This is International Stout Day!

OK, I announced the other day that today is International Stout Day 2019, so I had to go and find somewhere selling a stout, or hopefully two, and I was really praying for an Iron Pier stout/porter (website) special, but no luck there... However, I walked up to The Tower in London Road (facebook) and drank, before drinking 2 excellent strong pale bitters (that will come out soon in another blog), a very nice dark bitter, virtually a dark mild/bitter, and a milk stout. 

You can guess the milk stout, but before that I drank, from North Yorkshire, Great Heck (website) Dave, a 3.8% deep dark red bitter/mild (oxymoron maybe, but drink it and you'll know what I mean!), roasted barley in the taste, hint of liquorice, so much flavour for such a session ale, virtually a weak stout, with a dry bitter finish, and very good indeed! 

Then it was the Sussex brewery Gun (website) Milk Stout (4.1%), which does what it says on the label, vanilla milky, hint of chocolate and coffee, so very smooth, and so easy to drink! What more can I say, but cheers... Happy International Stout Day! 😀

International Stout Day 2019

This Thursday, 7th of November 2019 is the 8th International Stout Day (website), surprise surprise, celebating Stouts. Stouts appear to have developed from Porters, a dark ale favoured by London market porters 300 years ago, though a blend of ales originally, before brewers started brewing Porters themselves. Whereas 'Stout' tended to be a term to describe stronger beers. Stout, as in Stout Porter, was a strong, dark brew that London's brewers developed, and the dark beer that we think of today as a typical Stout style.

Technically, nowadays, Porters are brewed using dark malts, and are usually a very deep, very dark, red in colour if you put your glass up to the light, whereas Stouts are brewed using Roasted Barley and are black or very dark brown, notably brown in the colour of the head. Of course, I've drunk different brewers' Stouts, Porters and even strong dark Milds that taste as you would expect one of the other styles to taste, but, for me, I would define the Stout from the roasted barley taste, though no doubt many would argue with me there...

Whatever, enjoy a dark ale on Thursday, cheers!