Heart of darkness evident in stout revival
BY GEOFF GRIGGS
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Beer
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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Guniness is very overrated IMO - I've tried to 'get it' and enjoyed it somewhat in Ireland but it really just doesn't do it for me. Had a very nice Pitch Black on handpull for St Pat's day, followed by a Renaissance Stonecutter - the finest dark beer I've ever had by a long stretch! I wish there was more choice of 'genuine' dark ales available in 6 or 12 packs in NZ - many examples are brewed with lager yeast.
The current Guiness draught is nothing like the stout. I haven't been able to get a decent stout here in Dunedin for over a year now.