John here with another beer guide. This time it is all about Stouts and Porters, two of my most drunk styles. Looking at the picture below, can you tell whether this photo is of a porter or a stout? Most likely you can't (if you can well done), both styles of beer are dark in colour and share a similar range of flavours- Malts, Roasted notes and a bittersweet flavour. Most of the time they can also be fairly heavy going and have a habit of releasing more flavours as they warm up.
A quick history lesson tells us Porters rose to popularity during the Victorian era, if the myths are to be believed (a pinch of salt is needed), earned it's name by being the choice of drink for the dockland work force. The main reason for such similarities of styles is because Porters are the fore runners of Stouts. Back then, as is still the case, porters are made using dark malted barley, a good helping of hops and good old ale yeast. This gives a result of a dark medium bodied beer with a nice balance malt sweetness and bitter finish. But as people started tinkering around with the recipe, the stout was born. By adding new ingredients and upping the alcoholic strength, a new beer was born called "Stout Porters" (a.k.a Strong Porters). Eventually the porter part was dropped and stouts became their own style and brand.
Today, the biggest difference between stouts and porters, comes down to the kind of malts used during brewing. While porters use malted barley, stouts primarily use un-malted roasted barley. It's this ingredient that gives stouts their coffee flavour. Whilst Porters tend to be slightly lighter and less full-bodied than stouts (not always the case tho).
But having said all this, there is definitely a lot of cross-over between porters and stouts. So if you like one, you'll generally like the other! The best idea is to grab a friend and get one of each to compare and contrast.
So to answer the question: Porters and Stouts is there a difference?
The answer is Yes but it's really not worth worrying about and just go out and enjoy both styles!
Thanks for reading.