Stout Beer - Guinness and more!
Learn about Stout, a Delicious and Diverse Beer Style
Guinness is king, but there's a lot more to Stout than that. Learn about sweet stout, American stout, and Stout with food.
What's All the Stouting About?
Stout sounds serious doesn't it? Stout hearted men and all that. In America, stout has come to stand for everything that's 'foreign' about beer. We know it's dark, we think it's bitter, we're afraid they'll serve it to us warm. Pity. What stout really has to offer is a soft, almost chewy richness in the mouth and a roasted flavor that comes from darkly roasted barley and malt and maybe even a pinch of oatmeal.
There are three distinct styles of stout. There's the bitter Irish product that goes so well with oysters and the Clancy Brothers, the sweeter English stouts that have a hint of coffee and cream about them and Imperial Stout, a high alcohol version that was developed for the English trade with Russia.
The most famous stout of all is the one brewed by the Irish firm of Arthur Guinness. It has a loyal following in Ireland and it is the sentimental favorite among Irish emigreés in every country except this one. There are several different versions of Guinness Stout: a Domestic draft and bottle, an export bottle, a special tropical, high-gravity bottled version and now something called Pub Draft Guiness in a can with a special gas producing insert that mimics the creamy head of a nitrogen based pub draft system.
In the USA, a lot of people seem to have the benighted notion that Guiness is heavy on the palate or sweet. (both evaluations are the kiss of death is milbudcoor lite land) I’ve even heard it described as high in alcohol. Of course, Guiness is nothing like that-it’s a tangy, elegant thirst quencher that is one of the most food-compatible beers in the world. There is scarcely a food from the sea that isn’t improved by the company of a glass of Guinness.
There are other Irish stouts. You can find the softer and more approachable Murphy's at a few taverns and you may even run into the rarer Beamish.
In the Caribbean, Guiness ("Guinness for Power") and Courage ("Take Courage") are endowed with a curious mix of magical powers. Small amounts are said to be good for pregnant women and babies, large amounts are thought to improve men's sexual desire and performance.
Serve stout as warm as you dare. In general, as you learn to like this style, you'll prefer it warmer, up to a maximum of about 60ºF.
•Mackeson XXX Stout is a sweet and unbelievably silky beer with a modest beige head and a long iced mocha coffee finish with just a touch of roasted flavor. A personal favorite, it's also a drink I offer to people who have never liked beer and are too old for hot chocolate and a marshmallow.
•Anderson Valley Barley Flats Oatmeal Stout from Boonville, California is a major American entry into the category. Its taste is simpler and more direct than the European Stouts without resorting to high alcohol levels . This stout contains both oats and wheat along with barley malt and enough roasted barley to make a lovely brown head. It's opaque, and I for one have to admire any beer you can't see through. My guess is that this is a beer that's perfectly formulated for the American market and (if the price were a bit more competitive) has a chance to catch on as a cult favorite.
• Old Australia Stout from the south Australia Brewing Company is pleasant and off-dry. A good introduction to Stout and the other sweeter, maltier beers.
• St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout from McAuslan Brewing Company in Montreal has a short-lived brown head, opaque iced-coffee color and a bitter, malted milk and cappucino flavor built on a light to medium body.
•Sierra Nevada Stout is thinner and less complex than the others. It has a burnt coffee taste with a marked bitterness and a peculiar aroma of grapefruit peel.
• Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout is complex and serious. It's also less dramatic and exotic than some of the other stouts.
