International Stout Day is a worldwide celebration of the iconic beer style, Stout. Taking place in homes, pubs, stores, breweries and restaurants; it’s all about celebrating the craft beer revolution, relishing in this beloved beer style!

The origins of Stout are in London insofar as Stout is an evolution of Porter, however, as history would have it Ireland gets the credit for introducing Stout to the world stage. Dating back many thousands of years prior to the 1700s, the product of Ireland was sweet, un-hopped ales, as Ireland’s cool damp climate was unsuitable for growing hops. This was the traditional Celtic ale. Through the 1700s leading up to English rule of Ireland, which began in 1801, England shipped its hopped ales across the Irish Sea to Dublin, thus introducing hopped ales to Ireland.

Ireland’s Arthur Guinness, who had been brewing the traditional un-hopped Celtic ale since the 1750s, switched in the late 1770s to brewing Porter in his brewery at St. James’s Gate, Dublin, in an effort to counter the burgeoning English domination of Ireland’s beer market. Guinness’s first two beers were named X and XX, with the stronger of the two, XX, later named Extra Porter Stout;“stout” meaning strong. Sales in Ireland took off, and later Guinness brewed a third, stronger beer named Foreign Extra Porter Stout for export to British colonies. One can easily imagine, in the atmosphere of a busy pub, that the repeated call for an “Extra Porter Stout” would eventually be whittled down to simply saying, “Give me a ‘Stout’”. And thus, Stout was born!

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating this classic beer style – to learn more about the fascinating history and different types of Stout check out our Total Guide to Beer, best enjoyed with your favorite brew.

Cheers,

Rob Hill
Certified Cicerone®
Author of Total Guide To Beer
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