Following up on our quite successful and interesting discussion of IPAs a couple of weeks ago, let’s move on to another popular beer style before it gets too warm out – the stout/porter.
Is there any difference between these two styles? The Beer Connoisseur says no…
If we go back to the latter half of the 18th century and the first part of the 19th century, stout, more particularly brown stout, was simply the name for the strongest version of porter. Here’s a quote from a book called “A General Dictionary of Commerce, Trade and Manufactures,” published in 1810:
“Porter may be divided into two classes, namely brown-stout and porter properly so called … Brown-stout is only a fuller-bodied kind of porter than that which serves for ordinary drinking. A great deal of this is exported to America and the West Indies.”
…so we’ll consider them together.
What are your favorite stouts and porters?
Photo of El Recluso (“Theophan The Recluse infused with serrano peppers, cocoa nibs, vanilla bean + cinnamon stick”) courtesy of 3 Taverns Brewery’s Facebook page
Some of my favorites:
-Founders Breakfast Stout (and Kentucky Breakfast Stout version)
-Terrapin Wake N Bake (and French Toast version)
-Ballast Point Victory At Sea
-Southern Tier 2XPresso
-Smuttynose Robust Porter
-Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout
-Westbrook Mexican Cake
-Sierra Nevada Narwhal
Good list. Can you only get Mexican Cake at the brewery? I’ve heard they have big release day events and have never seen it anywhere.
Brickstore had it at their pancake breakfast last year.
They had both Mexican Cake AND KBS? Wowza.
Oh, they had multiple years of KBS and W-n-B!
Mexican Cake is released in Atlanta usually in early May. Most of the Bottle Shops have a one bottle limit and it is usually gone in a few hours, some of the smaller lesser known stores in the area have longer.
Good List. I would add:
Most of Great Divide’s Yeti Stouts
Burnt Hickory Big Shanty
Happy Ending
Port Board Meeting (they call it a “Brown”, but it is most certainly a Porter)
Brooklyn Black Chocolate
And many others I am forgetting for sure.
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald porter is the best I’ve had.
nominating Wrecking Bar’s Siberius Maximus Russian Imperial Stout
no least because i feel like a Cossack gladiator when ordering it, and like Pee Wee Herman after a couple of rounds with Ali after i’ve finished.
I really enjoy New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout.
Don’t drink this style that often, but a local one I like is the Second Self Mole Porter. And I always get a Founders Porter when I eat at Gu’s Bistro.
Mole Porter is quite good.
I agree about Mole Porter (and really, all the Second Self products). I also enjoy New Belgium Portage Porter.
Clipper Dark Light – the dark light beer
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19790417&id=W1MaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oSkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1988,3456183
For stout lovers, if you haven’t already, check out Stone’s Master of Disguise (bomber only). It is a “Golden Stout” and it will blow your mind. Super pale in color, but tastes like a delicious stout.
+1 Master of Disguise is delicious! I had given up on ever getting a taste of CBS, but was beyond excited to finally have it at the Porter on Christmas day and then again a few weeks ago at Brick Store. I don’t think anything will ever beat that for me. Other favorites…KBS, WnB, Sierra Nevada Narwhal, Mexican Cake, and Prairie Bomb
Oh, I forgot about Prairie Bomb!
New Belgium Cocoa Mole!!! Yummm At TAPs and Brick Store pub
Love porters! A few to add to the mostly excellent lists above. I might also separate out classic porters or stouts from all the spirits barrel aged stuff. That style is flashy (whoa, beer tastes like bourbon!) but not my go to style , and maybe even a way to hide flaws because (at least for me) the bourbon taste is so dominant. And its one and done for most of them.
American: Founders Porter (no fancy name but really nice). Old Rasputin from North Coast. Bitches Brew from DFH.
UK: Meantime or Fullers London Porters are my favorite.
Everett from Hill Farmstead in VT is the best porter I have ever had, but requires a trip to the Northeast Kingdom
Paste just did a rundown on Imperial Stouts. My friends a Good People brewing got their top honors for their El Gordo – they said it “wasn’t even close”. their coffee oatmeal is also tops with beer advocate.
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/01/the-37-best-imperial-stouts-ranked-non-barrel-aged.html?p=4
Hard to take this list seriously when they don’t include Wake-n-Bake. Yes, they list the French Toast W-n-B, which makes it worse I think (I thought the Cinnamon Rolled was better anyway). Founder’s Breakfast Stout gets all the rave (and it is good), but W-n-B is on another level, in my opinion.
3 great locals:
Three Taverns Theophan the Recluse
Terrapin Liquid Bliss
Red Brick Holy Brother
I didn’t know that Three Taverns had a porter. Will check into that! This is easily my favorite brew at the moment. I’m not a beer connoisseur, but I do appreciate a good craft brew over the generic crud. I don’t think I’ll ever be a fanatic since it seems some of the higher rated brews have a higher alcohol content which doesn’t strike my fancy on a couple of levels. But if you put coffee or chocolate in the mix I’m all there!
I *really* like the porter made by Bell’s.
The high ABV is one reason I don’t drink much of this style. Some of them have about the same alcohol content as a Cabernet.
i ran a blind porter/stout taste off the other day amongst a dozen friends and the sweetwater happy ending and terrapin liquid bliss tied for first, beating out, among others, highland oatmeal, founders porter, new belgium portage, some brooklyn whose name i can’t remember, a smuttynose…
Happy Ending is very good. Especially for Hop Heads.
Happy Ending is the best of the Sweetwater beers, imo.
Not local….but for those heading to the FL gulf coast beaches…..I would highly, highly recommend a stop at Rapp Brewery in Seminole (near Clearwater). 20 beers on tap…..over a three week period I only saw about 6 that repeated each visit…they move through some beer.
But to keep current with the thread- I would recommend their Brazilian Black Lager, Baltic Porter, Imperial Chocolate Cherry Stout, Chocolate Hazelnut Porter, Chocolate Peanut Butter Imperial Stout, Smoked Maple Bock and my favorite……Lichtenheiner- a smoked lager that tastes like a bavarian sausage complete with saurkraut all in one glass.
Guinness
For everyday drinking (5-7% as opposed to the 10% imperial range):
I really like Anchor Porter. I’ve also been pleased this winter with New Belgium’s Portage — very happy to see a quality porter I can buy as a 12 pack. Sweetwater’s porter was always good when you can find it. For a splurge, Rogue’s Shakespeare Stout and Chocolate Stout are excellent.