With a wide range of beers to choose from, from pilsner, pale ales, IPA’s, stout and porters it can be overwhelming to find the right drink for you. In today’s blog we are going to be discussing porter vs stout beer to help you decide which drink you’d prefer as your next tipple of choice.
Porter and stouts have considerable similarities. Porter has been around for many years and the name originates back to the 1700s when the hard-working porters in London would go to their local pub after work. They are known for their dark medium body and significant amount of hoppiness. However stouts arrived when people experimented with porter recipes. Originally they were called ‘stout porters’ before stout had their own beer category. Stouts are usually known for their heartiness and thickness compared to porters.
The main difference between porter and stout beers is the malts that are used. Traditionally the brewing process has meant porters were brewed using brown malted barley, whereas stout is brewed using roasted and unmalted barley. This affects the flavour profiles of both beer styles as due to the malted barley in Porters, they are usually sweeter with a focus on flavours such as chocolate and caramel and less burnt or roast notes. On the other hand, stouts tend to have burnt aromas alongside a roast or espresso taste and stouts are darker in appearance. Usually breweries offer a wider variety of stouts compared to porters from imperial stouts and Irish stouts to chocolate stouts.
There is a very subtle taste difference between stouts and porters so it is likely that if you like one, you’ll probably like the other.
Yorkshire Heart Beer
The Yorkshire Heart Blackheart Stout is a strong dark stout that boasts roasted coffee and molasses flavour.
We also have the Ghost Porter which is a rich and smooth porter full of chocolate malts with a 5.4% alcohol volume.
Another favourite of Yorkshire Heart beer is Molly’s Chocolate Stout. Inspired by our very own chocolate Labrador who you will see roaming around the vineyard, this chocolate stout is a strong 7% and is best enjoyed when you’re sipping and relaxing.
If you’re a wine lover wanting to branch out into beers, why not try our Pinot Porter. It is a strong and smooth porter which includes a lot of dark malts. The brewing process involves oak barrels ageing our beer in our old red wine barrels from the Yorkshire Heart vineyard to produce a dry red wine flavour that offers a long-lasting finish.
Alternatively come and discover how we make our porter and stout beers with our monthly brewery tour and tap night. You will start by having a look round our brewery and our friendly Yorkshire Heart team will be there to talk you through the process of making the beers, show you the ingredients and equipment, before you get to have a taste for yourself. Then you will head over to our Winehouse cafe for more beer tasting and enjoy a lovely Yorkshire tapas supper.