Learn & Discover
Darker beer styles for Autumn and Winter
As the days grow shorter, the weather colder and our hearts yearn for the comforts of the festive season our tastes turn towards the darker, unctious comforting and complex world of darker beers.
Thankfully, there are a lot of dark beer styles to choose from to soothe our winter and work weary selves, whether that be dark beer styles from abroad like dark lagers, dunkels and doppelbocks or heritage British beers.
Stouts
The classic British dark beer style. Expect variation in how stouts taste. Colour ranges from darkest brown to inky black. Stout can taste of dark roast coffee, dark chocolate and in some cases liquorice. If those flavours aren’t your bag do still give stouts a try. The brewer harnesses an incredible breadth of flavour creating incredibly well balanced and accessible beers that are far more than the sum of their parts. Stouts can be creamy and lighter in flavour too. Many people who didn’t like beer previously find that stouts are their way into enjoying beer for the first time.
Imperial stouts and porters
Imperial stouts and porters turn their respective characteristics up to 11. To the drinker deciding what to choose at the bar the prefix Imperial often indicates a higher ABV and a more intense flavour experience. Imperial Stouts and Porters might also have completed the final leg of their fermentation in wooden barrels which may have previously contained spirits adding to the complexity and depth of flavour of the beer. The mouthfeel can be more viscous and syrupy and, when combined with a higher level of alcohol, Imperial Stouts and Porters can be enjoyed slowly and savoured in thirds or halves. Preferably next to a roaring fire.
Milk Stouts
Milk Stouts incorporate milk sugar (lactose) to give a silky and creamy texture and mouthfeel. The addition of lactose produces a sweeter beer and, in combination with darker malts, is likely to present flavours and aromas you might associate with other wintry treats like puddings and desserts e.g. chocolate, vanilla, honeycomb and caramelised or burnt sugar. Modern experimentation in brewing that combines the high alcohol content of Imperial Stouts and Porters with lactose, spices and other flavouring additives (like chocolate or marshmallows) produces something in between styles and might be referred to as a pudding or a pastry stout.
Milds
Usually dark brown in colour, due to the well-roasted malts although pale milds can be found. Look for a rich malty aroma and flavour, with hints of dark fruit, chocolate, coffee and caramel, with a gentle underpinning of hop bitterness.
