When I was a young boy growing up in the 1960’s Manchester, I was frequently taken on visits to my grandparents’ house. I can still remember the wonderful, if not curious, cocktail of fragrances that greeted me as my Grandma opened the door…4711 Cologne, Polo Mints, and mint sauce! Now, in later life, my mother always maintained that Grandma Alice and Grandad James were teetotal, and always had been, however, my father had a suspicion that this was definitely not the case!

“What’s this to do with the dark stuff?” I hear you say. Well, it was on one of these visits that I discovered my grandmother’s secret stash of Mackeson stout, tucked away at the back of her sideboard. When I summoned up the courage to ask her about it, she told me that it was her medicine, to keep her strength up. Teetotal Grandad James, of course knew nothing of this!

My grandmother’s claim had, in part, some truth to it. In the past, stout has been prescribed as a general cure-all from the cradle to the grave; as a bathing tonic for new-born babies, an aphrodisiac, and strengthening tonic. In parts of Ireland, Guinness is still given to blood donors because of its iron content. In adulthood, I discovered my own fascination for the dark stuff.

Stout, a specialist variety of Porter, was first recorded as being brewed and sold in London in the 1730s, becoming very popular in Great Britain and Ireland, and was called so after the porters working on London’s docks. There are several varieties, varying widely in consistency and taste. The most common is dry or Irish stout. Other forms include coffee and chocolate, so called because they are brewed using particular malts to generate strong cocoa and coffee flavours. Milk and oatmeal stouts have a slightly sweeter taste, due to the addition of lactose and oats in the brewing process. Oysters have also had a long association with the production process. In the 18th century, these were a commonplace food, often served in pubs and taverns. The dark, bitter flavours of stout blend well with the salty flavour of oysters. Benjamin Disraeli is said to have been partial to a meal of oysters and Guinness. Modern day oyster stouts may be made with a handful added to the barrel.

When Autumn visits itself upon us, with its windswept days and cosy evenings by the village pub fires, my taste turns from bitter toward a pint or two of stout and, occasionally, raising a glass to my wonderful, long gone, grandparents Alice and James.