Good brewers know that winter brings beers with more body and alcohol content, which not only help us warm up, but also go perfectly with long moments on the sofa and a blanket or leisurely conversations around a table.
One of the styles that is most suitable for cold weather is Stout and Porter beers (black beers). These styles (well, more like styles, because there are quite a few…), have their own easily recognizable identity.
Black beer was born in certain areas of Germany, in the 14th century. However, his fame became strong in England, which as a colonial power ended up expanding that hobby.
But how do you get a dark beer? How is that final blackness achieved? The main characteristic with respect to other types of beers is the use of dark malts from malted cereal (moistened, germinated and dried) to which heat is continued to be applied for longer periods of time at higher temperatures, to precisely achieve that roast. differential.
In the malt roasting process, the fermentable sugar they contain is reduced, although the resulting roasting gives them a range of aromas and flavors that will be transmitted to the final product.
Some of those flavors that are usually present in dark beers are chocolate, coffee or liquorice. They are also the flavors and smells that are most easily distinguished in the nose or mouth.
Thanks to this higher concentration, its flavor is therefore usually stronger. That is why they are also related more to the colder months, as typical of winter; although nothing prevents taking them at any time…
Today we are going to focus on the two main styles of black beers, with some suggestions to organize a very original plan at home. But if you want to know more, you can go to these two articles where we gave more details about the history and elaboration of black beers.
Porter and Stout, main styles
As a summary, we can say that Porter and Stout are the two main beers we know as black, although there are other styles and sub-styles within the former.
These categories belong to the same family, since the second used to be elaborated like the first but with higher concentration levels. This gave them a more liquor tone and made them more alcoholic. That historical difference has evolved and mutated quite a bit today.
Today we want to propose a selection of beers of these styles to prepare a snack at home, in these times when you want to extend meetings with family and friends. But no coffee and butter pastries. Be original (and brewers!) and dare to offer your visitors a snack with sweets and black beers. And to be even more original, we want to recommend beers in a can format.
Craft beers in cans?
Legend has it that the first craft beer to hit the market using the can as a container was Dale's Pale Ale from Oskar Blues Brewery, back in 2002. Since then, craft brewers have been adopting this format, which has certain advantages over glass.
Among them, it preserves beers better and cools down faster, which makes them ideal for those beers that you have stored and take out when a visitor arrives (remember that dark beers do not need to be consumed very cold, the ideal is to drink them at about 11 or 12 degrees).
Furthermore, in cans you can find the 44 cl format., and this amount, together with the fact that black beers are long drinks (that is, you have to savor and stop...) make it ideal to lengthen an afternoon around this drink. Just in tune with the theme of this post.
- Garage Beer Stepped On Oatmeal Porter: is a soft beer with a creamy body thanks to the large amount of oatmeal used that gives it smoothness. It will be great with some filled wafers or a chocolate brownie that has slipped into your nougat tray.
- Althaia Kraken Baltic Porter: a dark, mysterious and intense beer that tells the story of how sailors in the northern seas feared a giant octopus that could attack their ships in any moment. The foam that this monster caused was as dense as that of beer, and it goes perfectly with alfanjores or candied fruit.
- Althaia Batiscafo Imperial Stout: A dark brown, almost chocolate-colored Imperial stout with a lot of body and a creamy and long-lasting head, from Althaia from Alicante. This beer is ideal to enjoy accompanied by those chocolate covered coconut balls that are always lost among the nougat.
- La Quince Castells Coffee Stout: This beer is very special because it is a limited edition born from the collaboration between the Spain AeroPress Championship, Harmony Coffee Roasters, La Quince and Cervezas Guineu. It is called Coffee Stout because they have added cold brew coffee. And yes, it will also be very well drunk accompanied by that soft nougat that you still have at home...
- La Grúa Molotov Imperial Stout: a full-bodied beer that has spent 8 months in Jack Daniel’s barrels. Perfect to drink with those chocolate pralines your aunt brought for dinner.
- Garage Beer Into The Long Grass Stout: a complex and robust stout with a toasty finish but a refreshing touch, which you can drink while attacking those chocolate dustings that are making you little eyes.
It is possible that you have already made it to the night, chatting, drinking and enjoying these beers. It's cold outside, but inside (very inside) it's warm and good vibes. This is what we want to achieve with our recommendations, friend beersapiens, that drinking beer is also a moment full of quality and good memories.
Happy Holidays!
Source: https://arriaca.es
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