Controversial Beer Opinions (Round Two)

IOW, you are saying all stouts should be Imperial stouts.

(Also, BTW, I wouldn't consider 9.4% ABV to be "low". )

 

Funny timing, I’m gonna visit my local place cause they just canned a 4% stout. My other favorite beer they brew is their schwarzbier, 4%. To each their own...I’d still share a beer with you

 

How about the epicenter of stouts Guinness Draught with a measly 4.2% ?

 

Essentially, yes. If you are big and boozy you aren't much of a stout in my opinion. I very rarely buy a stout if it doesn't have imperial I know this is controversial.

I wouldn't consider it low for a stout, for other styles. And I wish to edit my original post, my new minimum ABV a stout should be is 8% soy you convened me somewhat.

 

Our palates are quite different if you find Guinness the epicenter of stouts. Still not a real stout in my opinion. Feel free to disagree it is a bit controversial idea

 

Talking for a friend, nevermind

 

I'm on board with imperial stouts like narwhal, however what is your opinion on stouts such as obsidian and Kalamazoo stouts?.

 

I would be super.curious to try a stout and schwarzbier that were the same abv side by side

 

Who you callin' a "kid?" The 4.5% Robinsons stout that I had last night was sooo satisfying.

 

LMAO I think the reason I started this thread is a saw a post in WBAYDN today or yesterday and thinking to myself "WTF is a 4.5% stout?"

All that matters is you enjoy it. I'll snap up a bottle if I ever come across it

 

In my experience, the results will vary a lot depending on the beers used. You can find two black lagers that are incredibly different from one another, and a black lager and a porter that are very similar. The other variables are too great. In my POV, it is often the case that the differences between beers within a style can be much bigger than the differences between different styles. C'est la vie.

 

Ya, like the pa vs IPA thing, I only really expect a relevant spectrum to apply within an individual brewers offerings.

That said, shwarz are - IME - pretty prominently roasty and fairly thin. I would be curious to see how it was perceived along side a fuller bodied dark beer that (could) share some of those same malt notes

 

I’m sure you could easily find some canned Kostrizer and Guinness for a side by side.

4.8% vs. 4.2%, so not SUPER close, but whatever, close enough. This isn’t science.

 

My associates degree in beerology disagrees!

That said, I've never encountered kostrizer around here. I'll keep an eye on a local that almost always has a dry Irish stout on and occasionally does a shwarz. Never compared the abvs but I bet they're within a half point

 

But like I was saying, the differences between those beers (beyond the porter vs lager realm) are likely too big for the experience to be actually very revealing. In the end, you're really just comparing the differences between a widgeted Guinness Draught and Kostritzer Schwarzbier rather than anything larger - know what I mean?

 

I plan to @unlikelyspiderperson the schwarzbier usually pops up end of November each year so I’m gonna keep one of the stouts in hand to see. I’d expect to notice immediately do to the finish on each but we’ll shall see.

 

Uhm, okay.

 

I figured that one may be a bit controversial. Thanks for the laugh

 

There is a fair bit of recent discussion on the Schwarzbier beer style and ‘variability’.

Below is an extract of the beer style guideline for this beer style via BJCP (with emphasis in bold by me):

“Characteristic Ingredients: German Munich malt and/or Pilsner malts for the base, supplemented by a judicious use of roasted malts (such as Carafa types) for the dark color and subtle roast flavors. Huskless dark roasted malts can add roast flavors without burnt flavors. German hop varieties and clean German lager yeasts are traditional.

Style Comparison: In comparison with a Munich Dunkel, usually darker in color, drier on the palate, lighter in body, and with a noticeable (but not high) roasted malt edge to balance the malt base. Should not taste like an American Porter made with lager yeast. Drier, less malty, with less hop character than a Czech Dark Lager.”

I too have noticed that the flavor profile of Schwarzbiers can vary and IMO some (many?) brewers are not being “judicious” in their utilization of roast malts (e.g., not using dehusked roast malts and/or using too much). I personally prefer the Schwarzbiers that only have subtle roast flavors.

For those who enjoy dark lagers my preferred style is Czech Dark Lagers. These beers are not easy to find but there are some out there.

I enjoyed the Czech Dark Lager brewed by Triple Bottom:



Most of the Czech Dark Lagers I drink are my homebrewed beers:



Na Zdravi

 

Celebration is the best seasonal beer that’s distributed nationally.