Can you tell whether this photo is of a porter or a stout? We can't! These are both dark beers with a similar range of malty, roasted, and bittersweet flavors. They also both have a reputation for being fairly heavy and for making us feel quite toasty while sipping them. So is there any difference at all between a porter and a stout?
Porter vs. Stout: What's the Difference?
Beer Sessions
This mystery has bothered us for quite some time, so we dove into research and discovered some interesting facts!
Porter is actually the great-grandpa of today's stout. It was, and still is, made with dark malted barley, a good amount of hops, and top-fermenting ale yeasts. The end result is usually a dark medium-bodied beer with a nice balance of malty sweetness and bitter hoppiness.
Stouts came about when people started tinkering with their porter recipes. They started adding new ingredients and upped the alcoholic strength. At first these were called "stout porters," but eventually the "porter" was dropped and stouts became a category unto themselves.
Today, the biggest difference between stouts and porters is the kind of malt used during brewing. While porters use malted barley, stouts primarily use unmalted roasted barley. It's this ingredient that gives stouts their signature coffee-like flavor. Porters also tend to be slightly lighter and less full-bodied than stouts.
Having said all this, there is definitely a lot of cross-over between porters and stouts. If you like one, you'll generally like the other! The best is to grab a friend and get one of each to compare and contrast.
What do you like about porters and stouts? Any recommendations for ones to try?
(P.S. The picture above is a porter. Kudos if you guessed it correctly!)
Related: Good Recipe for a Crowd: Stout-Braised Short Ribs
(Image: Flickr member sashafatcat licensed under Creative Commons)
Comments (9)
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Try Highland Brewing Co's Oatmeal Porter and Black Mocha Stout. mmmmm.....
www.highlandbrewing.com
view SuperErin's profile
AMEN to that!
highland makes excellent beers (especially those two) and they're from the mighty state of North Carolina!
(they are also good with a scoop of ice cream)
view sarahrice's profile
Some of my favorites are:
Berkshire Brewing Company Coffeehouse Porter (MA)
Real Ale (TX) Coffee Porter (TX)
Stone Smoked Porter (CA)
Stone Imperial Russian Stout (CA)
Deschutes Black Butte Porter (OR)
Bar Harbor Brewing Company Cadillac Mountain Stout (ME)
I'll stop now, but now I'm going to keep a lookout for Highland beers too!
view misplacedtexan's profile
Ha! I guessed correctly that it was a porter! I always think of stouts as having serious head, like Guinness. Oh, yum.
view repressd's profile
I love, love, love porter. My mouth waters when I hear the word! It's the closest thing beer has to chocolate milk. Boulevard Brewing Company out of Kansas City makes a pretty good one, Bully! Porter. Stouts are a little iffier for me, but I love and adore the Schafly Coffee Stout (out of St. Louis). When I used to live in Springfield, MO, I would order the "black sheep" at Springfield Brew Co and it would either be their Mudhouse Stout or their porter, depending on the season. Mmmm. Nothing goes better with fish and chips, IMHO.
view matchbookhymnal's profile
I highly recommend Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout, if you can find it. It's a limited release stout, and according to their website it's only available during November.
view msbetsy's profile
Rasputin Imperial Stout!! Made by North Coast, (which also makes Old Stock Ale, probably the best beer I've had this year) but, Rasputin is a tasty beer for sure.
Also, Macheson's XXX Stout, very strong coffee/chocolate tasting stout, not for everyone but worth trying.
view emcguire's profile
Black Butte Porter (from Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon) is the beer that taught me to like beer. It's worth going out of your way to get it on draught, though, I have to say. It's good in the bottle, but somehow not quite the same.
Actually I think that's a feature of all porters I've tried, but I don't have the beer chops to have the faintest notion why!
view RubyJane's profile
My favorite is Royal Extra Stout. It's a Caribbean stout that tastes for all the world like Coca Cola. I've never had a stout this sweet and far from being as gross as it sounds, this beer is amazing!
view dabigleap's profile