At the birth of the New Year, we are looking at how certain beer styles were born. Ireland is probably best known for the beer style ‘stout’. To-day, we will be looking at what a stout is, how stout evolved from Porter and how beer styles are born, grow up and mature.
The two beers for to-day are Tavern Porter from Thwaites and Nightmare – an award winning stout from Hambleton ales in Yorkshire.
The Birth of Beer Styles –
Brewing has been around for around 6,000 years. Initially brewers had quite a rudimentary understanding of the science of brewing, with a lot of superstition mixed in for good measure. Yeast, for example, was known as ‘Godisgoode’ – given that the yeast was the mystical ingredient that created the alcohol in beer, this was probably a highly appropriate name for this wonderful stuff. In Norse brewing tradition, Brewing families would keep a ‘brewing stick’. They new that it was important to stir the unfermented beer (wort) with this stick at a critical stage in the process, and appreciated that this was a factor in causing the beer to be made. What they did not understand is that a yeast colony was effectively living on the stick, and by stirring the wort with this stick, they were effectively adding yeast to trigger a fermentation. Experimentation with collecting yeast at different stages and using different methods (skimming the foam from the top of ales, collecting the ‘lees’ from a batch of beer and pitching it into the next batch etc.) allowed brewers to develop an understanding of what techniques resulted in greater consistency. Trial and error was the order of the day in early brewing, and as a result, brewing was very much an ‘art’ rather than a science.
These brewing artists very much understood that consistency was an important goal for the art that they practiced. They had perfect market research – in the early days, not only did the brewers brew beer, but they served it, getting immediate feedback on how acceptable it was. Before the Industrial Revolution and improved logistics, brewers were the original brewpubs, and the consistency of their beer was a factor in the popularity of their hostelry – ultimately dictating whether they would be able to sell their brews to make money to survive.
This need for consistency is where the idea of a beer style comes from. ‘Beer Styles’ are no different from fashion styles, but far more important! In the ‘60’s, drainpipe trousers were popular. In the ‘70’s flared trousers were the order of the day. The noughties brought with them the idea that your trousers should patently fail to cover your designer underwear, the ‘waist’ of the average pair of jeans reaching, as they did, somewhere up as far as mid thigh. Makers of trousers understood that they ignore styles at their peril – it was a clear indication as to what was popular among their customers, and producing something to the wrong style was a sure way to lose money.
Beer styles are simply a way of describing the taste and quality that one should expect in a beer. If brewers observe that a particular beer style is popular, then they can direct their efforts to brewing a beer that matches the taste and flavours associated with that style. They can, effectively, match their beer to their customer’s taste, and give the customer what the customer wants.
Over time, as certain styles of beer became popular with customers, more and more brewers would brew to that ‘style’ and a clearer picture would emerge as to what the parameters of that style would entail. However, as brewing was both an art and a business, beer styles were not only a matter of giving the customer what they want. Indeed the difference between ‘craft’ brewing and ‘mainstream’ brewing that is evident in the Craft Brewing Revolution to-day is a difference between craft brewers, who are obsessed with perfecting beer as an expression of their ‘art’ and commercial multinationals, who are obsessed with squeezing every drop of profit from every drop of beer that their businesses produce.
The Birth of Porter –
With spontaneous fermentation, consistency was difficult to achieve. With little control over yeast cultures, and a lack of ability to directly control temperatures in fermentation, brewers from three to four hundred years ago (indeed from three to four thousand years ago) were always presented with the challenge of maintaining consistency in the beers that they brewed.
One way to overcome this issue was to blend. Batch #1 is too sour, Batch #2 has distinctive fruit character to it, and Batch #3 expresses the malt and hops used in the beer to perfection. While some people might like to drink one or other of these three beer batches, in many instances, the perfect beer was a blend of different ‘threads’ of beer to mingle the flavours available from each batch, and achieve a balance of flavours. In the early 18th century, such a mixture was known as ‘three threads’ – reflective of the number of casks from which the publican would draw his beer to achieve the perfect blend. Such a procedure was relatively laborious, and so in 1722 a gentleman by the name of Richard Harwood, proprietor of the Bell Brewhouse in Shoreditch, East London came up with the idea of a beer that had all of the characteristics of the ‘three threads’, yet could be served from a single cask. It was called ‘Mr. Harwood’s Entire’ or ‘Entire Butt’. The new beer found favour with London Porters, and over time, the style of beer was named ‘Porter’.
However, brewing records do not clearly allow us to understand the qualities of the three threads on which the original porter was modelled. Indeed, blending beers was not limited to three batches – in some cases publicans would blend two casks, in others, they would blend four casks. In some cases, beer from six casks could be blended. Porter, therefore, was a single batch beer that was modelled on a blend of different beers whose qualities we are not necessarily clear on. Perhaps not the perfect starting point for defining a beer style.
Porter grew in popularity during the 18th and 19th centuries. A review of historical texts by Terry Foster gives us an idea of the characteristics that were common across different porters brewed at the time, suggesting that porters –
- Were made from brown malt – highly dried, not necessarily roasted malt. The resulting colour was probably deep red/brown or red/black, but most likely not completely black.
- The body of the final beer would make it a full bodied beer by to-day’s standards – comparable with the body of a Belgian Dubbel or Quadrupel.
- Lots of hops were used – suggesting that the beer had bitterness around 60 bitterness units or higher – about 25% higher than would be associated with mainstream stouts such as Guinness.
- The beer was stored in wooden vats, and the presence of Brettanomyces in the wood of these vats would have contributed to a background acid / sour note. However, the character of the dark malt and the high level of hops used would suggest that this sourness was not ‘forward’ or predominant in the beer.
- Strength was above average – probably in the region of 6% to 7% a.b.v.
Various different brewers in London and across England brewed their own versions of ‘Porter’. Due to its popularity, the style was also adopted by brewers in Ireland, and the style extended across country borders.
The Birth of Stout (and Mild) –
Life is nice when it is simple. Stout is the story of a beer style that started out simple, became complicated, and is back to being simple again.
The first references to the term ‘stout’ in connection with beer seem to have appeared in 1677 in the Egerton Manuscript, now in a British museum (Stout, Michael Lewis). It reads ‘we will drink to your health both in stout and best wine’. Jonathon Swift, the Irish writer, also referred to ‘stout’ in his Journal to Stella – ‘or kindly when his credit’s out surprise him with a pint of stout.’
It would appear that ‘stout’ referred to a beer that was stronger than normal beer. At the time, stout did not seem to be defined necessarily by the colour of the beer – the alcohol strength was the predominant characteristic. In fact, a further beer style that grew out of Porter – Mild (a beer style that was incredibly popular in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s) developed along the other direction. Mild was a lighter alcohol version of dark beer, probably designed to address the issue of workers drinking in volume, and allowing them to have a beer that would mean that they could work effectively after a lunchtime’s indulgence.
Given that in the 1600’s and 1700’s, the technology had not evolved to lightly kiln malted barley, and so all beer at the time was dark (brown or black), it is no surprise that darker beer colour was come to be associated with the style of beer that evolved as ‘stout’. There is some dispute as to whether stout was a brown or a black beer at the time. Over time, stout became to be known as a stronger version of porter, so the suggestion is that the beer was possibly more likely brown in colour than black. However, this is not to say that black stout did not exist.
Business factors played an interest in how the style of stout developed. In the 1700’s, excise was levied on beer on the basis of the amount of malt that was used in the brewing of the beer. Given that the malt contributed sugar to the unfermented beer, and this sugar was fermented largely into alcohol and other by products, the excise was indirectly linked to the amount of alcohol that was contained in the beer. Dark malts and roast barley attracted lower tax than paler malts, and so it made business sense to produce darker beers. Over time, with a greater percentage of roasted barley contained in the grist, stout evolved into a black beer.
If we jump forward to to-day, we need to consider the idea of sub-styles of beer. Styles of beer describe beers that belong to a certain family. Such styles have off-springs. Sub-styles are more specific styles of beer that evolve from the ‘mother’ style. As with all families, there can be great diversity in the offspring in a given family. Nothing is more true than in the case of the offspring of ‘stout’. We can now have ‘Dry Stout’, ‘Sweet Stout’, ‘Milk Stout’, ‘Oatmeal Stout’, ‘Chocolate Stout’, ‘Imperial Stout’ even ‘Carribean Stout’. This is where it gets complicated!
If one tries to identify the characteristics that are common across all of these different styles of stout, it is difficult to identify characteristics that are consistent across all of stout’s many and varied sub-styles. The idea that ‘stout’ is a stronger than average porter no longer applies, except, perhaps to Imperial Stout. Some stouts are dry in character, some sweet. Some have specific flavour characteristics associated with them (milk, chocolate – as per the sub-styles of the same name), but these specific flavours are not in evidence across other sub-styles of stout. In fact, the one characteristic that appears to be common across all modern sub-styles of stout is the characteristic that did not seem to apply to the original stouts. While the original beers that were referred to as stouts appeared to be brown in colour, it is now generally accepted that stout is a black beer. So much so that, following long months of arduous research to develop a definition of stout, beer writer, researcher and consultant Dr. Michael Lewis eventually settled on the following definition of ‘stout’ – ‘A stout is a black beer that is called “stout” by the person that brewed it’.
Thank God, life is back to being simple again!
Tavern Porter –
Beer Style - Porter
Alcohol by Volume - 4.7% a.b.v.
Brewed by - Daniel Thwaites Brewery
Brewed in - Blackburn, Lancashire, England
‘Full flavoured and smooth with a warm roasted character’ is how the brewers at Daniel Thwaites describe Tavern Porter on the bottle. This is a fair description, but tasting this beer allows one to understand that this beer offers more than this relatively simple description suggests.
Pouring with a rich dark black colour, and developing a full tan coloured head, this beer suggests dark treacle, coffee, dark chocolate and cocoa powder on the nose.
Coffee comes through on the flavour, balanced with pleasant sweetness. Tavern Porter is malt forward, but dark fruits (dark cherries and dates) and bready yeast character are in evidence in the background – evidence that the yeast is still present and has done excellent work both in fermentation, and in bottle conditioning this beer. Black and white pepper and smoky ash are in evidence a couple of layers down into the taste, but pleasantly balanced against the subtle sweetness of the dark fruit one layer up.
Thwaites have demonstrated again their commitment to brewing classic beer styles, and ensuring that regional English breweries that are achieving superb success are doing so on the back of excellent quality beer!
Nightmare Stout –
Beer Style - Stout
Alcohol by Volume - 5.0% a.b.v.
Brewed by - Hambleton Ales
Brewed in - Yorkshire, England
Hambleton Ales Nightmare stout is a beer that has won many accolades. Crowned Champion Winter Ale of Britain by CAMRA, this beer is an example of how craft breweries have taken a beer style that is hundreds of years old, and interpreted it in true craft style as a deliciously tasty modern beer.
Firstly, to state the obvious, Nightmare is a black beer. Not only this, but it is called ‘stout’ by the brewers that brew it. Already, it meets all of the criteria necessary to qualify this beer as a stout. However, it is the depth and complexity of this beer, wrapped up in a beer that is at once full of flavour, and incredibly drinkable, that is noteworthy about Nightmare.
Aroma of this beer carries chocolate, coffee, a touch of smoky earthiness and the faint promise of dark fruit in the background. On the palate, the beer is luscious velvet, balancing an array of flavours – rich creaminess, all of the dark malt flavours promised on the aroma, and more (chocolate, espresso, subtle liquorice), a suggestion of nuttiness in the hop bitter finish that is subtle and further develops the complexity of this beer.
A superb beer that demonstrates how a style such as stout, that deserves to be rich and complex, can be brewed to be so in a beer that can be enjoyed simply because it is so pleasant to drink, or because it is such a delight to break down its layers of flavour.
Beers available in –
McHugh’s Off-licence, Malahide Road and Kilbarrack, County Dublin
Dicey Reilly’s, Ballyshannon, County Donegal
O’Neill’s Off-Licence, Carrickmacross, Monaghon
Fine Wines, Dublin, Cork and Limerick
Abbot Ale House, Cork City
Blackrock Cellars, Blackrock, County Dublin
Worldwide Wines, Waterford
McCabe’s Off-Licence, Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, County Dublin
Sweeney’s Wine Merchants, Phibsboro, Dublin
The Hole in the Wall, Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin 7
D Six Wine Beer and Spirits, Harolds Cross Dublin 6W
Chill Off-Licence, Ongar, Dublin 15
Acheson’s Off-Licence, Crumlin, Dublin
Maguires Off-Licence, Skibereen, Co. Cork
Ely’s Gasto Pub Hanover Quay, Dublin 2
The Central Bar and Restaurant, Trimgate Street, Navan
John Rushe Eurospar, Dalkey, County Dublin
The Dark Horse, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, County Dublin
Mitchell and Son Wine Merchants, Glasthule Road, Sandycove, County Dublin
The Malthouse / The Winehouse, Trim, County Meath
The 12th Lock Hotel, Castleknock, County Dublin
Lohan’s Next Door, Salthill, County Dublin
Bradley’s Supermarket, North Main Street, Cork City
O’Sullivan’s Off-Licence Group, Blarney, Ballincollig, Dunmanway, and Douglas, Cork
The 1601 Off-Licence, Kinsale, Cork
Stacks Off-Licence, Listowel, Co. Kerry
Desmond’s Next Door, Raheen, Limerick
Number 21 Off-Licence, Coburg St, Cork and Midleton, Co. Cork
O’Hare’s Supermarket, Ballykill Shopping Centre, Waterford
Next Door, Athy, Co. Kildare
Centra, Enfield, County Meath
Lotus Restaurant, South Main Street, Wexford
Merchant’s Arch, Templebar, Dublin
Chill Off-Licence, Casteltroy, Ballinacurra and John’s Square, Limerick
