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Beer 101: stouts and porters
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When it comes to beer, don't be afraid of the dark. Stouts and porters are the richest and heartiest of the ales, beers that are top fermented.A stout is a full-bodied beer that gets its brown/black color and chocolate/coffee flavor by brewing with a barley that has been heavily roasted, even to the point of charring. Think of it like your morning coffee, while that breakfast blend may get its flavor from a medium roasted bean, the espresso takes its color and flavor from coffee beans that are much more heavily roasted.
Stouts come in several varieties.
Chocolate Stout
Chocolate stout is what the name implies: a stout with a pronounced chocolate flavor. The chocolate flavor comes from using a malt that is roasted until it acquires a nice dark chocolate color. Some beers, such as Rogue's Chocolate Stout, also have a small bit of actual chocolate added.
Coffee Stout
Stouts made from a black patent, or darkest roasted, malt have a bitter coffee flavor. Some brewers will add actual coffee to their beer, while other will add a bit of cream to create a "Coffee & Cream" stout.
Cream or Milk Stout
This a stout that contains lactose, a milk sugar that is unfermentable by beer yeast. Lactose adds sweetness, body and calories to beer. In the past, milk stout brewers claimed their beer was nutritious and actually recommended it be drunk by nursing mothers.
Dry or Irish Stout
This is a dark, rich stout with a toasty, coffee-like flavor. Guinness is an Irish stout.
Imperial Stout
In 1796 Thrale's Brewery in London brewed Thrale's Entire Porter, a strong, dark stout, specifically for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia. Today, an Imperial Stout is known for its high alcohol content of 9-10%.
Oatmeal Stout
During medieval times oatmeal stout was made with as much as 30% oats, which resulted in a bitter or astringent taste. Today, the proportion may be as small as 0.5%, but most oatmeal stouts are made with around 5% oats, resulting in a smoother stout.
Porter
This London-style of brewing combines a dark ale with roasted malt to produce a beverage that's higher in alcohol than ale and yet lighter in body than a stout. A Baltic porter is in the style of beer first produced in the Baltic Sea region. It has a higher alcohol content than other porters. The Blackstone Brewery of Nashville took a gold medal in the Brown Porter category at this year's Great American Beer Festival for their St. Charles Porter.
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