Porter, Stout

[rightwingnut]

So what make's them different from one another? And with extract brewing, can we really make beer with true variety? I mean, can I make an extract porter, and an extract stout, and be able to honestly say...that's a porter, that's a stout? Seems to me the only real differences are color and hops. All-grain is calling me....already.

 

[uglygoat]

agree

i've made four extract kits and they all have an eirily similary flavor....

 

[Brewman]

I think the Porter is not as creamy as a stout is, although they do taste pretty much the same I also think the Porter is a bit lighter and the Stouts heavier......

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

Don't know guy's? I've only brewed one all extract kit. My second batch I went to grain w/ extract. Some may disagree, but I would suggest going w/ grain/extract brewing before you go all grain. It will give you better flavored beer, better bodied beer, and give you a better understanding of the all-grain process (in a way). Plus, it doesn't cost much more and you can use the same equipment. It just takes a little more time (30-45 minutes).
I have done a few porter grain/extract and a few stout grain/extract and we can tell a difference between styles/flavors, easy. Give it a shot!

Cheers!
DeRoux's Broux

 

[Janx]

Porter is the older style. Stout evolved from Porter, and was originally called Stout Porter, I believe.

Now, of course, you have all these different stout styles. Milk Stout. Oatmeal Stout etc...with their own histories...

The difference when I brew one is that the stout is bigger. I usually make Oatmeal Stout, so it has oatmeal in it too. Also, I use black patent in stout, but only chocolate in porter. The patent gives that kind of burnt flavor that's nice in a really dark beer. Neither has much in the way of hops...just some bittering. I like a bit more flavor hops in the porter...next to none in the stout.

Yeah, without using grain adjuncts, you'll have trouble diversifying too much with extract. But hey, that's the nature of brewing. That one's a porter and that one's a stout. Why? Cause I said

 

[ChrisKoivu]

Stouts and Porters

The origins of Porter and Stout are buried in London at the turn of the 18th Century. A popular drink at this time was called Three Threads and was made by publicans mixing pale, young brown and matured stale brown ales. This was the first Porter. The London brewers, due to their cramped sites, had no choice but to buy in expensive pale and stale beers from the country for this. They therefore developed a London style of Porter, known as Entire Butt, or just Entire, which was made as a single brew and much cheaper to produce. Both Three Threads and Entire gained the nickname Porter, with the two styles surviving side by side for much of the 18th Century. The name Porter is said to have come from the beer’s popularity with London’s Porters of that era, but there are also other theories.

In 1788 Porter reached Bristol; in 1796 it was exported to Russia and had also reached Scotland. Stout had also appeared, which was initially a stronger or ‘stouter’ Porter. By this time all Porter and Stout was made as Entire, but the end was in sight, as Porters and Stouts took months to condition, unlike Milds and Pale Ales which were known as "running beers", because they only took a few days to condition, before leaving the brewery. By the mid 19th century, many breweries had ripped out their deep fermentation vats for shallower ones for more of the running beers, and Porter and Stout were in terminal decline. The First World War hit the final blow from which Porter and Stout could not recover, except in Ireland where they still flourished.