Franconia Beer Message Board

CAMRA on Porter & Stout
Posted by Barry on 2016-10-01 06:09:25
I don't think that there is any real definitive logic to the matter.  The suggestion is that ale (a word derived from IOld English origins) referred to a drink produced by fermenting malted barley but without the addition of hops and that beer (a later acquisition from Germanic origins) referred to the same drink when hops were added.  But now the terms are used pretty well interchangeably, with beer being the word more commonly used.  Logically, therefore, there is no reason that, in contemporary usage, stout and porter could be thought of as either ales or beers.

Looking through Frank Baillie's 1973 'The Beer Drinker's Companion', many of the 86 brewing companies refer to themselves as brewers of ales and a number of regionals brew a stout (Matthew Brown of Blackburn, Burtinwood of Warrington, Cook of Halstead,Devonish, Dudgeon of Dubar, Elgood of Wisbech, Gales of Horndean, Gibbs Mew of Salisbury, Greenall, Whitley of Warrington, Greene King, Guernsey Brewery, Hall and Woodhouse of Blandford Forum, Hardy Hanson of Nottingham, Harveys of Lewes, Holts of Manchester, Home Brewery of Nottingham,  Hydes of Manchester, King and Barnes of Horsham, Lees of Middleton, Marstons of Burton,Melbourne of Stamford, Mitchells of Lancaster, Morrells of Oxford, Oldham Brewery, Palmers of Bridport, Randalls of Guernsey, Ridley of chelmsford, Robinsons of Stockport, Shipstones of Nottingham, Taylors of Keighley, Tolly Cobbold of Ipswich, Trumans of London, Vaux, Ushers of Trowbridge, Wadworths of Devizes, Wells of Bedford, Hansons of Dudley, Workington Brewery) - less than half the total.  All are bottled beers, usually among a fairly lengthy list of ale/beer types, light, pale, brown, etc..

Among the nationals, Bass Charrington brewed the famous Jubilee sweet stout, Courage brewed the legendary Russian Imperial Stout and a medium sweet Velevet Stout, Whitbread brewed Mackeson sweet stout and a couple of others.  Then, of course, there was the various Guinness stouts brewed in Park Royal, London and available nationally.

 
 
Followups:
                             CAMRA on Porter & Stout by Gunnar H on  2016-10-01 08:36:32
                               CAMRA on Porter & Stout by Nick B. on  2016-10-01 09:06:30
                               CAMRA on Porter & Stout by Barry on  2016-10-01 09:28:27
Post your reply to this topic...
Name
The value is required.
email
The value is required. Must be an email address.
Subject
The value is required.
Message