmeal stouts and sweet stouts that opt for the smoother creamy textures similar to what you’d expect of a porter. Like I said, there’s a large amount of overlap and I can really only speak on American stouts and porters. I am not an expert on their English and Irish ancestors.
The most recognizable feature of these beers is, of course, their color. Ranging from a deep brown to an almost inky black that could swallow light like a black hole. Fun fact, the world’s most famous Irish stout (you know the one) is not actually black or brown but a “dark ruby red” according to their brewers. And if you hold a light up to many dark beers you will see these brilliant garnet highlights along the sides of the glass, try it next time you drink a stout! Those ruby highlights, aside from being really cool looking, are actually indicative of what makes the stout so special: roasted malt. It all started with Daniel Wheeler and his invention of drum roasted malt in 1818. Before the drum roaster, malt was dried on a flat grate over a direct fire which gave it a harsh, smoky flavor and uneven coloring with some barley kernels being burnt to a crisp while others remained relatively green. The drum roaster gave maltsters more control over the uniformity and quality of their malt which, in turn, gave brewers more control over their beers. Beer color and flavor were no longer dependent on the whims of the maltster, but could now be consistently controlled to create dark beers without it tasting like char and ash. Roasted black malt is essential to some of my favorite styles, but a little goes a long way. It often makes up only a small percentage (less than 10% typically) of the total amount of grain in a batch of beer - just enough to provide color and a little roasty flavor. Too much more than 10% and you might as well be eating charcoal.
Stouts, as I’m sure you are aware, can vary wildly from incredibly sweet, chocolate syrup pastry stouts to might-as-well-be-eating-coffee-grounds levels of roast and bitterness. Both have their time and place and all of them will be celebrated this coming month! Mountain Toad has a few weird ones coming out I think: an imperial stout (seems pretty normal), a beet stout (beets?), a Belgian stout (I don’t even know what that means), and a Golden stout that takes everything I just wrote about and throws it out the window. Well, that’s craft beer for ya.
Cheers,
Vinny the head brewer
