PASTE - Endangered Beer Styles: American Stout

Not true. There are plenty of non-flavored, roasty, hoppy and more subtle Stouts and Porters out there.

 

Thank you. As I have been saying all along. These new styles are for dongs and bros, and are killing Independent George

 

From the Paste article:

“And indeed, as owner VanderKamp acknowledges, New Holland has explored all kinds of unique iterations and flavorings for Dragon’s Milk, so it’s not as if they’re exactly taking a stand against the “pastry stout” movement.

“Yes, we have witnessed the Stout landscape continue to get more and more entrants that appear to be more about the additives than making a great quality beer,” he said.”

Kudos to VanderKamp for utilizing the proper terminology of “flavorings” and “additives” for the stuff that is added to the popular contemporary Stouts.

Over the past couple of years I have noted that there are more and more choices of Pilsners from craft breweries; a move back to more ‘regular’ beers. Perhaps within the overarching beer style of Stouts there will be a move from BIG & Extreme Stouts (e.g., Imperial Stouts, Pastry Stouts, etc.) to Stouts which are less extreme in terms of ABV and with no flavorings/additives added?

Cheers!

 

Not new to market.

 

Maybe the big flavored sugary stouts are the only ones Paste can get breweries to send them for free.

 

Most oatmeal stouts were ass. I doubt that is a style that many people are missing.

I think this article is off the mark. Plenty of small craft breweries make traditional lower ABV "American" stouts and/or porters, and make damn good ones too. Perhaps this is a style that doesn't sell in high enough volumes for the likes of Sierra Nevada to bother making them any more, which fair enough, but plenty of breweries that I like make great examples of the style. So somebody is still drinking them.

Maybe when push comes to shove, people aren't turning to the large craft brewers for beers like these. I don't see where they've disappeared altogther; the lack of 1,000+ review beers in this style likely just means exactly this, that it's a style people get locally.

 

I don't think I've ever used the word subtle when describing Sierra Nevada Stout.

BTW -- I love someone working with language as his tool and writes like a Bowery Boy.
“Wait, there’s plenty of stouts available!”

 

I miss GF Double Stout

 

While I agree, in context of the current market, perhaps?

 

To each his own take on good and bad, but Oatmeal Stout has always been a favorite of mine -- one brand is even one of my few 5 ratings. I'd miss it if it went away (which it hasn't).

 

Back in the day we used to get Young's on draft. That was, from my recollection, an excellent oatmeal stout.

 

We don't want to kill independent George.

 

Thank you Bells for expanding into the area and bringing along Kalamazoo and more importantly Expedition Stout.

 

Support your local porter!

 

I bet this article gave @islay a boner.

 

Look for Slip & Satch American Stout in your local stores soon !

 

Even with the advantage of “standard” stouts having been around far longer than the current craze for high-gravity pastry stouts, sites like Beer Advocate or Untappd are inundated with interest and coverage of the latter. It’s no wonder that people now think of the high-gravity, sugar-laden stuff when they hear the word “stout.”

A very timely and sad statement as to the current climate in craft beer, to be sure.

 

Best part of the article, IMO:

New Holland doesn’t have as many “core” or year-round beers as many breweries do, but they’ve stuck by their classic oatmeal stout, The Poet, through thick and thin. They certainly have shown no hesitance in having a well-known standard strength stout, alongside an even better-known barrel-aged stout (Dragon’s Milk). And indeed, as owner VanderKamp acknowledges, New Holland has explored all kinds of unique iterations and flavorings for Dragon’s Milk, so it’s not as if they’re exactly taking a stand against the “pastry stout” movement.

“Yes, we have witnessed the Stout landscape continue to get more and more entrants that appear to be more about the additives than making a great quality beer,” he said. “That said, we love to be creative with stout beers by creating complementary flavors for our Dragon’s Milk Stout. Our most recent is a variant with Orange and Chocolate added. The fact is that dark-roasted malt beers that are low hopped create a wonderful backdrop to add unique and complimentary flavors!”

But at the same time, even as the brewery has experimented via Dragon’s Milk, their standard strength stout has remained a dependable, unchanging standby—what VanderKamp refers to as “a steady workhorse,” with “a loyal group of fans that keep its volume very stable.” But at the same time, the owner is irked when he sees adjunct stouts that push the envelope past a certain point of sense or decency.

“I do think some of the imperial-ization has gotten out of hand,” he said. “Just adding more of something (hops or alcohol) does not make it better or more interesting. In fact, I believe it is really sort of a ‘one-trick pony’ that’s born out of laziness.”

VanderKamp goes on to hope that in the future, the balance might shift back to a greater appreciation for subtlety.

“Currently, balance appears to be dead, but like all things, ultimately the pendulum still swings back to a more balanced state,” he said.