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Nobody can tell the future with the exception of Nostradamus of course but in the process of trying to understand the role of beer in society today, I thought it prudent to start in the past to see what I could learn. I’m not even going to try to explain the history of beer as it would take way to long and to be honest it’s all been said before but instead I got to thinking about a snapshot of my own personal history and my first memories of beer.
As I was growing up in Cork on the south coast of Ireland in the early 1980s, people drank stout. I remember my father drinking stout, my grandfather drinking stout, it was part of their identity, irish men of a certain age drank pints of dark, creamy, bitter ale. The local brews, Murphy’s and Beamish were favoured by the more traditional drinker “buy local”, while Guinness even though accepted, was viewed with a certain amount of scepticism in some quarters due to its production in Dublin (West britain?). A glass of stout sometimes with the addition of blackcurrant cordial was many ladies drink of choice and even recommended as a good source of iron during pregnancy.
These days stout or irish stout to be exact has become intertwined with the fabric of irish society and is viewed as our national beverage mainly due to the marketing geniuses at Guinness but is it really our drink? I think the answer is most definitely yes but the origins lie according to historians ( ok a little bit of history ) in a drink called porter that was first produced in London in about 1730. Porter, an ale that may have varied in colour from pale to brown, who some say even started out as a mixture or cuvee if you like of fresher and older beers was first brewed in Ireland in around 1787. Stout (stout porter), brewed from unmalted roasted barley was its predecessor and if the records are to be believed, was a similar beer just stronger in alcohol content.
In more recent years with the onset of globalisation, open market economies and cheaper airfares the world has changed and so has my view of Stout. In the early 2000s I tried my first non Irish version of what I thought was our beer. An oatmeal stout brewed in Austria at the 1516 Brewing Company that I believe is till available seasonally and goes by the name of “Eejit Stout” cheekily paying homage to the emerald isle. It was different for sure and it was great.
Of course other nations besides the British and Irish have a tradition of brewing stouts and porters too. Russian Imperial stout and Baltic porters have been around since the 18th century and the Polish brew a pretty mean version of what has become one of my favourite styles, but has stout evolved has it moved with the times?
The answer in my humble opinion is a definite yes and this is for the most part due to the amazing people involved in the Craft Beer movement. Regional independent breweries of different shapes and sizes all around the world have become super creative not just with the beers they are brewing but the artwork, branding and packaging reflecting the more contemporary culture of modern society . Have you ever tried a marshmallow stout brewed in Wales or an Imperial stout with liquorice and Chilli made in Belgium ? What about a japanese espresso stout or a german chocolate porter. Craft beer challenges the traditional styles with admittedly varying degrees of success but has definitely brought so much fun and curiosity back into beer drinking.
Feel free to comment, give feedback or totally disagree with my opinions and or add your own thoughts and views, I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Cheers!
Darren
That Beer Guy 