Stout beer

Stout is a dark beer made using roasted malts. Stout was first brewed by Guinness of Ireland and was originally called Stout-Porter, as its recipe was a variation of that for porter beer. It encompasses a large enough class of beers and subclasses of beers, that Stout and Porter are considered two distinct styles.

There are several kinds of stout:

• Irish stout or dry stout is the original product
• 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.
• Cream Stout used to have dairy product added to it; it rarely does nowadays, and the name often denotes very smooth, thick-textured stouts with a distinctive flavour
• Oatmeal stout, similarly, had oats added to it.

Examples of stouts are Guinness, Murphy's, Beamish and Carbine Stout. Guinness is well known as the "muck of the Irish." Beamish is a dry stout beer. From Ireland, its alcoholic content and flavour are both characterized as light.

Shakespeare Stout, brewed by Rogue Breweries in the Pacific Northwest, has in recent years become one of the most celebrated stouts on the world market. Obsidian Stout, from Deschutes Brewery (also hailing from the Pacific Northwest), is another example of a fine stout.