It’s time for THE best beer drinking holiday…St. Patrick’s Day! And what better brew to be sippin’ on than one of our deliciously creamy Irish Cream Imperial Stouts! Seriously, it’s the gold at the end of the rainbow. Stout’s have been popular for a loooong time with the first Stout documented in around 1677 and have remained popular throughout time (obviously!). So in celebration of our wonderful Irish Cream Stout we love so much and for St.Patrick’s Day, we decided to dive in a little more to the history behind all the different styles of Stout! Because what’s St. Patty’s Day without a Stout?!
As you Stout lovers already know, Stouts are darker beers in colour with lots of different variations such as Chocolate, Oatmeal and even Oyster Stouts…Yeah dunno how to feel about that one. Stout means “Strong” which is fitting for the taste and “Brave” which is how we feel after drinking a couple Stouts and getting the courage to sing Mariah Carey Karaoke. We have two awesome Stouts here at Old Yale: Our Sasquatch Stout and our Irish Cream Imperial Stout, let’s look at them…
Our Irish Cream Stout you know, and love is what’s called an “Imperial Stout”. An Imperial Stout is a darker/ stronger and bolder beer with alcohol content being usually over 8-9% and is one of the darkest beer styles available. The flavours in these stouts tend to be more herbal, spice and coffee forward. Imperial Stout was first produced by Fritz Sick in Prince Alberta, then taken over and produced by Molson in 1958 and remains one of the most popular beers with Craft Brewers throughout North America. Nowadays the word “imperial” is sometimes added to other styles of beers besides just stouts to signify a stronger type of beer, for example: Imperial IPA’s, Imperial Pilsners…
Our infamous Sasquatch Stout is a hybrid between a dry Irish stout and an Oatmeal Stout. It’s recipe and flavour profile tends to follow what would usually be a dry Irish Stout, but it does contain oats which help build the body and mouth feel a bit more. Sounds Science-y right? Our Sasquatch Stout has notes of chocolate, coffee and dark roasted malts which pairs perfectly with your steak or even chocolate cake!
An Oatmeal Stouts utilized flaked oats help build the mouthfeel, providing additional creaminess and richness (Fun Fact this was once often suggested for new mothers to aid in lactation!). The Irish Stout, which is the most famous style of Stout (think Guiness!) is fairly dry, and has a simple yet delicious recipe of malted barley, roast barley and flaked barley! Then BOOM mix these two bad boys together and you have our Sasquatch Stout! You’re welcome.
The next style of Stout you should know about is Pastry Stouts. We don’t currently have any Pastry Stouts here at Old Yale buut never say never! This ones a sweet one and defs the most yummy sounding Stout considering we’ll be talking about the Oyster Stout next (give it a chance!!)…Pastry Stouts, as the name says, tries to take the flavour profile of your favorite (chocolate) dessert and make them a beverage, usually very sweet, thick and heavy. So, we’ll need our stretchy pants if we’re planning on enjoying any Pastry Stouts tonight.
Sooo, what the heck is an Oyster Stout? Sounds a little odd, right? And probably pretty salty. Oysters have a long history with Stouts because they were a commonplace food in the 18th century while Stouts began to become popular, making oyster’s an easy ingredient. Oyster Stouts can use either whole raw oysters or just the shells in the brewing process, this helps provide the salts needed for brewing, but also lends a salinity to the final product. In modern day, Oyster stouts can be made with handfuls of fresh Oysters, AKA not vegetarian friendly for any of our vegetarian friends! But, some Oyster Stouts don’t contain oysters at all, they’re just given the name “Oyster Stout” because the stout pairs well with a plate of oysters!
So what do ya think friends? Feeling in the St. Patty’s Day spirit and love stouts as much as we do? Come join us on our patio for a pint or two!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everybody!