All About Stout Beer: 10 Types of Stout Beer

Stout is a beer distinguished by its deep, almost black color and its rich, complex flavor with notes of toasted dark malt. Traditional stout originates from eighteenth-century England and Ireland. This brew has since grown to include a wide variety of different subcategories and flavors and remains one of the most popular and versatile beer types available today.

A stout’s flavor is a balance between roast malt sweetness and a slight hop bitterness, with the dark malts often imparting notes of caramel, chocolate, coffee, and dried fruits. The best stouts have a velvet-smooth mouthfeel, and they can be anywhere from heavy and filling to light and refreshing, depending on the variety.

In recent years, stouts have become increasingly popular among beer drinkers and craft beer brewers alike. Stout is one of the most diverse beer styles, with a wide range of flavors, textures, and alcohol (ABV) levels. Below are some of the most popular subtypes of stout beer:

1. 1. American stout: American stouts use American varieties of malt and hops and have a moderate dryness and medium body.
2. 2. Barrel-aged stout: After the brewing process is complete, some stouts transfer to oak barrels to be aged. This process imparts more flavors to the final beer, including notes of oak, plus the flavors of the spirits previously stored in the barrels. Barrel-aged stouts that age in bourbon barrels are known as bourbon barrel-aged stouts.
3. 3. Oatmeal stout: One of the original styles of stout, this variety uses the addition of oats, which gives the brew a silky-smooth texture and creamy mouthfeel.
4. 4. Coffee stout: Stouts can exhibit coffee flavors because of the presence of dark roasted malts. Some breweries add liquid coffee or age the stout with coffee beans to give an extra punch of coffee or espresso flavor.
5. 5. Breakfast stout: This specialty brew often includes oatmeal and coffee, making for a rich and substantial beverage.
6. 6. Chocolate stout: As in the case of coffee stouts, chocolate and mocha flavors are subtly present in many stouts. A more recent innovation has been to add chocolate or cacao nibs to the brew, often dark chocolate. Some brewers supplement the chocolate with vanilla bean, deepening the sweetness and bitterness of the beer.
7. 7. Dry or Irish stout: This variety of stout is one of the oldest, and it remains a staple today. As the name implies, dry stout is dry and drinkable with a relatively low ABV. These are often served on nitrogen, known as “nitro” stouts, providing a velvety texture.
8. 8. Imperial stout: The term “imperial” traditionally refers to a beer with a high alcohol content, usually over nine percent. Imperial stouts are often referred to as Russian imperial stouts, denoting their history of being shipped to the court of Catherine II of Russia. These beers are heavy and match their booziness with an intense flavor profile.
9. 9. Milk stout: Milk stout takes its name from the inclusion of lactose, a sugar found in milk. The brewing yeasts are unable to consume this sugar, so the flavor persists in the final brew, imparting an underlying sweetness to the drinking experience.
10. 10. Pastry stout: Some brewers add more sweetness to the brew with flavors such as marshmallow, licorice, graham cracker, and peanut butter to make an intensely toothsome experience.

Stouts, like many other types of beer, are made with barley, hops, water, and yeast. The brewing process includes these elements:

• Barley: Dark roasted malted barley is heated in water for a set amount of time, depending on the particular recipe.
• Hops: At a certain point in the process, brewers add hops. Then, the liquid is drained, cooled, and transferred to a fermenting container.
• Fermentation: Brewers add yeast to begin the fermentation process. Over the course of a few weeks, the yeast transforms most of the sugars into alcohol, and the flavor of the beer gradually develops.
• Flavorings: In this later stage, brewers add flavoring agents such as coffee, chocolate, or spices.
• Aging: Some barrel-aged stouts are then placed in oak barrels to age, further altering the flavor of the finished product.

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