Heart of darkness evident in stout revival

SCOTT HAMMOND

CHEERS: Shawn Bryant and Niki Thompson enjoying a dark ale for St Patricks Day at Paddy Barrys

SCOTT HAMMOND

IRISH BREAKFAST: Who needs coffee when you can have Guinness with your bacon and eggs. Kurt Graham and Paul Roach started St Patrick's Day with a wee dram.

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How do you take your coffee? A large mug of instant with plenty of milk and three sugars? Or would you prefer a latte, a short black, or an espresso? Or something even more exotic? My personal choice is for a lighter, smoother coffee first thing in the morning and a darker, more heavily roasted, robust brew later in the day. Whatever your preference, the range of different coffees available is amazing.

The same is true of dark beers. Just like coffee, dark beers come in a broad range of styles, textures and flavours. The best examples are made with a grist comprising several different malts. An experienced brewer will build up the desired flavour and colour profile with a range of malts; often five or six, sometimes more. Each adds its own character to the finished brew.

Germany and the Czech Republic have a heritage of making tasty black lagers (schwarzbiers) – check out the smooth, caramelly Kistritzer schwarzbier – but the darkest beers of all are porters and stouts.

A vatted (aged) dark beer that emerged in the early 1700s, porter dominated British brewing for more than a century until it was eventually overtaken by trendier pale ales. Stout, porter's strongest (or "stoutest") sibling, maintained its popularity having migrated to Ireland. However the current worldwide renaissance of beer has seen porter enjoying something of a revival. American and British microbrewers in particular have reintroduced porters, some including fruit, chocolate or honey in their recipes to broaden the style's appeal.

When Richard Emerson opened his Dunedin brewery in 1994, he chose a porter as his first commercial brew. It was a brave decision, but New Zealand's first modern-day porter is now regarded as a classic. Other excellent examples come from Tuatara (Waikanae), Renaissance (Blenheim) and Three Boys (Christchurch).

The world's most famous dark beer is something of an enigma. In a global market that's dominated by light bodied, thirst-quenching golden lagers, Guinness is the odd one out. Despite recent efforts to increase its popularity (by making it less bitter and serving it colder) it remains a comparatively authentic, challenging and uncompromising example of the dry style of stout made famous by the Irish.

At its best, this intense style combines rich, heavily roasted malt flavours, a touch of ale fruitiness and acidity and a deep, lingering bitterness.

While it's important to understand that heavily roasted flavours are typical of Ireland's dry stouts, they aren't common to all stouts, let alone other dark beer styles. Irish stout is just one member of the stout family; there are several more. Oatmeal and milk stouts are both sweetish, often with pronounced caramel notes, while export and imperial stouts are the strongest members of the family.

Here in New Zealand, Christchurch seems to be the leading city for dry stouts. While Lion's Canterbury Brewery makes draught Guinness for the whole country, Harrington's excellent Clydesdale Stout is also brewed in the city. So, too, is the sensational Three Boys Oyster Stout, which is made with real oysters and offered as a limited-release seasonal brew each winter. Meanwhile, further south, Invercargill Brewery's top-selling beer is a sweetish stout called Pitch Black. All are distributed around the country.

I recommend serving all stouts and porters cool, but not overly chilled. Pour them into a large, stemmed glass, leaving plenty of room for a deep, pillowy head to form with space to spare; that way you can best appreciate the particular style's aromas.

Sip slowly. Stouts and porters are more about social lubrication than rapid refreshment. Cheers!

- The Marlborough Express

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Thirsty   #6   12:48 am Mar 19 2010

While informative, this article (unlike the beer) was rather dry. I prefer my guinness at 7am with a fatty fried breakfast. Hits the spot like nothing else, regardless of 'caramel tones' or a fancy combination of malts. Well researched article lacking the full bodied warmth and humour of a stout.

billytf   #5   07:47 pm Mar 18 2010

As mentioned, there are many good examples of dark beer brewed abroad and here in NZ, unfortunately, Mac's and Monteith's examples are among the worst; brewed for the mass market. Until NZ's pubs embrace the micro brewers and start serving something other than their own beers most people will stay ignorant. Beer is far better from the keg than a bottle and there are far too few pubs that cater for the client who values unique taste.

Random   #4   04:42 pm Mar 18 2010

@ sepsism #1

I think Guinness or two were probably consumed before writing and editing.

Caytlyn   #3   03:54 pm Mar 18 2010

I'd like to point out that to a true irishman, the only thing a bigger head on the beer or guinness means is that theres less beer in the glass....drummed into me over many many years by my Irish grandfather who taught me how to pour a headless beer at the tender age of 7. "There's not enough beer in this glass!"

Dandy   #2   03:29 pm Mar 18 2010

Pitch Black rocks...

sepsism   #1   01:09 pm Mar 18 2010

The paragraph "Just like coffee, dark beers come in a broad range of styles..." appears twice in this article.

Quality control!

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