Stout beer is a dark beer that is brewed using roasted malt or roasted barley and were the strongest beers produced by a brewery at 7 to 9 percent ABV. Course nowadays in the craft beer market we have seen beers that have upwards to 25%ABV.
The best known stout in the world is Guinness and is a very good example of an Irish or Dry Stout, which is dark in color and has hints of coffee flavors to it. In today's craft bee market there are many variations of stouts. Besides the aforementioned Irish/Dry stout, there also is Imperial Stout or what some refer to as Russian Imperial Stout. Oatmeal stout is a dark stout in which oats are added to the mix. Chocolate stouts refer to stouts that are dark in color and tend to have a chocolatey taste to them. Coffee stouts as the name suggests refers to stouts that are quite bitter and taste like coffee. Oysters have been associated with stouts so there also are Oyster stouts that are brewed. Plus there is Milk Stouts that contain lactose that adds some sweetness to the stout. A good example of this is New Holland's Dragons Milk Stout which is very good. And last but not least, porters are also referred to as stouts. Personally, I think porters are a separate style of beer from stouts.
So sit back and relax and sip on a pint of stout. Cheers :)
