Stout for breakfast? Not quite, unless you happen to work nights, which is what the Porters of Smithfield Market would have done until very recently with the pubs opening early for the workers coming off night shift, but they drank Porter, hence the name.
Stout on the other hand is a little different, tending towards more body, and often a higher ABV.
"Breakfast Stout" is a term and a loosely defined but well understood beer style. Generally it will always include coffee as an ingredient, and also in moderation Lactose, the sweet element of milk. Suddenly it makes sense! Oats are often included, which again helps with body.
Our local London brewery, The Cronx, has launched a new beer called "Are you Awake?" which is the aforementioned Breakfast Stout. Teaming up with local Croydon coffee roaster 80 Stone Coffee Roasters, The Cronx have brewed up this new addition using a solid hit of 80 Stone's "heavy bag" expresso. Also added is a dash of Lactose which gives a slight sweet hint to balance the coffee. Set at 6% ABV it's a little higher in alcohol than the average Ale, but Dark beers hold that well, and are usually drunk a little slower.
Just as with deserts and puddings, coffee works very well in dark beers, often bringing a surprising depth of flavour. The Cronx kindly sent us a sample of the new beer, along with another of their recent new beers, the "Earl Grey & Grapefruit Bitter" .
The Cronx describes 'Are you awake?' flavour profile as having hints of marzipan, caramel and dark cacao. I would agree with all of that! Stouts work well as food pairings, and match very well with Beef, Lamb, Venison, Barbecued foods, Pork, Hearty Pies, Strong cheese such as Stilton and Mature Cheddar and of course desserts!
The Earl grey and Grapefruit bitter is much lower ABV at 3.8% and would suit matching to a starter or perhaps a Fish course.
If you don't usually head towards Dark beers, I'd suggest you definitely try them. 'Are you Awake?' is a good starting point as it will show you what depths of flavour there are amongst the dark side of things.
If you're thinking about it, or perhaps looking to try another stout, or are looking to stock up on Stout because you already love them, then we can help! The Cronx has given us an exclusive discount code for you to use in their online store on cans until the end of February 2021. Simply choose your cans and apply the code at checkout to get your 10% discount.
The discount code is - LONDONBORN
The Cronx can be found at:
