What qualifies a beer as a stout? The reason I ask is that I had a pint of Anglo Dutch "No Doubt It's Stout (5.2%)" last night. Instead of a black or ruby beer, it's red/brown in colour, and initially does not taste like you'd expect a stout to taste. As the pint went down some roasted flavour came through, with hints of coffe, a bit like Springhead's "The Leveller".
Is this beer a stout, and if so why?
Thanks, Lee.
From the FAQ:
Stout: Usually very dark, heavy and well hopped beer. Dry tasting with a creamy head. Though the term is no longer used, "Milk" Stout is thought to have been so named because it contained lactose, a sugar derived from milk. As lactose cannot be fermented by yeast, the sugar stays in the beer.
On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 17:07:27 +0000, Brett... scribbled:
Slightly OT, Kirin have produced a milk stout only available through
7-11 stores called "Latte Stout" As I'm lactose intolerent I haven't tried it but a good friend has and I was told by him that Kirin ruined a perfectly acceptable stout :-)Cheers
Wayne
I believe that it is supposed to be a Dutch style stout, rather than an English (Irish?) style.
Cheers
Mark
At 5.2 percent ABV, it would barely fit the classic definition.
The term stout was first used in England in the 17th century and could refer to any strong ale. These ales were fairly dark in colour, but then, so were all ales of the age. It was the 19th century by the time the term was used to describe a Guinness product. In 1820, Guinness renamed its XX Strong Porter as Extra Stout Porter for export to England.
The current Guinness stout weighs in at 4.4 percent ABV, about the same strength as a plain porter from the beginning of the last century. I guess stout, like porter, is pretty much anything you want to call stout.
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