Before it was a stout, it was a porter. And before there was Stout Month, the style wasn’t getting enough love. Fittingly, many breweries have dedicated the lovers’ month to this ancient, versatile style of beer.
Stout was a word used to describe strong beers, like London’s dark porters, during the fourteenth century. It took on a style of its own in the 1730s, when Russian Imperial Stout hit the scene, and evolved about fifty years later when dry, also called Irish, stout emerged in the The Emerald Isle. Almost two centuries of brewing later, American brewers introduced fresh variations to the category — such as oyster, chocolate, and oatmeal stout.
Boulder’s Mountain Sun Brewing and its sister pubs Southern Sun, Under The Sun, and Vine Street Pub in Denver are celebrating the 21st anniversary of Stout Month with tap takeovers, collaborations with other breweries, and the debut of the Stout Month 2014 Homebrew Contest at the end of the month. See the list of stouts and events.