WINTER BREWS

from Cheers Vol. 36 May / June 2018

RESPONSIBILITY

D A R K & S T O R M Y NIGHT

ROASTED MALT OR BARLEY IS THE SECRET TO A DARK BEER. RICH, HEARTY AND EVEN CREAMY FLAVOUR IS THE GOAL OF THE BREWER. ACCREDITED BEER JUDGE AND CONNOISSEUR LUCY CORNE DELVES INTO THE DARKER ARTS.

LEFT: Deliciously deep gold in colour. Is it any wonder that this segment of the beer market has its fervent followers? RIGHT: The raw material for a good stout – suitably roasted and brown.

There is an erroneous belief that South Africans don’t like dark beer. “We don’t have the climate for stouts,” I hear people say, as they reach for a robust cabernet or a full-bodied Shiraz. “You don’t want to drink a heavy dark beer when it’s 35 degrees outside.”

This last part might be true, but then it’s not always 35 degrees outside and when those bonechilling Jo’burg winter evenings arrive, or the Cape Town downpours (hopefully) begin, the last thing you want to be sipping is a frosty glass filled with spritzy, icy lager. Just as many sauvignon sippers reach for something a little heavier when winter rolls in, so too can those who normally lean towards the lighter beers.

MYTH-BUSTING DARK BEERS Before we go any further, let’s get a few things straight. Just because a beer is dark, that doesn’t automatically mean that it is high in alcohol. Guinness, the most famous stout of them all, is less than 4.5% ABV – lower in alcohol than that lager you’ve been sipping all summer.

Dark beers are also blamed for being less kind to the waistline, but that likewise isn’t always true. The best indicator when it comes to calories is alcohol content, so your 4.5% stout is actually easier on the waistline than that 5.5% lager. Of course, there are stronger and sweeter versions, but if you’ve been skipping dark beers to save on alcohol units or calories, then you have some catching up to do.

YOUR BEER IS TOO COLD! Just like wine, different styles of beer should be served at different temperatures in order to get the best from them. We tend to drink our ales way too cold, thus missing much of the flavour and aroma. Stouts and porters should be served at 7—10 degrees, so be sure to pull them out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you plan to drink them. Dark lagers can also stand to warm up a little – 7 degrees is perfect.

A PINT OF PORTER Once upon a time, all beers were dark beers. Then technological advances made it possible for brewers to opt for paler malts and gradually beer became available in the cornucopia of beer colours we’re used to today. It was porter that would become the first beer brewed on an industrial scale. Purportedly named for the blue collar workers who sipped on it in London pubs, porter quickly became Britain’s favourite beer and was shipped to colonies such as India long before pale ale had even been thought up. But porter failed to slake thirsts in India for much the same reason we might fancy a pint of it on a wintry day in Wakkerstroom – it is better suited to less steamy climes.

Brewed with roasted barley malt alongside pale malt, water, hops and yeast, the porter typically has hints of chocolate, toast and toffee. It’s great with chocolatey desserts, sticky toffee pudding and roast meats, where the meat’s caramelised notes work in perfect harmony with porter’s roastiness. Porters come in a range of guises – standard English porters are fairly low in alcohol (4.0-5.5% ABV) and are not too rich in body. American versions tend to ramp up the alcohol and the hops, while the Baltic porter is a hearty brew, over 7% ABV, velvety and best sipped on August evenings in Sutherland or Semonkong.

BELOW: Variety is the spice of life – and there are a range of flavours, aromas and colours when it comes to beer.

THE STOUT FAMILY Stout began its life as porter and the two are closely linked, like a pair of modern day languages both descended from the same Latin roots. The moniker ‘stout’ was once a prefix to porters that were slightly stronger, but in time the porter part was dropped and we were left simply with stouts. These days, stout is the style that most people think of when the conversation turns to dark beer, thanks in no small part to the masterful marketing of Guinness over the years.

Stouts tend to be a little roastier and a touch more acrid than porters, with stronger notes of coffee and slightly singed toast. Like their cousin, the porter, stouts come in a variety of styles – some stouter than others. Dry Irish stouts are fairly light (usually under 4.5% ABV) but they have plenty of big brothers – oatmeal stout, with its coffee-andcream flavours; milk stout, sweetened with lactose and the biggest of them all, imperial stout. Upwards of 8% ABV, and often over 10%, the imperial stout can pour as thick as treacle and makes a fine after-dinner beer. It is marvellous with a rich, gooey dessert like an oozing chocolate fondant straight from the oven. DARK BEERS FOR WARM CLIMES Of course, not everywhere in South Africa gets a notable winter chill. While an imperial stout would make a perfect nightcap on a winter camping trip in the Cederberg, what if you’re looking for something to sip in Musina or northern KZN?

The wonderful thing about beer is the vast variety, the sheer diversity when it comes to flavour, aroma, colour and body. If even a light and approachable dry stout seems too much for the weather, reach instead for a dark lager. Fairly light in body and generous in carbonation, they come with complex, well developed flavours of toast, biscuit, chocolate and toffee. So even if your winter routine largely sees you surfing, sunbathing and wearing slops, you can still partake in a little seasonal drinking.