Any beer geniuses on here?

[Christianb17]

What is the difference between a stout and a porter???
I thought by definition stouts were made with roasted barley instead of malt but I see in recipes for stouts that call for malt?
Also what is the process in which you malt barley?

 

[PT Ray]

Roasted barley pretty much defines a stout. It's still made with malted barley, just has a percentage of roasted barely in the grain bill.

A maltster will take green(?) barley and germinate it. This will produce the enzymes needed for the barley to self convert into maltose during the mashing process. After that it's kilned dried to varying degrees. The lighter malts make up your base in a recipe.

 

[JonM]

Legend has it that a fella named Arthur Guinness brewed porters and then started adding some roasted barley to the recipe for a "stout porter," and the rest is history.

 

[arturo7]

I am a beer genius.

After a few beers I become a genius...

 

[FatherJack]

After a few beers I become a genius...

I should tell this to my boss to justify keeping a fridge full of brews in my office.

 

[Cromwell]

A stout is just a strong porter, I think? Which just means higher gravity.

 

[RM-MN]

A stout is just a strong porter, I think? Which just means higher gravity.

I'm not sure about that higher gravity as a lot of stouts and porters are quite similar. The word stout is usually used to mean strong but that could be strong as in more alcohol or it could mean strong as in more strongly flavored which is what the roasted barley does for it.

 

[Piratwolf]

A stout is just a strong porter, I think? Which just means higher gravity.

I've read in a few places that there is no definite answer about which came first. Of course, I'm having a home brew and may be confused

"All your home brew are belong to us!"

 

[ChillWill]

Stouts tend to use roast barley predominantly and have more body than porters.

Although porters sometimes use roast barley, a lot of their flavour comes from things like brown or chocolate malts.

 

[uncommonsense]

I think the difference is i like stouts but i don't care for porters. I don't realy like anything with alot of chocolate malt in it. All the stouts i brew dont have any of the stuff in it. I do like roasted barley though.

 

[GySgtLynn]

I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[passedpawn]

What is the difference between a stout and a porter???
I thought by definition stouts were made with roasted barley instead of malt but I see in recipes for stouts that call for malt?
Also what is the process in which you malt barley?

I've seen some very strong arguments that they are the same. I've seen these arguments from highly-informed beer historians.

I like the idea that the roasted barley makes the difference. Here is what John Palmer says. He's spent some serious time thinking about these things, so I'll defer to his words:

To help get your creative juices flowing, here is a rough approximation of the recipes for the common ale styles:
Pale Ale - base malt plus a half pound of caramel malt,
Amber Ale - pale ale plus a half pound of dark caramel malt,
Brown Ale - pale ale plus a half pound of chocolate malt
Porter - amber ale plus a half pound of chocolate malt,
Stout - porter plus a half pound of roast barley.
​

 

[HItransplant]

According to designing great beers, stouts began as higher gravity porter. A "stout" porter. Eventually the porter part was dropped and we were left w stout. Nowadays, I believe that the presence of roasted barley defines a stout, whereas the absence usually suggests porter, especially since gravities dont seem to be a defining characteristic anymore. That said, I find that the lines are muddled when you start getting into imperials...things become harder to sort out.

What is the difference between a stout and a porter???
I thought by definition stouts were made with roasted barley instead of malt but I see in recipes for stouts that call for malt?
Also what is the process in which you malt barley?

OP--I think your terminology is a little confused--all beers have "malt barley." are you talking about black patent (malt) vs. Roasted barley?

 

[Christianb17]

ummm what is black patent malt?

 

[rockfish42]

Depending on who you ask the answer will be completely different, I side with the the snarky british historians.
http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2008/01/porter-or-stout.html

 

[passedpawn]

ummm what is black patent malt?

500 °L. Black as the night. Bitter. I bought 6 pounds of it a couple of years ago. I have about 6 pounds left. When I make a stout I wave the container over the mash tun to get just the right color.

 

[PT Ray]

ummm what is black patent malt?

It's also referred to as black malt. It's darker than roasted barley and it's made from malted barley whereas roasted barley is unmalted. Black malt made with the husk removed before roasting is called debittered.

 

[Hatchbrew]

Beer Bier Burr

 

[scottland]

According to designing great beers, stouts began as higher gravity porter.

As you said. This has no bearing today. Guinness being the most well known dry stout is very low gravity

 

[Hatchbrew]

Yes...you called

 

[PT Ray]

I bought 6 pounds of it a couple of years ago.

Did it just seem like the thing to do at the time?

 

[passedpawn]

Did it just seem like the thing to do at the time?

Heh. I bought a bunch of identical grain containers. Each one holds about 6#. When I need any grain, I just bought that much so I wouldn't have to buy more for a while.

I won't need any black patent for a while. I guess that doesn't make me a beer genius, though, does it?

 

[PT Ray]

I guess that doesn't make me a beer genius, though, does it?

I believe that qualifies you as a dealer. That far exceeds the amount allowable by law as personal consumption. Get out the triple beam and bag me a gram, I'm running low.

 

[HItransplant]

As you said. This has no bearing today. Guinness being the most well known dry stout is very low gravity

You're right, I did say that. And yes, Guinness is a good example of how gravity is no longer a defining characteristic to separate stouts and porters. As far as low gravity, however, that depends on the particular Guinness stout too which you are referring.

 

[passedpawn]

I believe that qualifies you as a dealer. That far exceeds the amount allowable by law as personal consumption. Get out the triple beam and bag me a gram, I'm running low.

Woot!

 

[subliminalurge]

...

 

[remilard]

I've seen some very strong arguments that they are the same. I've seen these arguments from highly-informed beer historians.

Exactly

I like the idea that the roasted barley makes the difference. Here is what John Palmer says.

The problem with this is that it makes no sense in the British context and Sierra Nevada makes the archetype American Porter and Stout and, well, they didn't get the roasted barley memo.

I think ultimately a stout is what is called a stout and a porter what is called a porter.

The BJCP or BA can say that something that is hoppy and roasty is American Stout and something hoppy and less roasty is Robust Porter and that helps in the operation of competitions but it doesn't really describe what is out there.

 

[GuldTuborg]

I think ultimately a stout is what is called a stout and a porter what is called a porter.

I'm on this boat, too. Stouts, in particular, show such amazing variety that it's silly to try to fit them under just one label. Or, we can call them all stouts, fine, but then realize that we're splitting hairs with nearly every other "style."

Oh, and the stout I plan to brew in a couple weeks calls for no roasted barley. Is it not a stout?

If there's anything that tends, across most variations, to distinguish a port from a stout, it's the body and flavor balance: stouts generally have a fuller body and a greater intensity and emphasis on the roasted flavors. It's a very blurry line, though. for example, pour someone a bottle of Fuller's Porter blind, and you'll get asked for seconds on "that wonderful stout."

 

[bovineblitz]

Woot!

/drool

 

[uncommonsense]

Post deleted.