Everything you wanted to know about Stout but were afraid to ask ********************************************************** Answer to BJCP study guide questions: 2) Describe and differentiate the different subcategories of Stout 2a) Compare and contrast: English and Irish Stout 15) Describe the flavor profile and history of a Russian Imperial Stout 35) Describe Watney's Stingo and indicate the style 40) Describe a Russian Imperial Stout 46) How does a Foreign Extra Stout differ from a Dry Stout? See also questions 20, 39, 75a, 79, 81, and 92 ********************************************************** HISTORY The story of Stout starts with Porter. Porter is the modern name for a beer invented in the early 18th century, then called "entire." This name may have referred to the fact that by itself it was meant to substitute for the drink that was made in pubs by blending several beers (Foster, Porter pg. 5-8; Jackson, Beer Comp. pg 173). The style of Porter must have been in a state of near constant flux. Any new style will be subject to refinement. Additionally, brewing science was just beginning at the time, and the introduction of the thermometer and the hydrometer were changing brewing methods. At first Porter was made entirely with something known as Brown Malt. Exactly what this was is not known today. Around the beginning of the 19th century, it was realized (or realised since this was London) that it was cheaper to make porter with a mixture of pale and dark malts [first to be used was Black Patent (throughout I will use the adjective "dark" to refer to chocolate and black malts and roasted barley)] (Foster, pg. 9-13, 36-37). At the time of the introduction of Black Malt (1817), "Stout" seemed to mean, simply, "strong," when describing beer (Jackson, Beer Comp. pg 170). Single and Double Stout and/or Stout Porter were descriptions of the strength and/or quality of a Porter. Stout seems to have taken over for Porter as the name for the better beers being made with Black Malt, probably as a result of a decline in quality of the weaker Porters and the shift toward Pale Ale drinking. (Foster, pg. 37-38, 41). STYLES -- OVERVIEW By now stout has branched out into quite a variety of substyles, which I would like to try to illustrate with an ASCII graphic: -------------------------------------- | 1.075-95 Imperial | -------- | 1.052-72 FOREIgn O | -------- / | G | Robst / | (Porters)< / \/ | brown / | Sweet / | \ / | 1.038-48 DRy<---(Includes oatmeal) |___________________________________ 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 8 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 IBU's -------------------------------------- You may want to delete the two Porter entries for clarity. OG's are not given for some entries for clarity. The numerical values are the AHA guidelines, which, after all, is what we are studying. (All references to AHA styles are from the insert in the Winter 1993 Zymurgy.) The number of capital letters indicates relative amounts of dark malt character. The lines "connecting" the styles are not meant to indicate evolutionary paths, but rather my idea of stylistic similarity. Note that the OG axis is essentially continuous, and without overlap. [As a memory aid, try: Sweet, Dry: 40-50 (10 point range); Foreign: 50-70 (20); Imperial: 70-100 (30).] The OG range for Sweet is actually 1.045-56. The start and end of each word are the extreme points for the style on the bitterness scale. Note that in each case the low end of the range would seem to accept a beer with fairly little bitterness compared to its gravity, body and dark barley character. In some cases this is seems OK. But how about for Foreign Extra? See below for more on this. In every case except Imperial stout the color should be opaque black. This is given as 40+ SRM by the AHA. Imperial stout is given as 20+ SRM, "Dark copper to black." I can't say it better than that and I agree. This is all I have to say about color. Stout is a three-legged stool. The hop bitterness, the dark malt bitterness/ acridness, and the incredible malty, caramel body stand out in most styles of stout much more than they would in almost any other style of beer; yet each must marry and not obscure the others, and together they must be balanced enough to support any other flavors that the beer may have. This metaphor not withstanding, the most important differences between the substyles of stout are those of those three characteristics. Below I will treat each style in turn. As I do so, think about the three legs of the stool and what the stool supports. STYLES -- SPECIFIC CLASSIC DRY STOUT Description: The first thing you will notice about a Dry Stout is its opaque black color and its thick, creamy head, tinged off-white to tan. There is essentially no hop aroma but there may be an aroma of roasted barley. Taste is largely of dark malt and full-bodied beer. The dark malt should have minimal bite, instead taking on a smooth, mellow character. Hints of caramel, coffee, and butter (diacetyl) may be present. Although the head is impressive, carbonation is fairly low, with no sense of fizzyness. A slight sourness is considered acceptable (Guinness is rumored to blend a small quantity of old beer with their new beer (Ref?) Michael Jackson reports Brettanomyces- type horse-blanket aroma in their Foreign Extra Stout, the result of a 3 month aging in wood (Beer Comp. pg 182)). History: Considered to be an Irish style in modern times, the prototype is Guinness'. Michael Jackson reports that Arthur Guinness bought his brewery in 1759 and launched his first porter in the 1770's, switching exclusively to that product in 1779. In 1820 the xx version (on a scale of x to xxx) was renamed Guinness Extra Stout Porter and later the xxx became Foreign Extra Stout. The x porter was dropped in 1974. (Beer Comp. pg. 182) Commercial Examples: Guinness (in the US not the bottled but the kegged or special can versions), Murphy's, Sierra Nevada?? [This is given in Chuck Cox's study guide. I think Sierra Nevada has too much hop flavor for the style, also a little too much roast barley character. I like it in the Foreign Extra subcatagory. It is OG 1.065, 44 IBU's, and "has considerably more roasted taste than any of the Guinness brands, except perhaps Guinness Foreign Extra Stout," (Good Beer Guide, Vince Cottone, pg 78)] Sample recipes (5 gallons): Since I consider Guinness to be the prototype for this style, I would like to give its recipe here. I have information from Essentials of Beer Styles, by Fred Eckhardt, pg. **; The Complete Handbook of Homebrewing, by Dave Miller (His recipe is from Dave Line's Guinness imitation but is not meant to represent Guinness' actual recipe, see page 230), and The Beer Companion by Michael Jackson, pg 182. None would produce a beer that falls in with the AHA guidelines. Here, therefore, is a table: AHA FE DM MJ pale malt (lbs) 5.5 6 5.5* 4.4 flaked barley (ozs) 16 11 16 27 roasted barley (ozs) 11 11 14 11 OG (1.0XX) 44 ?? 45 39 IBU's 35 50** >60*** 45 .4 oz Kent Goldings (flavor--add in last 15' of boil) Jackson says this is one of several varieties used, and supports the idea that there is hop flavor. The amounts here are mine. Eckhardt mentions Bullion as the bittering hop--add enough at 60' before the end of the boil to achieve the desired IBU's. Nugget would be another good choice. The AHA recipe is mine, based on the others and on typical homebrew recipes for this style in order to meet the style guidelines. The main difference between it and the others, especially Miller's, is the low bitterness. I have kept the roasted barley level on the low side to maintain the balance. *Note that Miller recommends the use of lager malt for its greater enzymatic power, supposedly needed to break down the beta-glucans from the flaked barley. If you subscribe to this logic you will want to do a step mash with an extended rest (30') at 122F. I think this view is old-fashioned. **Note that Eckhardt's figure is 50 IBU's, a full 10 IBU's above the AHA range. George Fix and Michael Jackson (Beer Comp. pg. 182) give this number for BOTTLED Guinness, so this may be the source of confusion. ***This is actually given as "15 AAU" which I get to be about 67 IBU's! All recipes/OG's are based on near perfect conversion. The amount of pale malt should be scaled up based on ones system's typical yield. Infusion mash at low temperature (148-150F). If your water is not overly alkaline, you may need to adjust the pH up with CaCO3 to compensate for the acidity contributed by the roasted barley. (Dublin water has >300 ppm CO3, Hough, Biochemistry of Malting and Brewing, pg. 43.) Although the perception of hop flavor is extremely minimal in this style, some amount of hops is required for balance. The scant half ounce recommended here is a small amount for this dark, full-bodied beer. The flaked barley is added for body and head retention. The roasted barley contributes substantially to the color and the flavor, giving hints of coffee, charcoal, caramel and some amount of bite. Ferment with an attenuative ale yeast (?? WYeast 1084, reported to be the Guinness yeast, is one of WYeast's least attenuative) at 65F (Jackson says Guinness is fermented at 77F, Beer Comp. pg 182). Special note on serving Stout: Could someone who is a kegging expert fill in something about the use of N2/CO2 and the hand pump? OATMEAL STOUT Description: This is essentially a dry stout with oats substituted for the unmalted barley. The oats provide the head-stabilizing proteins and a smooth, silky taste not found in unmalted barley (Jackson, Beer Comp. pg 187). History: While oatmeal may have been used as a body builder in Stouts many times, Michael Jackson reports that "during the fashion for 'nutritious' stouts" [He seems to mean starting after WWII.] oatmeal became a common adjunct. These died out by 1975 but the style was revived in 1980 by Sam Smith's. (Beer Comp. pg 187) Commercial Examples: Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout, Young's Oatmeal Stout, Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout (Barney Flats) Sample recipe (5 gallons): See recipe for Dry Stout, substituting oats for flaked barley. Jackson (Beer Comp. pg 187) puts Sam Smith's at OG 1.048, 28-32 IBU's (it seems more bitter to me). There is some debate about what type of oats to use. Some maintain that steel-cut oats are best. These are whole oat kernels, simply chopped up. Others prefer Quaker oats (non instant), which are flaked (a.k.a. rolled) just like brewer's unmalted barley. The starch of the steel-cut oats needs to be solubilized by boiling before mashing. (???) The breakfast oats' does not. The oats add even more beta-glucans than unmalted barley so lautering can be problematic. The note about a beta-glucan rest in the Dry Stout recipe applies at least as fully here. FOREIGN (EXTRA) STOUT Description: Similar to a Dry Stout, only more so. A higher starting gravity leads to the perception of alcohol in the final product. Increased dark malt levels produce a substantial bite of acridness, in contrast to the subdued dark malt bite of the Dry Stout. Plenty of body here too, but doesn't stand out as much as in the Dry Stout due to the increases in everything else. More hop bitterness is playing catch up with the other flavors. Still only near-threshold hop flavor. May have sourness or Brettanomyces character (see above). History: Commercial Examples: Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (Sierra Nevada Stout?) Sample recipe (5 gallons): 8.5 pounds pale malt 1 pound flaked barley 1 pound roasted barley .6 oz Kent Goldings (flavor--add in last 15' of boil) Sufficient Bullion to achieve 60 IBU's (bittering--add 60' before the end) This recipe is of my own devising. I couldn't find any numbers in any of my references. Basically I just pushed up the OG and IBU's to match the guidelines, increasing the aroma hops and the roasted barley to keep everything balanced. The original gravity is meant to be 1.065-70. See notes for Dry Stout. Jackson reports Guinness' bitterness to be in the mid 60's, but the OG to be similar to their regular stout's (Beer Comp. pg 182). SWEET (Including CREAM / MILK) STOUT Description: This goes the other direction from a Dry Stout than the Foreign style. Hop bitterness is much lower and hop flavor is absent. Roasted flavors are more subdued than in a Dry Stout. What knocks you over the head in this beer is its sweetness, with plenty of caramel. I also detect woody notes and diacetyl in Mackeson. Cream or Milk Stout is a subset of Sweet Stout. Its sweetness is obtained from purified lactose (milk sugar--a byproduct of cheese making). History: Mackeson seems to have made the first Milk Stout in 1907 following several patents on the idea of diatetic beer. Since then it has been a popular style in Britain, but most companies have had to remove the dairy references as they implied a health benefit. (Jackson, Beer Comp., pg 184-6) Mackeson is now sweetened by sucrose after pasteurization (ref??). This is considered an English style of Stout. Commercial Examples: Mackeson, Watney's Cream Stout, Sam Adams' Cream Stout*, Watney's Stingo?, Dragon? * Contains no lactose (Jackson, Beer Comp. pg 186). Sample recipe (5 gallons): Commercial examples are pasteurized and sweetened with sugar. Homebrewers are likely to use maltodextrine or lactose (which are unfermentable sugars). If the latter is used, the result is a Milk Stout. 7 pounds British pale malt 9 ounces of (chocolate malt and roasted barley), distributed depending on degree of roastiness desired, e.g.: 6 ounces chocolate malt 3 ounces roasted barley 12 ounces flaked barley or oats 1.5 pounds of very dark crystal (>90L) Sufficient Bullion or Nugget to make 25 IBU's, (bittering--add 60' before the end) 8 ounces maltodextrin or lactose The OG is meant to be 1.055 including the unfermentable sugar. Perform a high temperature (158F) single infusion mash to maximize unfermentable sugars. The OG figure is less ambitious than in the other recipes to take into account the lower expected yield of the higher temperature mash. More pale malt will be required if yields are a problem. Chocolate malt is used to cut the harshness of the roasted barley a bit. The example of 6 oz chocolate and 3 oz roasted is my guess for Mackeson. The dark crystal serves two purposes: first, it adds caramel, toastiness, and residual sweetness (therefore it should not be mashed but rather steeped separately and added at mashout), and second, it provides some color since the amount of dark malt used is low. Flaked barley or oats add body and head retention. The half pound of unfermentable sugar is a middle-of-the-road figure, and depends in part on how much beta amylase action the mash experiences. This should be added to the boil. Ferment with an unattenuative yeast, e.g. WYeast 1084-Irish. IMPERIAL STOUT Description: This is one of the most complex beers around. There is a fair amount of roastiness, although not as much as in a Foreign Extra Stout. This flavor does not stand out against the fruity esters and alcohol that are the result of a very high OG and a (sometimes) warm fermentation. It can be tarry, coffee-like, with hints of cocoa, molasses, or licorice (Beer Comp. pg. 189 and Good Beer Guide, pg. 38). History: This beer was originally brewed strong and bitter in Britain to survive long shipping to the Baltic. The British brewers stopped making the beer as local brewers became able to do so. The local brewers tended to call theirs a Porter, and these were often of lower strength. Sam Smith's revived the style in the 1980's. Commercial Examples: Sam Smith's Imperial Stout, Courage Imperial Russian Stout, Grant's Imperial Stout Sample recipe (5 gallons): 10 pounds pale malt 1.5 pound medium dark crystal malt ~60L 14 ounces roasted barley 1.5 pounds corn sugar Sufficient high alpha acid British hop to achieve 70 IBU's (bittering--add 60' before the end) The OG of this beer is meant to be about 1.090. Sam Smith's is 1.072, while Courage's is >1.100! Sugar and a low temperature mash (150F) keep the final sweetness and body under control. The color comes from both the moderate amount of roasted barley and the crystal malt. There are many different types of hops used in this style, and a small amount of late hops is proabably OK too. All info from Michael Jackson's Beer Companion, pg 189- 195. A cool fermentation with a yeast that is clean and alcohol tolerant is important here, otherwise the esters and higher alcohols will be too strong. WYeast 1056 fits this bill, although some might object that it is too clean. INGREDIENTS DARK MALTS This is almost verbatim from Malting and Brewing Science, Vol. 1, 2nd Ed. by Briggs, et al. pg. 138. Chocolate and black malt are prepared from barley having a moderate nitrogen content (1.5-1.6%), germinated for 4-6 days, and kiln-dried to 5% moisture. They are then roasted at 420-450F for 2-2.5 hours in a slowly rotating metal cylinder. Acid fumes are produced, which are not allowed to escape. Addition of water stops the process when the appropriate color is reached. Roasted barley is similar except that raw unsteeped grain is roasted. CRYSTAL MALTS Ibid., pg. 138-9. Crystal malts are prepared from fully modified malt which is rewetted and loaded into a kiln at 150-170F for 1.5-2 hours with minimal ventilation to retain moisture. This is essentially mashing, although amylolysis is favored over proteolysis. (Note that the higher temperature is possible due to the stabilizing influence of the grain and of the relative lack of water on the amylases.) The kiln temperature is increased to about 250F until the malt reaches the desired color. UNMALTED BARLEY Unmalted barley is used mostly for its ability to increase head retention. This property is the result of the proteins (more specifically, proteoglycans) in the unmalted barley that would normally be somewhat broken down during the germination in malting. The most commonly and most easily used form of unmalted barley is the flaked form. This barley is steam-moistened and pressed between hot rollers. This both mechanically breaks up the kernel and gelatinizes the contents, obviating the need for precooking. (Foster, Pale Ale, pg. 46; Fix, Zymurgy 1985 Special Issue, pg. 21) OATMEAL Oats are used like unmalted barley. Supposedly they add a silky smoothness (Jackson, Beer Comp., pg 15, 187) There is some debate about what type of oats to use. Steel-cut oats are whole oat kernels, simply chopped up. Breakfast-type oats (old-fashioned, not instant) are flaked (a.k.a. rolled) just like brewer's unmalted barley. The starch of the steel-cut oats needs to be solubilized by boiling before mashing. (???) The breakfast oats' does not. What are the instant oats? The oats add even more beta-glucans than unmalted barley so lautering can be problematic. UNFERMENTABLE SUGARS Lactose, also known as milk sugar, is a disaccharide of galactose joined to glucose by a beta 1,4 glycosidic linkage. This bond is cleavable by the enzymes lactase, found in the human gut, and beta galactosidase, the ever- popular bacterial enzyme. S. cerevisiae cannot cleave this bond and so cannot use this sugar. Note that lactobacillus is not named or especially known for its ability to use lactose, although many of its species can. It is named for its ability to generate lactate. (Malto)dextrin(e) is a catchall term for small, unfermentable sugars that taste sweet. They are generally short starch chains (chains of glucose joined by alpha 1,4 linkages) with a few alpha 1,6-linked glucoses branching off. These branches render the chains unbreakable to the major barley and yeast enzymes. Having high level of residual sugars makes good sanitation all the more important as many other microorganisms can utilize these and grow in the finished beer. Artificial sweeteners like saccharine used to be used, but I would hope that everyone could get his/her hands on one of the above. Does anyone _know_ whether yeast can degrade and use NutraSweet (tm) (aspartame), which is a dipeptide? BIBLIOGRAPHY Briggs, D.E. et al. _Malting and Brewing Science -- Second Edition_. 2 vols. New York: Chapman and Hall, 1981. Cottone, Vince. _Good Beer Guide_. Seattle: Homestead Book Co., 1986. Eckhardt, Fred. _Essentials of Beer Style_. Fred Eckhardt Associates 1989. Fix, George. "Cereal Grains: Barley, Maize, Rice and Wheat." _Zymurgy_, 1985 Special Issue: 20-23. Foster, Terry. _Pale Ale_. Classic Beer Style Series 1. Boulder: Brewers Publications, 1990. Foster, Terry. _Porter_. Classic Beer Style Series 5. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications, 1992. Hough, J.S. et al. _Biochemistry of Malting and Brewing_. ???????? Jackson, Michael. _Michael Jackson's Beer Companion_. Philadelphia, PA: Runing Press Book Publishers, 1993. Miller, Dave. _The Complete Handbook of Homebrewing_. Downal, VT: Garden Way Publishing, 198?? ADDITIONAL STUFF I suppose that question 2a means compare sweet to dry stout.