“What’s the difference between a porter and a stout?” If you’ve ever been in a great beer conversation about styles, we’re sure this question has come up. As far back as the mid-1700s, a brown stout simply meant the strongest version of porter. But, by the latter half of the 19th century, recipes for porters and stouts began to vary with the use of different malts, and roasted barley becoming a legal ingredient for beer in the United Kingdom. Today, not only is the difference between a porter and a stout no longer black and white, brewers are finding that these styles are perfect canvases for their own interpretations.
With this issue in mind, we wondered if a group of expert beer drinkers – who aren’t actually brewers – could blindly tell the difference between porters and stouts. We also wanted to know if they could come to a consensus on which beer was their favorite among nine classic and not-so-classic takes on the two styles. So the taste-off began.
The Contenders
Founders Porter, Schlafly Extra Stout Irish-Style, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Left Hand Milk Stout, The Civil Life Porter, 4 Hands Bona Fide Imperial Stout, Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout, Six Row Porter and Deschutes Obsidian Stout
The Judges
While all six judges were chosen for their love of beer and their knowledge of styles, we also picked tasters known for their palates.
Sean Netzer, bartender and beer and whiskey buyer for 33 Wine Bar
Troy Meier, Supreme Overlord of stlhops.com
Karen King, Missouri and Kansas market manager for Deschutes Brewery
Mark Pruitt, owner of Bigelo’s Bistro
Eric Scholle, general manager of Farmhaus
Josh Galliano, executive chef-owner of The Libertine
The Moderator
Cory King, head brewer at Perennial Artisan Ales and founder of Side Project Brewing
The Commentary
“There are no wrong answers.”
“I’m really nervous that it’ll be Black Butte and I’ll be like, ‘This is the worst beer I’ve ever had in my life.'”
“I think the terms are archaic.”
“The brightness was interesting, but it’s definitely not supposed to be there.”
“Is this the beginning of a Saw movie?”
“No. 3, I put baby aspirin.”
“I’m hoping to get them right but think I’ll just get crushed.”
“That’s a thing! I’m not making this up.”
“They start to taste the same by the end.”
“I put ‘not good finish.'”
“I put ‘insipid body.'”
The Findings
While some judges’ porter/stout guesses were correct, they agreed that the terms are outdated. There is too much gray area to truly tell the difference between a porter and a stout.
The Winners
First place: Founders Porter
Second place (tie): 4 Hands Bona Fide, Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout, The Civil Life Porter
This article appears in Guide to Beer 2014.