The Versus Series - Beer - Porter vs. Stout

Waking up today to a 20 degree, cold ass day in Washington, DC, spurred a new idea for Swig Knowledge. I decided to do a “Versus Edition.” With the cold weather this morning a Porter vs. Stout edition only seemed fitting....even at 10am. Some of you may remember the blog I did about Session Dark a few weeks ago. I decided to take that idea and blend in two fuller bodied beers, though different in style, similar in effect. By the way, this photo to the left is from when I was in Prague. Yes, I've been to Europe. Buy my book now!

The beers I paired against each other were two locally produced delicacies in Flying Dog “Gonzo Imperial Stout” out of Fredrick, Maryland, and Dominion “Oak Barrel Stout” out of Dover, Delaware. People ask me all the time, “Cole, what's the difference between Porters and Stouts?” My answer: “Porters get me drunker cause they are higher in ABV (Alcohol by Volume).”

But seriously, Stouts and Porters are basically from the same dysfunctional family in the dark beer world. Both beers are made with water, yeast, hops and roasted malt or barley. So which came first? Well, Porters were produced as early as 1720 in England and the word Stout was used as early as the 14th century to describe “strong brews.” “Stout Porters” were created in England and Ireland in the late 1700's and the word “Porter” was dropped in the 1800's to symbolize that you had a strong beer in your bottle or keg. Basically, Porters are a specific style of beer and Stouts are strong beers. One could potentially have a stout lager or IPA. Porters have always been known as the strongest of stout beers.

Flying Dog has become very popular small craft brewing company over the years. The Gonzo Imperial Porter (9.2% ABV, around $2 in the store) was created in homage to Hunter S. Thompson (one of my favorite writers) who created the term “Gonzo Journalism” - a very complex writing style that takes you all over the place in random thought process, but eventually back to a main point. This porter is no different as it takes you through an array of smells from chocolate to bitter caramel and tastes such as coffee, cherries and bitter chocolate on the tongue. The dark, opaque color provides an amber/caramel, frothy head.

Dominion is a lesser known brewery which has been around longer then Flying Dog. The Oak Barrel Stout (5.2% ABV, around $2 in the store) provided a similar sight (dark and opaque with an amber head which dissolved quickly), but provided a different nose (full-bodied oak like you would find in wine with an oak barrel fermentation with a hint of vanilla and lavender) and taste (strong vanilla – almost like a milkshake – and lighter in complexity then the Flying Dog). This would be a good sipping beer.

In the end, I would pick the Gonzo Imperial Porter as the beer I want to hold me in its arms on a cold day (okay, that's way too much I know) because of its boldness, but I did enjoy the Oak Barrel Stout as one I would drink again. In fact, I would not characterize the Oak Barrel as a porter at all, but rather a strong (stout) beer as noted above.

Even though I have a buzz (which is always a goal), I feel that this first edition of the “Versus Series” was a bust since the two beers were so different. Ugh, now off to work.