Degree of Difficulty

Where do stouts fall on the degree of difficulty scale for a beginner? What potential pitfalls are there in terms of equipment needed, fermentation time/temperature, etc. when compared to an amber ale (my first and only brew so far)?

Stouts are no more difficult - you can find some fine extract kits for stouts, as a matter of fact.

The only difference in my opinion is time. I like to let mine sit 6 weeks in the fermenter, then 6 more in the keg before I tap it. And when I bottle, I set some aside for 6 months - they really smooth out and come into their own about then.

Hang Glider said:

Stouts are no more difficult - you can find some fine extract kits for stouts, as a matter of fact.

The only difference in my opinion is time. I like to let mine sit 6 weeks in the fermenter, then 6 more in the keg before I tap it. And when I bottle, I set some aside for 6 months - they really smooth out and come into their own about then.

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Agree. I'm mostly a heavy/big beer drinker and Stouts/Porters/Browns are my go to beers next to ESB's. The SWMBO likes Blondes but it's rare you won't see stouts in my pipeline now that I'm back swinging.

My first beer was a stout extract kit back in the day and my first one I rebrewed after my hiatus was a stout. Agree on aging a little bit longer just to let them mellow but it's not necessary IMHO...

As far as getting a consistently good final product, Stouts may actually be the EASIEST of all styles to make. They require no more skill than any other common ale style, yet the heavy body will cover up a LOT of mistakes and off flavors, so you are almost guaranteed to make a good beer with minimal effort.

Brew on!

There's really nothing special or different from this or any other style. In terms of difficulty, unless you're getting into all grain brewing and doing things like "abrew in a bag triple decoction with a step infusion and a mashout" then one recipe is no more complicated than any other, especially if you are doing any extract with steeping grains recipe.

Your grain bill might be different for different recipes, but what you with them (the process) will be the same, which is something akin to "steep grains for x minutes, in y gallons of water, remove grains bring to boil, add extract and hops as directed, cool, transfer to ferment, pitch yeast and relax."

You'll be fine.