Beer Style Guide: Get to Know Irish Stout with Em Sauter
The most well known Irish beer is the Irish stout, made famous by Guinness. It is a delicious, low ABV and nourishing beer that is popular all over the world. Irish Stout is one of those styles known by a singular brewery. There are others—Coopers in Australia is credited with inventing the Australian sparkling while Hopback brewing in England invented the English Summer/Golden ale. Guinness is most likely one of the most famous world brands. Of course, other brands make Irish stout, but we have mostly Guinness to thank for this beer; a style they still make to this day around the world to great acclaim. It’s a uniting beverage that the whole world enjoys.
History of Irish Stout
Founded in the mid-18th century by Arthur Guinness, Guinness was once a porter brewery because that was the most popular style. At the time, a “stout” was just a strong porter, so Guinness brewed stouts and porters for Ireland and the export market. The Irish stout became a beer in the late 1800s when the Guinness brewery started using different grains (roasted barley) in its recipe which gave it a unique flavor. Always evolving, Guinness also added flaked barley to its recipe in the mid-20th century. Guinness stood out for its beer but also its marketing/branding - one of the first brands whose marketing helped it stand out with catchphrases like “Guinness for Strength.” Advertising is something that’s pretty important in beer and Guinness understood that.
Guinness has always been an innovator – inventing a product we now know as Guinness in Guinness Draught, which created nitrogen taps to mimic cask pouring traditions. They also helped create the widget can and nitro bottle products in the late 20th century which brought nitrogen pours to homes. Guinness is so large, they have their own keg coupler and kegs just for their brands, known as the “U” coupler.
As for the style, the Irish stout is brewed with pale malt and enough dark malts or grains like roasted barley to make the beer appear black. Unmalted grains like flaked barley are used for the body. There’s a charcoal flavor to Irish stouts that’s particularly unique but nice. Other flavors and aromas of Irish stout are black coffee, baker’s chocolate, and a touch of caramel.
There’s also the Irish extra stout, which is made by Guinness and a few other brands. Do you wish Guinness wasn’t on nitro and was a tad stronger? Irish extra will scratch that itch. It’s usually around 5.5% ABV and is easy to find in America, plus is reasonably priced as well. I like extra in the winter months. We will talk about the “foreign extra” in a different column.
Pairing Irish Stout
Irish Stout goes well with really hearty fare like soups and stews. It’s great with a grilled steak as well. A lot of people think stouts aren’t a year-round beer but the Irish stout is just as great ice cold from a BBQ cooler. And people who want less calories, a can of Irish stout is only about 125 calories vs. higher calorie counts from higher ABV stouts and IPAs. Yes, it drinks like a meal but it’s actually pretty good for you (in moderation of course!). Maybe Guinness was on to something when they pronounced “Guinness is Good for You” in those iconic ads.
Beers to Try
Guinness
Obviously, Guinness! The gold standard. Easy to find, easy to drink, easy to love. Worth a trip to Dublin to have it at the brewery “extra cold” in their 360 degree view rooftop bar.
Zero Gravity Irish Extra
Was pleasantly surprised to see an Irish extra on the shelves at the local liquor store made by a craft brand. Zero Gravity, based in Burlington, VT makes excellent beers and their Irish extra was no exception.
O’Hara’s Irish Stout
O’Hara’s has been importing to America for a while and it’s nice to see a brewery that isn’t so old (The O’Hara’s brand has been around since 1996) on the shelves with the more heritage, centuries-old brands.