From home brewers, to connoisseurs, to the guy that just knows what dark beer is, eventually everyone wonders about the difference in Porters and Stouts and which came first.
To answer which came first, Porters. Porters began as a concoction of two to three different ages of beer. It was a practice of adding a newer ale to an older darker ale. This helped mask any imperfections. Some times a newer fresh pale ale was added to the mix.
This blending of beer came to be known as Porter. Named after London's working class Porters, where the beer's popularity began.
Eventually Porter grew popular among other citizens of London. Brewers took the hint and began to brew a new variety of beer with the same flavor and character of the popular concoction. This new beer inherited the title of Porter.
Over time, as with all beers, brewers began brewing different Porters with varying amounts of dark malts and levels of alcohol. These darker stronger Porters were simply known as Stout Porters. Though for convenience they were merely called "Stout".
The separation of Stout and Porter began as the popular dark beer made its to Ireland, where it's popularity exploded.
Irish brewers began brewing stouts and somehow decided to start adding roasted barley to the recipe. This is where stout began to evolve into a new style of beer. With the birth of Guinness, the stout by which all others are judged, Ireland officially became the authority on Stout. Over time Stouts came to be brewed more for their strong flavor and dark color rather than alcohol content.
Stouts today, despite the name, typically have a lower alcohol content among other beers.
Even though Stouts came to overshadow other dark beers, Porters persisted. Unlike stout which has spread around the world. A true Porter, because of it's history will always be uniquely English and made with English ingredients.
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