American Porter and Stout

Category 20. AMERICAN PORTER AND STOUT

• Category intro: These beers all evolved from their English namesakes to be wholly transformed by American craft brewers. Generally, these styles are bigger, stronger, more roast-forward, and more hop-centric than their traditional Anglo cousins. These styles are grouped together due to a similar shared history and flavor profile.

20A. American Porter

Overall impression

• A malty, bitter, and often somewhat hoppy dark beer with a balanced, roasted, and frequently chocolatey character.

Vital statistics

Judging anchors

• Aroma: Medium-light to medium-strong roast aroma, often with a chocolate, light coffee, or lightly burnt character, sometimes with a background caramel or toffee sweetness, or a malty richness. The resiny, earthy, or floral hop character can vary from low to high. Moderate fruity esters optional. Should not seem sharp, acrid, or acidic. The malt-hop balance can vary, but it should always have a roasted malt aroma.
• Appearance: Medium brown to very dark brown, often with ruby- or garnet-like highlights. Can approach black in color. Clear, if not opaque. Full, tan-colored head with moderately good head retention.
• Flavor: Moderately strong roasted flavor, often with a chocolate and lightly burnt character, sometimes with a sweet caramel or malty richness in support. Medium to high bitterness, and a dry to medium-sweet finish. Dark malts may sharpen this impression, but should not add an acrid, burnt, or harsh flavor. Low to high resiny, earthy, or floral hop flavor, which should not clash with the dark malt. Dry-hopped versions may have a fresh hop or resiny flavor. Moderate fruity esters optional. Should not have an acidic bite.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-full body. Moderately low to moderately high carbonation. Stronger versions may have a slight alcohol warmth. May have a slight dark malt astringency, but this character should not be strong.

Context

• Comments: Sometimes called Robust Porter, becoming increasingly hard to find. A rather broad style open to interpretation by the brewer. Dark malt intensity and flavor can vary significantly. May or may not have a strong hop character, or significant fermentation byproducts; thus may seem to have an “American” or “British” character.
• History: A stronger, more aggressive version of earlier Pre-Prohibition Porters or English Porters, first brewed in the modern craft beer era (introduced in 1974). This style describes the modern craft version; see Historical Beer: Pre-Prohibition Porter for the older US version.
• Characteristic ingredients: Pale base malt, frequently crystal malt. Dark malts, often black malt or chocolate malt. American hops typically used for bittering, but US or UK finishing hops can be used. Ale yeast can either be clean US versions or characterful English varieties.
• Style comparison: More bitter and often stronger with more dark malt qualities and dryness than English Porters or Pre-Prohibition Porters. Less strong and assertive than American Stouts.
• Entry instructions: none

Commercial examples (as listed)

• Anchor Porter, Bell’s Porter, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Sierra Nevada Porter, Smuttynose Robust Porter

Tags

• standard-strength, dark-color, top-fermented, north-america, craft-style, porter-family, bitter, roasty, hoppy

20B. American Stout

Overall impression

• A fairly strong, highly roasted, bitter, hoppy dark stout. The body and dark flavors typical of stouts with a more aggressive American hop character and bitterness.

Vital statistics

Judging anchors

• Aroma: Moderate to strong roast aroma, often with a roasted coffee or dark chocolate quality. Burnt or charcoal aromas are acceptable at low levels. Medium to very low hop aroma, often with a citrusy or resiny character. Medium esters optional. Light alcohol optional. Should not seem sharp, acrid, or acidic.
• Appearance: Generally a jet black color, although some may appear very dark brown. Large, persistent head of light tan to light brown in color. Usually opaque.
• Flavor: Moderate to very high roasted flavors, often tasting of coffee, dark or bittersweet chocolate, or roasted coffee beans. May taste of slightly burnt coffee grounds, but this character should not be prominent. Low to medium malt sweetness, often with rich chocolate or caramel flavors. Medium to high bitterness. Low to high hop flavor, generally citrusy or resiny. Medium to dry finish, occasionally with a lightly burnt quality. Low esters optional. Light but smooth alcohol flavor optional.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full body. Can be somewhat creamy. Can have a bit of roast-derived astringency, but this character should not be excessive. Medium-high to high carbonation. Light to moderately strong alcohol warmth, but smooth and not excessively hot.

Context

• Comments: Breweries express individuality through varying the roasted malt profile, malt sweetness and flavor, and the amount of finishing hops used. Generally has bolder roasted malt flavors and hopping than other traditional stouts (except Imperial Stouts). Becoming increasingly hard to find.
• History: A modern craft beer and homebrew style that applied a more aggressive American hopping regime to a strong traditional English or Irish Stout. The homebrew version was once known as West Coast Stout, a common naming scheme for a more highly-hopped beer.
• Characteristic ingredients: Common American base malts, yeast, and hops. Varied use of dark and roasted malts, as well as caramel-type malts. Adjuncts or additives may be present in low quantities to add complexity.
• Style comparison: Like a hoppy, bitter, strongly roasted Irish Extra Stout. Much more roast and body than a Black IPA. Bigger, stronger versions belong in the Imperial Stout style. Stronger and more assertive, particularly in the dark malt or grain additions and hop character, than American Porter.
• Entry instructions: none

Commercial examples (as listed)

• Avery Out of Bounds Stout, Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout, Deschutes Obsidian Stout, Sierra Nevada Stout, Trillium Secret Stairs

Tags

• high-strength, dark-color, top-fermented, north-america, craft-style, stout-family, bitter, roasty, hoppy

20C. Imperial Stout

Overall impression

• An intensely-flavored, very strong, very dark stout with a broad range of interpretations. Roasty-burnt malt with a depth of dark or dried fruit flavors, and a warming, bittersweet finish. Despite the intense flavors, the components need to meld together to create a complex, harmonious beer, not a hot mess – sometimes only accomplished with age.

Vital statistics

Judging anchors

• Aroma: Rich, deep, complex, and often quite intense, with a pleasant blend of roast, fruit, hops, and alcohol. Light to moderately strong roast can have a coffee, bittersweet or dark chocolate, cocoa, black licorice, tar, or slightly burnt grain quality, sometimes with a light caramel sweetness or toasty maltiness. Low to moderately strong esters often perceived as dark or dried fruits like plums, prunes, figs, black currants, or raisins. Very low to fairly aggressive hops, often English or American in character. Alcohol flavor optional, but should not be sharp, hot, or solventy. The balance between these main four components can vary greatly; not all need to be noticeable, but those present should have a smooth interplay. Age can add another dimension, including a vinous or port-like impression, but not sourness. Age can decrease aroma intensity.
• Appearance: Color ranges from very dark reddish-brown to jet black. Opaque. Deep tan to dark brown head. Generally has a well-formed head, although head retention may be low to moderate. High alcohol and viscosity may be visible as legs.
• Flavor: Like the aroma, a complex mix of roast, fruit, hops, and alcohol (same descriptors apply). The flavors can be quite intense, often greater than in the aroma, but the same warning about the balance varying greatly still applies. Medium to aggressively high bitterness. The maltiness balances and supports the other flavors, and may have qualities of bread, toast, or caramel. The palate and finish can be fairly dry to moderately sweet, an impression that often changes with age. Should not by syrupy or cloying. Aftertaste of roast, bitterness, and warmth. Same age effects as in the aroma apply.
• Mouthfeel: Full to very full-bodied and chewy, with a velvety, luscious texture. The body and texture may decline with age. Gentle, smooth warmth should be present and noticeable, but as a background character. Low to moderate carbonation.

Context

• Comments: Sometimes known as Russian Imperial Stout or RIS. Varying interpretations exist with American versions having greater bitterness, and more roasted character and late hops, while English varieties often reflect a more complex specialty malt character with a more forward ester profile. Not all Imperial Stouts have a clearly ‘English’ or ‘American’ character; anything in between is allowable as well, which is why it is counter-productive to define strict sub-types. Judges must be aware of the broad range of the style, and not try to judge all examples as clones of a specific commercial beer.
• History: A style with a long, although not necessarily continuous, heritage. Traces roots to strong English porters brewed for export in the 1700s, and said to have been popular with the Russian Imperial Court. After the Napoleonic wars interrupted trade, these beers were increasingly sold in England. The style eventually all but died out, until being popularly embraced in the modern craft beer era in England as a revival export and in the United States as an adaptation by extending the style with American characteristics.
• Characteristic ingredients: Pale malt with significant roasted malts or grain. Flaked adjuncts common. American or English ale yeast and hops are typical. Ages very well. Increasingly used as the base beer for many specialty styles.
• Style comparison: Darker and more roasty than Barleywines, but with similar alcohol. More complex, with a broader range of possible flavors, than lower-gravity stouts.
• Entry instructions: none

Commercial examples (as listed)

• American – Bell’s Expedition Stout, Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout, North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout; English – 2SP Brewing Co The Russian, Courage Imperial Russian Stout, Le Coq Imperial Extra Double Stout, Samuel Smith Imperial Stout, Thornbridge Saint Petersburg

Tags

• very-high-strength, dark-color, top-fermented, british-isles, north-america, traditional-style, craft-style, stout-family, malty, bitter, roasty