Sophie Brewster June 17, 2016
Mysteries of the Dark Side
“The mouth of a perfectly happy man is filled with beer.” - Ancient Egyptian Wisdom, 2200 B.C.
You’ve gotta love those ancient Egyptians…built the pyramids and satisfied themselves with mouthfuls of beer. Studies of hieroglyphs suggest ancient Egyptian beer was made from barley, honey, herbs and spices. Starting to picture a cool, crisp beer in the midst of the hot desert sun? Here’s something you might find a bit surprising - up until about 300 years ago, all beers made from barley were dark. So for those of you who’ve steered clear of darker beers, or those who are confused about Porters and Stouts, this blog’s for you…
Firstly, here’s a beer myth that I’d like to bust: Dark beers are stronger in alcohol than lighter coloured beers. Pete Slosberg, founder of Pete’s Wicked Ale in the U.S., used to put a line-up of eight beers in front of people attending his beer seminars. He’d place a Budweiser (a light, golden beer) at one end and Guinness Pub draught (a black beer) at the other. The remaining six beers varied from dark golden to amber and brown to demonstrate the range in colour available between the two extremes. After identifying all the beers, he’d ask the group to identify which of the beers was the lightest and which the heaviest in alcohol. Surprise! Budweiser has about 5.0% alcohol by volume (ABV) while Guinness Pub Draught has 4.0%. To put this into perspective for you, Coors Light has 4.2% ABV. So don’t dis the darker beer…it could be like your best friend’s older brother – dark and intimidating, but surprisingly mild once you spend some time together.
Let’s focus here on Porters and Stouts. Let me take you back to the early 1700’s when there were three main types of beer: “stale” ale which took its name from being aged for a long time in wooden casks (often providing a tart flavour from the bacteria living in the wood); “mild” beer which was served young, i.e., not aged at all; and “two-penny” ale which was cheaper and flavoured with treacle – a type of burnt molasses. The heavy labourers in London at the time (known as “porters”) often liked to mix their beer (e.g., 1/3 stale, 1/3 mild and 1/3 two penny), which required publicans to draw from multiple taps to create a tasty pint. In 1722, a clever London brewer engineered a beer to meet the specific demands of his customers who liked to mix. He named it “Porter” after his usual customers. It was a pragmatic way of allowing publicans to pour from a single tap, and it took off mightily. Porter was well-established in London pubs within a year after its birth.
“Stout” is actually an off-spring of Porter. This is said to have occurred by a patron asking for a “stout porter” (as in, a “strong porter”) much like asking today for “hoppy ale”. Brewers responded by adding heavier roasted malts to the beer, which made it darker. Over time, “stout-porters” simply became known as “stouts” and the dark malting process became more efficient. Stouts today tend to be darker and more opaque than Porters, with a malty flavour and notes of roasted coffee or chocolate. Novel additions are often added to stouts like oatmeal, milk sugar (otherwise known as lactose), even oysters. Porters, on the other hand, tend to be lighter in body and malt character than stout, but still feature notes of roasted caramel or molasses.
The bottom line here is – the colour of a beer is affected by its malt content, while the alcohol level of the beer is affected by its sugar content. So, you can order that Belgian-style Blonde ale at 9.5% ABV or discover how a brooding glass of Irish Stout (4% ABV) provides an earthy accompaniment to a tasty bowl of clams or scallops.
Until you try it, you don’t know the power of the dark side.