In the 18th century the term stout porter was used to describe a porter, or dark beer, with alcohol content above 7 percent.
The stout beer then called the porter originated in London, England in the 1720s and popular among the working class. The story of Porter begins with the Industrial Revolution in England in the mid eighteenth century. Many farmers were forced off their land leading them to start new lives in urban areas.
The porter brand quickly became a popular and go-to drink for consumers. By the 18th century the Porter was the beverage of choice amongst Dockside and Street Porters and thirsty London worker.
Porters were brewed by dozens of breweries producing different styles and characteristics. Brewmasters would tweak recipes, add different ingredients and boost the alcohol content. One of these brews was a strong, dark, roasty beer named ‘Single Stout’. This appears to be one of the earliest examples of when the word ‘Stout’ was used to describe a beer.
According to a letter published in A History of Brewing by H.S. Corran, the earliest recorded use of the word “stout” in describing beer was in 1677 – “We will drink your health both in stout and best wine.”
The stout really took off when a brand-named Guinness became a household name and many people fell in love with the creamy, luscious libation they started assuming came with drinking a stout.
In 1817, Daniel Wheeler invented the roasting kiln enabled Guinness to use ‘black patent malt’ which gave the stout a more roasted and less sweet beer than the English brown barley. This was the introduction of Guinness’s famous classic dry stout.
Around 1820, “stout” emerged as a standard term for a beer that was slightly different than Porter. Guinness Stout is a dark beer that is made with roasted barley. It is brewed at a lower temperature than Guinness Draught, so it has a slightly different flavor.
History of stout beer
