what is the different

what is the different
from a stout and a porter or are they around about the same thing

My understanding is that stouts use roasted malts. That's what gives it that dark chocolate, coffee flavor.

If I remember from my stout and porter book correctly, historically a porter is a dark beer (which you probably know of course) and a stout is a stronger or 'stouter' porter.

Nowaday, ingredient-wise, roughly speaking a stout is defined by using roasted barely and a porter is defined by using black malt. However, in a world of black IPA's, and white stouts these definitions increasingly become meaningless.

I think any stout could be called a porter and vice versa and none could say its wrong. I think this is correct, in the 18th century porter was 1st produced in mass and developed into different strengths the strongest being stout porter later due to wartime shortages and taxes there became only 1 strength and the word porter was dropped and I think for about 50 years no one made anything called porter until the 70s when it made a comeback. I have heard it said porter uses black malt and stout uses roasted barley (or the other way round) but I don't think this is in any way historically correct.

Stout used to mean "strong and heavy" as in "He defended himself with a stout stick". Stout used to be strong beer of any colour... Stout ale, stout beer, stout porter.
So, stout porter would have the same recipe as porter but it would be stronger.
Porter disappeared from UK brewing after the second world war and the beer went forwards as stout. So, in reality there's no difference between stout and porter but most would argue that porter is dominated by brown malt and stout is dominated by black malt/roasted barley.

It is a blurred area nowadays as porter was a more popular beer in it's day and yes brown malt was it's main constituent which is not always the case now. Brown malt now is not the same as the brown that used to be used for traditional porters. I always assume that stouts are a more full bodied, black opaque ale whereas a stout can be deep reddish brown and slightly thinner. Both can be chocolate, roasted, coffee and if it were me it would really depend on what I wanted to call it on the label.

I may be wrong but I've always considered porter to be be a sweeter, thicker brew whereas a stout tends to be thinner, drier and more bitter. Both can have chocolatey, coffee notes but IMO this tends to be more prominent in porters

guiness is a top brew and non better

chuffer said:

I may be wrong but I've always considered porter to be be a sweeter, thicker brew whereas a stout tends to be thinner, drier and more bitter. Both can have chocolatey, coffee notes but IMO this tends to be more prominent in porters

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That is my understanding too, that a porter is a bigger beer with plenty of grain, almost like a meal in a glass and normally a higher than average ABV

chuffer said:

I may be wrong but I've always considered porter to be be a sweeter, thicker brew whereas a stout tends to be thinner, drier and more bitter. Both can have chocolatey, coffee notes but IMO this tends to be more prominent in porters

Click to expand...

The BJCP description of English porters and Irish stout have the following descriptions

Porter
Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body. Moderately-low
to moderately-high carbonation. Light to moderate creamy
texture.

Appearance: Light brown to dark brown in color, often with
ruby highlights when held up to light. Good clarity, although
may approach being opaque. Moderate off-white to light tan
head with good to fair retention.

irish Stout

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium-full body, with a
somewhat creamy character (particularly when served with a
nitro pour). Low to moderate carbonation. For the high hop
bitterness and significant proportion of dark grains present,
this beer is remarkably smooth. May have a light astringency
from the roasted grains, although harshness is undesirable.

Appearance: Jet black to very deep brown with garnet
highlights in color. According to Guinness, “Guinness beer may
appear black, but it is actually a very dark shade of ruby.”
Opaque. A thick, creamy, long-lasting, tan- to brown-colored
head is characteristic when served on nitro, but don’t expect
the tight, creamy head on a bottled beer.

I know this is a snapshot of one type of each but confirms my thoughts on both styles that the porter is the weaker in body and colour whereas the stout may be creamier,thicker and darker.almost black. As far as flavours go I think they are much the same and I wouldn't be fussed if someone called it a porter and I thought it was a stout as long as it's good!"