BeerMike : A Whiter Shade of Stout

When it comes to beer styles, White Stout is perhaps one of the most confounding of the lot. It may look like a golden ale yet it has the flavour and mouthfeel of a stout. Its existence has baffled drinkers the world over, since they came on to the scene just over a decade ago. The basis for this style as Josh Weikert explains “the consensus seems to be that White Stout is predominately a blonde or golden ale of moderate-to-somewhat high alcohol strength that also exhibits traditional “stout” flavours such as coffee and chocolate.”[1] In order to get that stout flavour, various adjuncts need to be added to brew, such as green coffee beans, vanilla and cocoa nibs, “they add obvious coffee and chocolate flavours, but also some astringent and acidic notes that work just fine in the recipe” Weikert adds. White Stout’s generally use Pale Malt as a base, although some darker malts kilned at lower temperatures are sometimes used in the recipe. Around 85-95% of the brew is made of pale malt, small amounts of crystal and chocolate malt are added for additional flavour, without influencing the colour. Though occasionally “some brewers also add smoked malt to mirror the roasted chocolatey finish that is found in traditional Stouts”[2], Drift Mag notes. Furthermore, Weikert states “these more bitter additions impart the flavour components of darker stouts without the dark colour.”[1] Moreover, in order to achieve the thick and cloying mouthfeel, flaked grains of barley or oats are added. Occasionally, lactose is sometimes used instead of flaked grains, as it gives off a fuller and heavier mouthfeel, but due to it sweetness, it shouldn’t be overdone. As a beer style, White Stout is relatively controversial, as Drift Mag highlights “this is one style of beer that invites two kinds of crowds: people who are fascinated by this style, and those who completely cringe at the thought of it.”[2] Some will argue that is merely a strong golden ale that is trying to mimic a stout through the use of gimmicky flavours, whilst others would claim that is an accurate recreation of a stout without the colour. Weikert notes that some naysayers have criticised White Stout as being oxymoronic at best and heretical at worst. But this argument is baseless, as Weikert argues “we’ve all more or less accepted names such as Black or Red IPA, which are frankly and flagrantly oxymoronic.”[1] Yet, like IPA, there any many various of Stout out there, and it shouldn’t be merely classified as a Dark Beer. Indeed, the likes of Pastry Stout, Barrel Aged Stout or Fruit Stout could be argued as an abomination on tradition, yet there are not. White Stout is merely another variation of this beer style that in itself has over a dozen substyles. Yet, the common consensus is that a traditional stout needs to be dark to jet black in colour, with robust roasted flavours and a heavy cloying mouthfeel. Yet this theory is nonsense, as Ron Pattison rightly notes “Stout only acquired its definition as a specific type of dark, hoppy beer in the early 19th century. Before that, it was a much vaguer term, denoting a strong beer of any style. What we know as Stout today was initially, and more accurately, called Brown Stout, a designation that still lives on in beer names around the world.”[3] Ironically enough, the origins of White Stout go much further back than expected, in fact it predates the common dark ‘brown stout' we associate with the style today.

The common consensus with the origins of White Stout is that it was accidentally established following an April Fool’s Day prank in 2010 when Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing Company and James Watt, MD at Brewdog Brewery, came together and released a fake review video where they tried out the newly developed ‘Luciferin Golden Imperial Stout’. This incidentally sparked a wave of interest for this newly invented beer style, yet the joke was on them as White Stout was actually an extinct variation of Stout, known as Pale Stout which had died out at some point during the late 19^th century. Its origins go as far back to the 1740’s at the very genesis of Stout production, as Martyn Cornell elaborates “Truman’s brewery in East London had both brown and pale stout in stock in 1741, for example. Whitbread was selling pale stout in 1767, at a third more per barrel than regular porter. Barclay Perkins of the Anchor brewery in Southwark was still brewing pale stout in 1805, made from 100 per cent pale malt, at an original gravity of 1079.”[4] In the early decades of its existence, Stout was merely an adjective to describe a strong beer, and its established image as a strong dark beer hadn’t been developed yet. During the early part of the 19^th century, there were incidents of Pale Stout being exported to the India market along with more commonly known export IPA. Cornell notes that in Ireland in 1843, a Bavarian Pale Stout was commercially sold by Beamish and Crawford from the Cork Brewery. And at the Great International Exhibition of 1862, a Pale Stout was being sold by Richardson, Sanders, and Co; which was stated in catalogue at the time as Pattison notes “it is said to combine the properties of both ale and stout, without producing the heaviness or headiness of either the one or the other. It contained 6.62 per cent, of absolute alcohol.”[5] In the ensuing years that followed, the enthusiasm for Pale Stout diminished as brewers switched preference to developing darker brown stouts, and it joined the pantheon of forgotten beer styles. In the early 2000’s, Steve Koch of Stone Brewing was gaining a reputation for his yearly April Fool’s Day pranks, where he issued press releases for fake beers to his email subscribers. The first instance occurred in 2002 with the release of Lemony Lime; in subsequent years the pranks became more elaborate such as Stone Monolith, a gargantuan brew measuring at 27.3% ABV retailing at an equally gargantuan price; or Stone Justification Ale, a curiously impossible low carb beer that defies the laws of brewing with its ‘deep, rich and satisfying flavours.’ Following the press release of their ‘Black IPA’ in 2008 (which too subsequently became an established beer style), a sarcastic comment from one of their reviewers suggested that they should release a White Stout, which inspired Koch to develop his next fake press release; so on April Fool’s Day 2010, Koch released a fake review video where he announced the crossover collaboration with Brewdog, for their limited edition ‘Luciferin Golden Imperial Stout.’ It was effectively wry dig at the craft beer industry at the time as Anthony from Life Is Brewtiful notes “the whole idea was to make fun of the crazy cross pollination that was happening at the beer movement at that time.”[6] Far from baffling his followers, unexpectedly Koch was contacted by several people who thought White Stout was a good idea, despite the obvious prank, and soon the wheels were set in motion for the development of the real thing. Later that same year, Rodger Davis then head brewer at Triple Rock Brewery at Berkley, CA; developed the first commercially released White Stout of the modern era. Soon other breweries across the US and Canada were releasing their own White Stouts, even Stone Brewing got in on the act and produced Master of Disguise (9.7%) as part of their Stochasticity Project series. In 2013, its status as a beer style was elevated with the release of JP Casper White Stout (6.1%) by Whole Hog Brewery as it “was a huge significance in the world of the White Stout because it was one of the first White Stouts that saw nationwide near nationwide release”[6] Anthony notes. This curious looking beer fooled many, with one reviewer noting “the beer looks like a lager—straw yellow and apparently thin—but its lactose sugary body and sizeable additions of coffee beans give it a flavour and texture much more reminiscent of dark ale.”[7] Subsequently, this beer became a big success with drinkers and helped cement the popularity of White Stouts. In the ensuing years it won a number of awards including Gold Medal at the Denver International Beer Competition 2017, and Gold Medal at the US Open Beer Championships 2020, one of the most prestigious accolades in the country.

Over the years, there have been examples of White Stout being brewed in a number of countries across the world, including the likes of Australia, Poland, Spain, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and the UK. On home soil, several breweries have dabbled with White Stout, including the likes of White Stout (7.2% - Durham), Hoodwink (5.2% - Mad Squirrel), Kitsch (6.7% - Brass Castle), Jet Set Radio White Stout (5.4% - Elusive Brewing), Flat White (7.4% - Dexter & Jones), Invisible Deck (5.9% - Siren/ Thornbridge), White Milk Stout (5% - Bristol Beer Factory) Paradox (12.7% - Ossett), Footplate (4.8% - Broadtown), White Affragato (6% - Stewart Brewing) and White Stout (8% - Brew York/ Feranando & Filipino). Perhaps the most controversial, and game changing example of them all has to be Sinistral (4.8%), it was developed by Sue Hayward and Gazza Prescott from Team Toxic, notably dubbed as Reverse Guinness, with its milky white body and black head; the development of this beer took 5 years of trial and error. It made its debut in September 2019 and very soon gained a popular following wherever it was retailed, markedly it sold out in one pub in Norwich within 30 minutes, another batch in Poole barely last an hour. When enquired about this inspiration behind this beer, Hayward responded “I got fed up with seeing releases of white stouts that were, well, gold or pales, I've never seen a white stout that's white! From there I decided I needed to make it an actual reverse of the look of a Guinness—purely as it's the archetypal stout in appearance and very iconic.”[8] This beer has been criticised for being gimmicky, and not being a genuine White Stout due to the way it served through the addition of its black topping. When approached about this, Hayward admitted “the gimmick is the black head which ironically is what everyone talks about. It did a good job of grabbing attention but is in reality a gimmick”.[9] Although this beer has been sold on a very limited basis in a few pubs across the country, wherever it has been sold, it has been grabbed enthusiastically by punters wishing to sample this curious brew, so far from sullying the reputation of White Stout, it has helped to promote it. The initial rush towards White Stouts seemed to have subsided by 2015, although breweries still continue to develop it, albeit on a limited or seasonal basis. One of the more potent examples out there currently has to be Dragon Milk White Stout (6%) by New Holland Brewing, it is sold nationwide across the US and upon its launch in 2019 it rapidly became a major success, acquiring industry accolades such as gold medal in the Barrel Aged Pale Ale category at the US Beer Open Championships 2020. Although traditional in White Stout standards, it has garnered an edge over its competitors, with one reviewer noting “the flavours are familiar, yet almost unexpected, with strong hints of vanilla, cocoa, coffee roast, and oak, as well as that smooth, velvety mouthfeel you would expect. This pours with a beautiful hazy golden hue, and a large creamy white head.”[10] Indeed, New Holland’s own press release for this beer aimed to promote a lighter but no less full-flavored—drinking experience to the table. Their remit was to equally appeal to traditional stout drinkers, as well as those looking for a satisfying, well crafted drinking experience. This gamble worked handsomely, and this beer has become a flagship for the White Stout movement, which continues to be sold till this day and it is retailed all year round unlike many of its competitors.

White Stout could very easily be dismissed as a gimmicky Golden Ale plastered with a number of flavour adjuncts. Yet to merely dismiss this outright is naïve, as Anthony from Life is Brewtiful notes “there so much you have to do to get this to feel like a stout and that takes a lot of skill and brewer’s knowledge.”[6] A lot of development has gone in producing White Stouts from the meticulous mixture of specific malts, flavour adjuncts such as cocoa nibs, vanilla and green coffee beans, to the addition of flaked grains or lactose to help give that familiar thick and cloying mouthfeel. Tim Suttman, head brewer of Industrial Revolution Co, sums up the process “the Blonde Stout was a brewer’s challenge: to brew a stout with the flavor but not the color of a stout. We brewed a stout with all of the grains that make a thick rich stout except the roasted grains that would give it its dark color. We then replaced the flavors of the roasted grains with cold-brewed coffee, cocoa nibs and vanilla. The beer may not taste just like a stout, but it gives the impression of a much darker beer.”[11] Yet despite these efforts, White Stout is still not recognised as an official beer style by leading industry bodies such as Beer Judge Certification Program or Brewers Association, and has been criticised for putting the sanctified status of Stout into disrepute. Yet from a historical perspective, Stout has never exclusively been just a dark beer, Weikert notes “stout as a term referring to beer was typically referring to its strength, and the word itself has no particular connection to a predicted colour. I can recognize that when we see “stout” in the modern beer age, we’re assuming it’s dark, but counterintuitive and oxymoronic are not synonyms.”[1] There are no limits to what constitutes a stout despite what the staunchest cynics might argue, as long as it conforms to the minimum requirements as Beer expert Kirrily Waldhorn states “Stout has a characteristically complex flavour profile with rich chocolate, coffee and roasted nut notes.”[12] At not one point does she mention about colour, and the examples of White Stout sold out there have successfully achieved all these objectives. Outside the US and Canada, White Stout is seldom produced by breweries and where it is sold, its generally sold on a limited basis and is difficult to find. Even in the UK, one of the bastions in real ale innovation, White Stout has barely made a dent on the market and hasn’t acquired plaudits on the festival circuit thus far. If more brewers saw the commercial opportunities and dismissed the crude assertions of White Stout as being oxymoronic and merely a flash style, then there would be more chance for this beer style to thrive. Perhaps if a brewery would put a White Stout as part of their range on a national or regional release, or even as a seasonal ale released around Christmastime, then would its fortunes improve. Therefore, it shouldn’t be disregarded as a gimmicky whiter shade of stout, but judged by its own merits.