Beer School

It’s finally December and ‘tis the season for roasty, malty, creamy, dark, delicious porters and stouts. But what’s the difference between a porter and stout? The history of the porter goes back about three hundred years, where it was brewed as a full-bodied beer made using moderately kilned brown malt. Stronger versions of porters were referred to as “stout porter” or a “stout” for short. Initially, the word stout was used to describe any strong beer regardless of style, but as the popularity of the stout porter outstripped that of a regular porter, the word stout became synonymous with strong …

A relative newcomer to the beer scene, the Brut IPA is one of the biggest beer trends of 2018. But, what does it mean to be a Brut? Borrowing its name from the wine world, the term “brut” describes a style of beer that is both extremely dry and highly carbonated. Unofficial style guidelines suggest that it should also be pale in colour and present clear hop aromas. So, what’s the Brut secret? According to San Francisco’s Kim Sturdavant, it’s all in the enzyme. This special enzyme, called amyloglucosidase, works to break down otherwise unfermentable starches into fermentable sugars. In …