Complex Numbers

Stout Day

Something different today, inspired by "Invalid Item" 

    International Stout Day  

I really don't know who comes up with these promotional or commemorative "days," but they amuse me. Sure, some of them are blatantly commercial, but then, most official holidays are, too. Others are icky heartstring-tuggers, but we have a few of those on the official list, too.

The important thing is that, sometimes, there's a day related to fine fermented and/or distilled beverages, such as this one.

First, to be clear, the theme of the day is the beer style. The word "stout" itself, as the above link indicates, initially meant proud or brave, but acquired the meaning of strong... though, even later, it became a less offensive way to call someone fat.

But that was after we started calling certain beers stout for their strength.

Now, sure, you can read the text at the link, which, while I can't vouch for its accuracy, tracks with what I know. And you can also view one of the many entries I've done here talking about stout, such as this one from five years ago: "Stout" 

But I have one thing to add: as noted at the title link, "stout" used to refer to any stronger beer. Gradually, though, the style came to refer only to stronger porters. So, to recap: Ale refers to almost any beer that's not a lager (it's mostly a matter of what kind of yeast is used, but that's not important right now). Porter is ale made with dark roasted grain. Stout used to be more intense anything, but now is reserved for more intense porter. But that wasn't enough, so they had to invent the imperial stout. A quick rundown of how the first imperial stout came to be can be found here, in another of my earlier entries: "The Yeast You Can Do" 

And now, "imperial" is used to modify any beer style that has a higher than normal alcohol content. Imperial stout, such as one of my all-time favorites, Old Rasputin. Imperial lager. Imperial pumpkin ale. That sort of thing. Amusingly, imperial porter.

Such is the evolution of language, style, and beer.

Sure, these definitions can get a bit fuzzy. Where does porter end and stout begin? What's the ABV cutoff between metric and imperial? (No, regular beer isn't called metric; it's just one of my stupid puns.) Is it possible to have a beer that's both ale and lager? (Yes. Cream ale.) These things are at least as much art and marketing as science.

It just so happens that I have some Old Rasputin waiting for me right now. Perhaps it's time for breakfast.