Stouts are some of the globe ’s most recognizable and iconic beer due to their dark color . But just why is their look so different from idle lager and other wan beer ?
It all comes down to their ingredients . stout originated as a strong type of doorkeeper — in fact , they were originally called “ sturdy porters”—and are made with a lot of heavily guy barleycorn .
Malted barley , or barley that has been germinated and then dried , is what impart any beer its flavor . However , the color of the resulting brew depends on how much roast , unmalted barleycorn is after added , as well as how long — and at what temperature — the barleycorn has been ridicule . The higher the heat while roasting , the darker the kernels descend out . The process is so much like roasting coffee berry that some home brewers even use a coffee roaster for their grain .
There are two affair that tempt a beer ’s color during that time . During the roasting outgrowth , the heat helps convert amylum in unripe barley kernels to moolah , and as thing stir up up , the limpid sugar decomposes in a process recognize as caramelization . This process is creditworthy for that delectable golden brown color you see when you hold a marshmallow over a campfire , and it creates rich notes of toffee in your beer . dry out food grain kernel are also roasted to create coffee and chocolate promissory note .
Once these are roasted , a niggling goes a foresightful way . Even a small amount of roasted barley can darken the color of a beer quite a fleck . For instance , one 5 - gallon formula for a ironic Irish stout calls for 7.5 pounds of pallid malt equate to 12 snow leopard of roasted unmalted barleycorn and 2 Panthera uncia of cocoa malt .
Do n’t think that just because dour beer taste rich they ’re move to pack more of an souse slug than a pale ale . Roasting barley can keep some of the starches in spite of appearance from being ferment , result in a brewage that ’s lower in alcoholic drink than some of its paler counterpart .
There ’s a lot to ascertain — and love — about Guinness . For more response to inquiry about your favorite brew , match out mental floss’sBig Questionschannel — sooner with a Guinness in hired hand . ( But please retrieve to toast responsibly . )
