What is the difference between a sour porter and a sour stout?

Likely the same difference between a porter and a stout. And that's very clear.

 

I'd go by whatever the brewer calls it. We all have different opinions about what a porter is vs. a stout, and so does the brewer.

 

Have to agree. Not easy to distinguish for a lot of people but the two have always been separate for me. Typically I would say porters are thinner in body and more bitter or smokey in flavor than most stouts. Depends on specific styles though.

 

There has been no difference for a very long time.Porter is the style,the stronger ones were known as Stout (simply meaning "strong") Porter ,eventually just Stout. Still Porter of course.
But this difference has disappeared, particularly after WW1 when many Porters were relabelled as Stouts.But the names had been used interchangeably before then.Guinness Foreign Export Stout aka West India Porter.
Examination of brewing records show no difference in ingredients.The myth about roast barley vs roast malt can be discounted.
Any apparent overall distinction comes from a small sample size.

 

You need the above bit on a hot key.

I have to be honest: The porter-stout debate is so hilarious on its own, but when I read "sour" added to its billing, I spit up my Lone Star Light. Then I grabbed an Old Engine Oil not worrying one wit what it is other than freaking good ...

 

Yes. But you think the issue is settled when a new crop of BAs come along. Problem is that there are so many beer books out there which perpetuate myths because their authors do not bother to do any real research.Not to mention blog sites....

 

One i wouldnt drink, the other would get poured down the drain

 

Haha! If it makes any difference, they're probably closer to the original porters than anything going by that name today .

 

Don't give in to the temptation. Just accept it for what it is.

 

If they're sour, they're both American Wild Ales.

 

Is your space bar broken?

 

Both drain pours?

 

It's what comes with typing on my phone when still half asleep

 

Maybe, maybe not. They could also be "stale" porter. A porter that is sour by design is still a porter. It's a really bad idea to lump all sour porters into a category with "American" in the name... but it's not your fault that there's a thing called "American Wild Ales" here.

 

What's different? Mostly just the name.

 

What if it is sour and hazy?

 

#infected oh noes drain pour BCBS lol

.....honestly it's a dark sour, maybe brewed that way on purpose, maybe an attempt at selling spoiled beer? At this stage in the game, it's all about what more people will buy if they think it's interesting enough.

But, I really dislike dark sours, so take that for what it's worth.

 

Exactly. I've read enough of what I consider to be credible sources,to believe that maybe at one time, stouts were once distinguished from porters by being stronger, essentially. But we live in a world where there are stouts that are around 4% or even less ABV, and porters with 10% ABV. And the distinction, at least in a modern sense, seems to be simply what the brewer decides, in most cases. Some brewers produce two (or more) markedly different brews in the same family and choose to distinguish them by labeling one or more as porters or stouts, respectively. I basically regard them as synonyms at this point, and the different "official" style as an artifice of branding at this point. Case in point: I am currently drinking one of my favorite local brews; Big Timber Porter. Its a dark, chocolatey, roasty beast of brew, with a fair amount of coffee flavor as well, that has a 6.5% abv, which would probably make it a stout if it were defined in terms of strength. If porters are thinner, well its definitely more stout-like, because its rich and creamy and blows a traditional stout like Guinness out of the water in that regard. But still, its branded as a porter, and is one of my favorite stouts. Probably the best non-barrel aged stout that is currently brewed in WV, IMHO.

But back to OP: I kinda wanna brew a sour porter-stout now...

Agreed, but since they are essentially synonymous at this point (at least in many samples, tho certainly not to the agreement of all), its at the brewer's discretion whether or not to label a beer as a "porter" or "stout." I wonder, has anyone ever brewed an officially labelled "porter-stout?" lol

 

Yeah, I am still not sure if the OP question is real or trolling for another silly porter v. Stout debate.