A pint of stout

Stout is a dark beer made using roasted malts or roast barley. It was originally a variant of porter beer. Porter was first recorded as being made and sold in London in the 1730s. It became very popular in the UK and Ireland. It has also been moderately popular in Canada and Australia especially, and has been gaining popularity in the United States, with many microbrew varieties now available. Generally, current or former British Commonwealth nations can each have their own local interpretations of the style.

The first use of the word stout was the Stout-Porter brewed by Guinness of Ireland in 1820, although Guinness had been brewing porters since 1759. Stout differs from porter in being darker and richer through the use of more roasted malt. As such the two beers are considered distinct, although sometimes it is difficult to distinguish what some breweries market as porter from a stout without looking at the label.

There are several kinds of stout:

• Irish stout or dry stout is the original product. Stout from England is generally sweeter in flavour.
• Imperial stout was originally brewed in England for import to the court of the Tsar of Russia. It has a very high alcohol content--nine or ten percent is not uncommon--intended to preserve it during long trips and to provide a more bracing drink against cold climates.
• Milk stout or 'sweet stout' retains a significant residual sweetness due to the addition of lactose (the sugar component of milk and a by-product of the cheese making process) before fermentation. Yeast cannot ferment lactose, so the beer retains a fuller body. The name 'cream stout' often denotes very smooth, thick-textured stouts with a distinctive flavour.
• Oatmeal stout, similarly, had oats added to it during the brewing process.

Examples of stouts are:

• Guinness - From Ireland, its alcoholic content and "dry" flavour are both characterized as light, although it varies from country to country. [1] (http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=1267)
• Murphy's - Another dry Irish stout. [2] (http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=1099)
• Beamish - Slightly less dry than Guinness or Murphy's. [3] (http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=1)
• Carbine Stout
• Mackeson's XXX - A typical English "sweet" stout. [4] (http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=3766)
• Shakespeare Stout, brewed by Rogue Breweries in the Pacific Northwest. [5] (http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=1087)
• Obsidian Stout, From Deschutes Brewery (also hailing from the Pacific Northwest). [6] (http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=2138)
• Ellezelloise Hercule Stout - a Russian stout, brewed in Belgium. [7] (http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=6701)
• Dragon Stout - From Jamaica.
• Sheaf StoutFrom Australia.
• Sierra Nevada Stout - From California.
• Gillespie's Malt Stout [8] (http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=13282)
• Cornish Cream - a stout produced in Cornwall.