Anyone who is even a little interested in beer has certainly come across Guinness dark beer. It was this brand of beer that made the Stout style famous practically all over the world. This dark, almost black, dry beer with a chocolate-coffee flavor is one of the most characteristic beer styles, which takes a prominent place among beer classics.
Classic stout has become the starting point for many variations on this style, which are gaining great popularity among craft breweries and craft beer lovers.
Its history begins in the British Isles in the first half of the 18th century and is inextricably linked to the history of porter, which has long been synonymous with stout. You can read about the details of the evolution of both styles in our text on the blog "Stout, the story of Porter's fall"
In this text, we will try to present the variety of variations of classic Stout, their characteristic features and look at it from a brewing point of view.

Different versions of Stout.
Nowadays, this style is brewed in many versions. From light and dry, through stronger, creamier and even sweet in taste, to extremely strong versions known as RIS or Russian Imperial Stout. There are also heavily hopped stouts, known as American Stout, smoked versions of Smoked Stout or even those with the addition of dark fruit. Let's look at the most popular of them.


Irish Dry Stout This is the popular and most classic version of this style. Dark, even black, opaque beer. The dominant flavor is roasted malts, cereals, coffee and dark chocolate. The taste may be mild or drier with chocolate, with greater bitterness coming largely from roasted malts. A slight astringent astringency may be characteristic, resulting from the use of roasted barley. Too strong is an undesirable feature. Thick, creamy, beige foam. Hopped mainly for bitterness, hop aromas undetectable or at a very low level, IBU value: 25-40. Initial gravity ranges between 9° and 11° BLG (OG: 1.036 – 1.044) Alcohol level 4% - 4.5%.

Most popular commercial examples: Guinness Draught, Beamish Irish Stout, Murphy's Irish Stout,

 

Raw materials: base malts:  Pale Ale malt, munich malt ,

roasted malts: chocolate malt dark, roasted barley

unmalted additives:  flaked barley

hop: challenger, east kent goldings

top fermenting yeast: Fermentis S-04, MJ Liberty Bell M36Fermentum Mobile FM13, Fermentum Mobile FM11 , White Labs WLP 004. Fermentation temperature 18-21 degrees Celsius

 

Order a ready-made all grain kit:  Dry Stout

 

 

Foreign Ekstra Stout - A Stronger version of the Irish Stout style. Initial density ranges from 13.8 - 18.2°Blg, alcohol 5.5 - 8%. Black in color, the taste is dominated by coffee and dark chocolate. The taste is less dry and astringent than Dry Stout, but more intense and expressive. It is available in the Tropical version, which may be sweeter without dominant roasted and astringent flavors, and may also have flavors of rum, molasses and noticeable fruity esters. Hopping mainly for bitterness, IBU 30-70.

base malts: Pale Ale malt, Munich malt

roasted malts:  dark chocolate malt, roasted barley

caramel malts: caramel malt 150EBC, caramel malt 300EBC

 

unmalted additives: flaked barley, sugar to increase the extract

hop: challenger, east kent goldings

top fermenting yeast: Fermentis S-04, MJ Liberty Bell M36, Fermentum Mobile FM13, Fermentum Mobile FM11 , White Labs WLP 004., fermentation temperature 18-21 degrees Celsius

Order a ready-made all grain kit: Foreign Extra Stout


American Stout - This is a more intensively hopped version of the Foreign Extra Stout style with a higher level of bitterness and distinct citrus-resin hop aromas. However, it differs from the popular Black IPA with more expressive chocolate malts. The malt profile should be clearly noticeable, not drowned out by hops.

Initial density 12.4 - 18.2°Blg, alcohol 5 - 7%. Bitterness 35-70 IBU

base malts: Pale Ale malt, munich malt

raosted malts: dark chocolate malt, light chocolate malt, brown malt, roasted barley, coffee malt

caramel malts: caramel malt 150EBC, caramel malt 300EBC

unmalted additives: flaked barley, sugar to increase the extract

hop: Simcoe, Cascade, Chinook, Columbus, Citra

top fermenting yeast: Fermentis S-04, Lalbrew Nottingham, MJ Liberty Bell M36, Fermentum Mobile FM13, White Labs WLP 004. Fermentation temperature 18-21 degrees Celsius

Order a ready-made all grain kit:  American Stout


Sweet Stout - This is the dessert version of this style. Beer with a chocolately sweet profile. Also called Milk Stout - this name refers to versions sweetened with non-fermentable milk sugar, i.e. lactose. However, not every sweet stout needs to be sweetened with it. The characteristic sweetness is also achieved thanks to more delicate hopping and less roasted barley grain as well as shallow attenuation. In most cases, the sweetness is not dominant, it should only slightly balance the dark chocolate notes.

Initial density: 11 - 14.7°Blg, alcohol 4% - 6%, Bitterness 20-40 IBU

base malts: Pale Ale malt, Munich malt

roasted malts: dark chocolate malt, light chocolate malt, amber, roasted barley grain, coffee malt

caramel malts: caramel malt 150EBC, caramel malt 600EBC

unmalted additives: lactose

hop: challenger, east kent goldings, marynka

top fermenting yeast: Fermentis S-04, MJ Liberty Bell M36, Lalbrew Windsor, Fermentum Mobile FM13, White Labs WLP 004

Order a ready-made all grain kit: Sweet Stout

 

 

Oatmeal Stout - This is a full-bodied, clearly malty version of stout, with a more delicate texture than Dry Stout, but not as sweet as Sweet Stout. In taste, of course, the first notes are the flavors of coffee and chocolate, but they are more countered by the grainy content coming from oat malt, turning into sweet nutty notes. The amount of oat malt in the grist is 10-30%. Astringency characteristic of Irish Stout at a lower level. The level of bitterness is low to medium, the profile of the beer should be clearly malty.

Initial density: 11.2 - 15.9°Blg, alcohol: 4.2 - 5.9%. Bitterness 25-40 IBU.

base malts: Pale Ale malt, Munich malt, Oat malt

roasted malts: dark chocolate malt, light chocolate malt, brown malt, roasted barley grain, coffee malt

hop: challenger, east kent goldings, marynka

top fermenting yeast: Fermentis S-04, MJ Liberty Bell M36, Lalbrew Windsor, Fermentum Mobile FM13. Fermentation temperature 18-21 degrees Celsius

Order a ready-made all grain kit:  Oatmeal Stout

Russian Imperial Stout RIS- This version dominates craft brewing when it comes to Stout variations. It can be said that this is an extreme beer in which the features of the original style have been significantly enhanced. Suffice it to say that the starting density for this style starts at 20°BLG. Beer was initially brewed in England from the end of the 17th century as a stronger version of stout; the high level of alcohol preserved it so that it would survive the journey to Russia in good condition. Its flavor is extremely rich and complex. Of course, the aroma of coffee and chocolate dominates, as well as the clearly malty character of roasted grains and nuts, often slightly cookie-like. Due to its high density, the beer feels slightly sweet and warming. Fruity esters combined with dark malts give notes of plums and raisins. Bitterness from low to strong. One of the styles that requires long aging, sometimes several years. The flavors then become smoother and more balanced.

Initial gravity 20-30 BLG, alcohol 8-14%. Bitterness 50–90 IBU.


base malts: Pale Ale malt, Munich malt

roasted malts: dark chocolate malt, light chocolate malt, brown malt, roasted barley grain, coffee malt

hop: challenger, east kent goldings, marynka

top fermenting yeast:  Fermentis S-04, MJ New World Strong Ale M42, Fermentum Mobile FM13, White Labs WLP099 Fermentation temperature 17-20 degrees Celsius.

Order a ready-made all grain kit:  Bourbon RIS

 

Smoked Stout - Another version of stout, this time with the addition of smoked malts, often smoked plums. The aroma of smoked meat combines perfectly with the taste of roasted malts, creating a rich and comprehensive beer profile. The style does not have strictly defined limits in terms of initial density or level of bitterness. When preparing it, however, you should make sure that the individual flavors complement each other and do not dominate. Smoked malt appears in various options, from the classic aroma of oak or beech smoke to tofa-like, referred to as asphalt, aromas of peat-smoked malt. The share of smoked malt is usually from 20 to 50%.


base malts: Pale Ale malt, Munich malt

smoked malts: beech-smoked malt, peat-smoked malt

roasted malts: dark chocolate malt, light chocolate malt, coffee malt, amber, roasted barley grain, coffee malt

hop: challenger, east kent goldings, marynka

top fermenting yeast:  Fermentis S-04, Lalbrew Nottingham, MJ Liberty Bell M36, Fermentum Mobile FM13, White Labs WLP 004. Fermentation temperature 18-21 degrees Celsius

Order a ready-made all grain kit:  Foreign Smoked Stout 

 

Coffee Stout - Coffee is an addition that naturally goes well with stouts. We can add it to lighter versions such as Irish Stout, or even to strong RIS. Coffee can be added at various stages and in various forms. Brewed like espresso, it works well at the stage of silent fermentation or added when bottling. Fresh beans give a distinctive coffee aroma and are put into silent fermentation for about 7 days.


base malts: Pale Ale malt, Munich malt

roasted malts: dark chocolate malt, light chocolate malt, coffee malt, roasted barley grain, coffee malt

hop: challenger, east kent goldings, marynka

top fermenting yeast: Fermentis S-04, Fermentum Mobile FM13, MJ Liberty Bell M36 , Lalbrew Nottingham Fermentation temperature 18-21 degrees Celsius

Order a ready-made all grain kit:  Coffee Rye Stout