The Difference Between Porter and Stout
July 27, 2005 – 5:46 pmAs I continue to try more and more different beers, I become more firm in my conclusion that I enjoy stouts and porters more than any other type of beer I’ve had. Specifically, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is my favorite beer, and Guinness Draught is a close second.
One of the more impressive, lesser known beers I have tried is the James Squire Porter. I cannot come up with any naive way to separate the James Squire Porter and the Young’s Double Chocolate Stout into different beer classes, but the names alone tell you one is a porter and the other is a stout. I was thus led on a fact-finding mission: what is the difference between a porter and a stout?
My research (if one can even call it that) led me to the more fundamental piece of information that all beers can either be classified as an ale or a lager. An ale uses a top-fermenting yeast, while a lager uses a bottom-fermenting yeast. Ales are fermented at higher temperatures than lagers, and both porters and stouts are classified as ales. According to the Campaign for Real Ale,
Today, Stouts and Porters tend to get lumped together as a category, but in reality there are differences between the two styles. Unfortunately, a lot of brewers don’t seem to know the difference and some beers that are called Stouts are really Porters and vice versa. Stouts should get their bitterness and darkness through the use of roasted malt and barley, whereas Porters should be more obviously hopped with their darkness coming from black malt.
The Widmer Brothers Brewing Company offers the following distinction:
Porters are ales made with a variety of roasted malts for color and flavor. Roasted Barley, chocolate malt and Black malt are often used.
Stouts are very similar to porters but there are differences in alcohol and residual sugar content. Guinness (the signature Irish Stout), for example, is much dryer than a porter. Sweet stouts are also produced in some cases and are sometimes referred to as Milk stouts because they are sweetened with lactose.
From the little bit of reading I have done, it looks like the histories of porters and stouts are very much intertwined. In fact, they may have originally been the same beer, with some of the first of their kinds being called “stout porters”. A distinction may have developed over time to the point where today there may (or may not) be a growing consensus on the difference.
Regardless, they both make great beers, and if you have not tried any of the three that I listed (the Young’s, Guinness, or James Squire), I strongly recommend each of them.
10 Responses to “The Difference Between Porter and Stout”
I just found this site and it’s amazing! Jeff must be real sexy, and I agree whole-heartedly that porters and stouts are the best classes of beer (although there are great individual brews, like Rogue’s Soba Ale..hmmm hmmm).
By nicky v on Oct 4, 2005 at 8:20 pm
I have been in a snit all day about President Bush and the gay marriage ban. I decided to search the blogs and found yours. Thanks. And by the way–knowing your taste in beer–and i am a huge fan of all beer, try Smithwick’s. It is th oldest brewery of Ireland, by the same folks of Guinees.and it’s finally showing up in the states. Also very nice is Bodingtons. Dont let the yellow can fool you–pour it not on the slant but straight out. Has to settle like guineess.
By Lynn on Jun 5, 2006 at 10:41 am
I suggest you try St Peter’s Cream Stout - coming from being a Guiness lover (but only in Ireland, they mass-produce the stuff in Cuba or something ridiculous like that for the US and it tastes nasty here!) myself, this stuff is pretty good. They also make a Porter, and an English Ale that I haven’t tried yet.
By Zuzana on Jul 20, 2006 at 8:04 pm
If you wanna try a good porter and stout, try Anchor Brewing Co.’s porter and Murphy’s Irish stout draught.
By Ben on Oct 4, 2006 at 11:56 am
Anchor’s got a porter? Whoa, I do need to give that a try.
By gv on Oct 4, 2006 at 12:15 pm
I have a great beer for all of you to try if you are ever in the St Louis area. It is called Schlafly Oatmeal Stout. It is made by the second largest brewery in STL, 2nd to AB, and no it does not have chunks of oatmeal in it. It is very smooth and made with roasted malts to give it a chocolatey/coffee flavor. I discovered this beer about five years ago and I have not been able to find anything that beats it, and I always try to find new beers to taste. I believe that you can order it from their website at Schlafly.com, but I am not sure. Let me know what you think.
By Nick on Nov 3, 2006 at 8:17 pm
I have been sitting here on the computer doing work related computer things and sipping on a frosty beverage. As you can imagine, working from home has it’s advantages, however one of the most pleasureable is taking a quick ’snack walk’ for a beer. This particular time however, I spent a couple of extra minutes staring into the fridge wondering what is the difference between a Samual Smith Oatmeal Stout and an Odell Brewing Cutthroat Porter. So that leads me to you… I didn’t find this page right away but now that I have I can get back to drunk.
Cheers
By Roy on Nov 11, 2006 at 9:25 pm
yeah, so this entry says almost nothing about the differences betwixt porter and stout.
By dark beer brewer on May 22, 2007 at 7:03 am
That’s right. I wasn’t able to find a hard and fast rule that distinguishes between the two. It seems almost more like a matter of taste, no pun intended, than anything else. But maybe you know something about this that I don’t.
By jjk on May 22, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Jeff, I just read about the Porters and Stouts and they are my favorites too. I am about to brew a Russian Imperial Stout. You might like to visit our website. www.bigfoamyhead.com it is about beer, blues and bbq. My host Dick Pepper and I do a podcast each week. We drink beer and talk about it and other things.
Here is some history on the Porters…
The history of stout
posted in History, Beer | written by Al |
Porters, a dark ale favored by London street and river porters, hence the name, was first developed in the early 1700s. It was relatively strong by modern standards (above 6% ABV) and the porters drank it to keep up their energy as they carried parcels on and off ships and throughout London’s streets.
The word “stoutâ€, after the fourteenth century, had taken on as one of its meanings “strongâ€, and was used as such describe strong beers. “Stout†could be applied to any style, meaning it was not uncommon to see a “stout pale aleâ€. In 1820 Guinness began producing a stout porter. As time went on, “stout†came to apply only to porter and, eventually, the “porter†part of the name dropped off. Today, stouts are no longer stronger versions of porters but a style in their own right and, in fact, may have less alcohol than some porters.
Stout declined in popularity starting in the 1800s, partly due to the high cost and lower yield from brown malt as well as the introduction and adoption of pale ale. In fact, during World War II restrictions on the roasting of malt effectively killed English porter and stout production. It remained popular in places such as in Scotland and Ireland, but beyond those small pockets was unknown. That is, until Michael Jackson revived interest in it in the 1970s, including prompting revival of the extinct oatmeal stout.
Take care,
Mike Bond
Big Foamy Head Show
By Mike on Jul 31, 2007 at 1:24 pm