Some of my favorite beers are stouts and I would definitely rank that style of beer up towards the top of my list.  Guinness is a stout and it’s the reason why my first batch of homebrew was an Irish Stout.

Stouts are very dark and usually black or pretty close to it.  They are ale’s which means they are fermented with ale yeast which is a top fermenting yeast.  Stouts get there dark color from the roasted barley that is used.  The longer the  barley is roasted  the darker it is.  The flavor they give changes dramatically based on the length of time they are roasted.  It’s one of the many ways that brewers can play with the flavor of the beer they produce.

The flavor and character of stout beers come from the  roasted barley and the high hop rate.  People assume that because the beer is dark it must be thick, heavy and loaded with alcohol but that isn’t the case.  They certainly can be all of those things but more often than not, stout beers on draft are surprisingly low in alcohol.

There are multiple styles of stouts, they share a lot of commonalities but also offer a pretty wide range of flavors and experiences.  I have read some resources that claim there are only 3 styles of stout, some that claim 5 and some that claim even more.   I am only learning about all this stuff myself so I can’t claim to be an expert.  I will do my best to identify the styles that make the most sense to me.

Dry Stout – This is probably the most well known type of stout beer as this is the style that Guinness would fall under.  I can’t think of any stout more well known that Guinness and it was probably my first introduction to good beer.   The level of sweetness and dryness varies dramatically among dry stouts but they will all have that characteristic roasted barley flavor.  On draft, these beers are typically served using a nitro delivery system which helps to give it that wild look and thick and creamy head.

Imperial Stout – Whenever you see an imperial version of any beer style it usually means that it’s an extreme take on a particular style.  You can expect very strong or exaggerated flavors to come through and they are typically pretty high in alcohol.

Sweet Stout – This is not a style that is seen very often and is apparently quite difficult for the home brewer to reproduce.   It lacks much of the hop and roasted barley flavor that is characteristic of stouts and has added sugar to make it sweeter.  The difficulty for the home brewer is the process in which it is made.  You need to pasteurize the beer at some point to stop the fermentation because of all the sugar or the alcohol content will be too high for the style.

Oatmeal Stout – This is a sweeter style of stout that has oats added to it.  Originally oats were added because it was believed to be an import part of the diet.  Whatever the reason, I am glad they added it, I love oatmeal stouts.  I just did a review of Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout and can’t wait to get some more.  Oatmeal stouts typically have a stronger flavor but are very smooth.

Other styles that I have heard of are milk stout, chocolate stout, coffee stout and even oyster stout.  I am not sure if those are actual stout styles in and of themselves or if they fall under one of the above styles.

I have much to learn this year and I encourage any corrections, comments or contributions to any article I write.  So, please, if you have something to say, leave a comment.

1. thom Says:
   July 21st, 2010 at 2:31 pm

   Hi:

   Enjoyed your basic overview of stouts, but I’ve got to tell you that there are a ton of typos in your text. It makes the reading awkward and slow.