Embrace winter and turn to the ‘dark side’ with BrewDog as it dedicates 40% of its beers on tap to stouts and porters
National Stout Day is on 7 November and BrewDog in Cardiff is hosting its eighth annual Month of Darkness in celebration.
The bar will become a haven of dark beers, dedicating 40% of its drafts to anything featuring dark malt.
Choose from several stouts, porters and black IPAs from around the globe available on tap throughout the entire month.
“The one I’m most excited for is Paradox Uncle Dukes, a 13.2% whisky barrel-aged stout. Perfection!” said Craig Sutherland, the assistant manager at BrewDog Cardiff.
Everyone can get involved this year as BrewDog will even be pouring Leap by Wander Beyond in Manchester, a 9.5% gluten-free sweet stout.
The Month of Darkness is an opportunity to put more complex and challenging beer in people’s hands, said Craig.
It will challenge what people perceive as a stout as most people may have only tried Guinness, which is not a particularly easy beer to get on with, he added.
But, niche beers like stout are becoming more mainstream, particularly as beer drinking has become more of an experience. Beer fans are more open to experimenting with different flavours.
Talking to Tesco, Hugo Murray, the company’s stout buyer said, “British beer tastes are now wider than they have ever been and as a result, brewers are taking notice of the craft beer trend and are starting to add a stout to their beer portfolio.”
Prices range from £3.50 to £5 for a third of a pint and can be as much as £15 for a full pint depending on the alcohol content.
But, Craig explained, these beers are considered to be a speciality. “After factoring in the time, effort, ingredients and barrel-ageing they are definitely worth the price.”
He continued, “Stouts can be decadent, chocolatey, sweet, moreish and smoky. We want people to appreciate that.”