But first, a history lesson
It’s important to establish, right at the start, that the Stout is a descendent of the Porter.
Earlier, there wasn’t any form of beer known as the Stout. Back then, the Porter was a strong, dark brew typically brewed by London brewers. It was only in the 18th century, when brewers through a series of experiments, developed a stronger, fuller form of the Porter and called it the Stout Porter. And as beer evolution took its natural course, the ‘porter’ part of it was simply left behind and it came to be known as just the ‘Stout’.
Survival of the fittest!
Of course, the word Stout is synonymous with Guinness. The iconic Irish dry stout came to be thanks to some shrewd business decisions by Arthur Guinness all the way back in 1759. That, along with some tax laws being relaxed and Daniel Wheeler creating his patented roasting machine that redefined the process of roasting malts and barley, all at the same time.
Guinness used these twists of good fortune to the fullest, most notably Daniel Wheeler’s machine, which resulted in the birth of the signature espresso-like character of their beers.