A stout is a type of beer that is characterized by its dark color and heavily roasted flavor. Stout beer achieves its taste and color by being brewed with a heavily kilned malt. Unlike lager beer, stout beer utilizes top fermenting yeasts. Today, the term stout has come to describe the beers with the strongest taste and weight.

Stout beer is classified as either bitter or sweet. Within these two categories, there are several different types of stout beer. Dry stout is the original formula for this type of beer.

Dry stout is usually dark, bitter, and rich. Guinness is an example of dry stout. Stout may also be flavored with chocolate, dark fruit, or coffee. These additives create a sweeter or a drier stout beer.

Another type of stout is imperial stout. This stout, which was originally created to survive transport from Britain to Russia, is particularly strong in taste and has a hint of sweetness. It is a black and particularly dense variety of stout that has a strong alcohol content of six to seven percent. Imperial stout is commonly flavored with dried fruit and burnt cocoa. Imperial stout had fallen out of popularity until it was re-introduced by Samuel Smiths brewery in the 1980s.

Oatmeal stout is another sweet variety of stout beer. Oats are used instead of malt in order to brew oatmeal stout. Oats were originally added to stout because it was believed they were an important part of the diet. Oatmeal stout has a smooth texture and a strong flavor. This type of stout also fell out of favor, but was later introduced by Samuel Smiths brewery in 1980.

Sweet stout is another type of stout. As would be expected, sweet stout has a sweet taste. A sweet stout may have a caramel or chocolate flavor to it, because lactic sugars and chocolate malts are used during the brewing process. For this reason, sweet stout is sometimes called cream stout or milk stout. Sweet stout was once believed to be a nutritious form of beer, and nursing mothers were encouraged to drink it. Nowadays, drinking any alcohol while nursing is a controversial choice that is best discussed with a doctor.